The A-OK

I saw Dr. Barba today and got the ok to go back to work on Monday.  He also said I can bike and swim, which is way more exciting than going back to work!  My only restriction is four more weeks of the 90 degree thing. I cannot bend forward toward my left knee, however I can bend forward if my left leg is behind me. This is somewhat confusing, and somewhat who really cares. So, if nothing else, after four more weeks of tying my left shoe behind my butt I'll be quite proficient at it.  OR...wait.....maybe I'll buy some new shoes that don't require tying!! Now THERE'S a novel idea. Of course, that would involve shopping...and spending money....two things I don't do very well. 

I digress... 
The important thing to note today is that my x-ray was perfect (well....except for the arthritis in my right hip that may require doing this all over again in the future, but I'm not even thinking that far ahead). The weather wasn't half-bad either. 

Now, if the lawn fairies would come and rake my yard life would be perfect.

Boot Camp with Bhernee

I am at day 18 post-op. Every day I am amazed that I see improvement....not just a little improvement, but things are progressing much faster than I had anticipated. I have been hobbling around the house without assistance, but I do have a cane to use if I get tired. Everything is easier now, except I still am not allowed to bend over beyond 90 degrees, which makes tying my left shoe a challenge (left-handed behind me). Aside from that, I'm good.

I had PT today, so I warmed up a little in the gym on the NuStep recumbent. It feels pretty good, but I'm anxious to move on to "real" machines. 15 minutes on the bike and I was off to visit Bhernee.

Bhernee was a drill sergeant in a previous life. Despite her denial, I'm sure of it. She took my cane away and had me walk up and down full flights of stairs...and not just once....twice.  Then she made me do lunges (OH my, what's that? A glute?)...and wall squats (hold it for the count of 10!)....and squats with a ball between my knees (SQUEEZE that ball!) ...and step-ups (front, back, side...both legs). Even though she tried to encourage me with "OH, you're doing so well!!", I felt if I didn't try to get out of there quickly I would be doing push-ups and wall climbing. Perhaps it was the glistening (a.k.a. sweat) on my face and neck that convinced her to take mercy on me...who knows....but she said I had done enough for today and allowed me to recline with a nice ice pack. 

Ahhhh....the little things.

Now THIS is a Wild Zipper

Kind of looks like a zipper, doesn't it? It gives a whole new meaning to butt ugly!  But, what can I say? As long as what's inside is working like it should, I'm a happy camper.  I'm sparkling clean and shiny, having just dried off from a WONDERFUL shower. ahhhh....

A Craptacular Day

A leftover hurricane? Is that what this rain is all about? Yesterday was so beautiful...and today is total yuck. It wasn't a totally wasted day, though. I got my staples out. This is monumental. Tomorrow I'm going to take the longest, hottest, steamiest shower ever. Just before I turn into a prune, I'll take a picture of the incision (as promised) for the blog. It's pretty darn ugly, I must admit. Perhaps the surgical team person who got the order to "close me up" was going for a speed record. It's all good....not a highly visible part of my body.

At physical therapy yesterday, we worked on strength and balance. Bhernee showed me how to use a couple machines in the fitness center at Northpointe which adjoins to the P.T. Department. One is a recumbent bike which, for all I know, may be designed especially for rehab patients because the seat swivels for easy access in addition to being a very smooth ride.The other was a hand-driven bike.  Today I had my final blood draw and my last coumadin pill (hoooorraaaaay for both!!). After the lab visit, I rode the recumbent bike for 20 minutes. Bhernie said I could do an easy 15-20 minutes and in my mind I'm thinking "that means 30!" but 20 was plenty. After that I spent some time with free weights. 

I took a two-hour nap with ice on my hip. I earned it.

Invasion of the Asian Lady Beetles (a.k.a. fake ladybugs)

How in the HECK do those creepy little bugs get into my house? I was gone for an hour - to have a blood draw - and I return and these ugly bugs are all over the INSIDE of my front window. The nerve.

With them, the box elder bugs. They at least have the courtesy to stay outside. Also, somewhere out there - and I haven't found it yet - is a very large wasp nest. I only know that because the wasp traffic is very heavy outside my door. I won't use my front door during the day until I figure out where their home is. They aren't staying here without paying rent, and I have a feeling they'll be evicted. I'm just not in the mood to house freeloaders.

None of this has anything to do with my hip. I'm off course. Well, it didn't start out that way. I was on my way to the lab when I noticed all the bugs, so it sort of does. And then I was distracted by my beautiful maple trees...which have yet to drop their leaves. Stunning, don't you agree? Every year I praise the beauty of this view, only to curse the 12" thick blanket of leaves a couple weeks later.

SO, yeah. Focus...the hip...my blood is great (have to have it checked twice a week while I'm on Coumadin...which is my only remaining prescription drug). I'm walking very well with crutches and can put full weight on my leg. I have no pain. Some of my physical therapy exercises push me, but I wouldn't describe it as pain. My incision itches and that is very annoying. Two more days and I'll have all that metal removed, so maybe that will help. Also, and most remarkably, I haven't had ice cream for more than two weeks and I am surprisingly still alive.

To My Little Angel

Thank you, Sam. You are the daughter every mother wishes for. You've put my socks on, exercised my leg, shopped for me, cleaned my house, sat alone at the hospital waiting for me to wake up, and hung around after everyone else went home.

You did my laundry, drove me to physical therapy, you put that pillow in just the right spot, and you picked up my swiffer. You bought me a grab-it so I can pick it up myself :)  You got my prescriptions filled, communicated with my friends, and made sure everything was fine before you went home.

I couldn't have done this without you. I <3 you (for those who don't know, and most of you do, my other angels live far away...but they know they are my little angels too)

Frankenstein's got nuthin' on me

Here is a picture of my incision with all 38 staples. They come out on the 22nd and I'll take another picture then (hopefully you can handle the suspense). Of course I cropped out a lot, so to get it in perspective, my butt is on the right and all the white in the picture is the bandage that I pulled back for the picture.  I have some minor skin irritation due to the tape but overall, it's not too bad.

Cold and rainy PT day

Bhernee measured my leg (which was about 2cm larger than my other leg...apparently, that's normal) and tested my current range of motion abilities. I was quite happy to find out that water therapy has been pre-approved by my insurance. After I get my (38!) staples out, I'll start on that. In the meanwhile, I have a list of exercises to do.

Sam drove me to my shop after my PT, and after my mandatory bloodwork. My tennis shoe caught on the edge of the car door frame and kind of made a "thud" landing. ouch. I tried my best to ignore that and went inside to gather up some sewing I can do tonight. It's been a long time since I've had a nap. I'm due.

They didn't tell me not to.

No one said "don't mop with your crutches".  Surprisingly, this rag-on-the-end-of-the-crutch method works quite well.

No one said "don't swiffer while you're on crutches".  Doesn't it just figure that after a little bit of swiffering I once again dropped the swiffer. I hate it when that happens.

I have yet to try raking, but by the looks of my yard, I'm going to have to figure out how to do that on crutches too. They didn't tell me not to.

Continued boredom

For excitement on my first full day home from the hospital, what could be better than swiffering? I did a few laps around my house with my swiffer until I dropped it. Game over. I can't pick anything up. I don't bend very well just yet. I'm still trying to figure out how to pull my slipper up over my heel. I pulled some tongs out of my kitchen drawer and brought them to my recliner to see if they would work...they would, if they were only 8" longer. Ugghhhh.  I'll just have to wait until Sam comes to visit. While she's here she can pick up everything else I've dropped this morning (in addition to the swiffer): a towel, an avocado, a sudoku book, and a blueberry.

I washed my hair this morning (I KNOW...woohoo!!!). Funny how the very basic things become so monumental when you are denied them. I think I deserve a nap. The view from my chair isn't really all bad - I have to admit. The leaves on the many trees out front have acknowledged the change of the season.  The other picture is my little Coco, who is always on my lap now that I'm home. She didn't like the fact that I left her home alone. She wuvs me.

Nap time for Coco and me.

HOME!!!!!

I must have passed all my finals because I was allowed to move on to the next level...home!!! How exciting. I've never missed home so much. The most exciting thing (and this is gross) is that I get to wash my hair!

I can't say I'll miss the vampires (especially the last one I had tonight...who gave me a little too much play-by play and detail....and then eventually failed). The staff was great though, for the most part, but I am ready to be home!!

And I thought I was so sly....

I asked my daytime RN to help herself to any chocolate covered cherries that still might be in the box (she loves them and they are, I think, the only chocolate candy I won't eat). She opened the box in front of me and what, to my wondering eyes did appear, but half the frickin box was gone! I told Becky to take the two cherries that Miss Piggy left behind. Geesh. Some people. Next time I'm gonna booby trap the box, dammit.

Yes, I'm still here, and yes, I'm getting sick of it. (actually I wrote this earlier this afternoon...and I am home now.)

Confectionary temptations...

I'm not going to name names, but two very strange things have happened in the last 48 hours here at OSF.

First of all, my three-year-old ipod shuffle was lifted off my nightstand the night before last. Why anyone would stoop so low as to steal my little old device, I'll never know, and when he or she finds out it's only a 1gig version they may end up throwing it in the Rock River. But, to me, it was very special. My kids bought it for me for my birthday three years ago after I ran my 1st 5K. I was probably due for an upgrade soon anyway.

Second of all, Karen and her mom came up to visit (and don't think she didn't beat up the whole nursing staff trying to pull a confession out of someone) and brought me a box of fannie mae candy. Colonial assortment, if you care.  So last night....actually about 4:00am.... my RN sneaked in, not knowing I was awake (due to a mild headache), literally tip-toeing with her arm outstretched toward my fannie mae (visualize some really bad acting by Saved by the Bell's Screech in this role) . I waited until she had her hand on the box before I said "good morning" in the cheeriest morning voice I could muster. I scared the crap out of her (but SO worth it!).  She said she came in to see if I needed anything. Yes. Please.  A slingshot, a BB gun, or a blow dart, whichever is currently available in the hospital arsenal on this lovely October day,  thank you very much.

Don't come between me and my chocolate.

(wrote this one this afternoon...posted after I got home)

The vampires arrived before 5:00 am

During an early morning bathroom visit, I decided it was as good a time as any to get so dizzy that I needed 2 people to assist me back to bed (all of eight feet). You know what Charlie Brown's teacher sounds like? Kind of a "whahwhahh whah whahh whahhh" .....when voices around me start sounding like her, I know I'm close to passing out. Fortunately, I made it back to bed in one piece. The RN's and CNA's here are the best.

Kari took my vitals and my BP was 74/40, so they started an IV saline drip and told me I can't have any pain meds until my BP gets back up in the living-person range. (ok, they didn't really say that, but it was inferred)..and I have a temp of 100, which isn't too bad, but they are still searching for the cause.

So, in the meantime, as has become a pre-dawn ritual, Jenny the Vampire sucked more blood out of me than I knew I had. Wouldn't you think that since my BP is low they would let me keep my blood?

I'm writing this at 5:30 a.m. and I'm not sure when Sam will upload it (it's a sleep-in Sunday), but I'm going to try to get some sleep, even though my incision site is killing me. Hopefully the doc will find out what the problem is so I can go home today.

Still hangin' out...

At least the service is good and the staff is very competent. I'll hopefully be discharged tomorrow. I miss home :(

Better Every Day

I started out today with a 103+ fever. I was a little incoherent during that time, so I don't remember details. The hospitalist ordered a chest x-ray, a urinalysis and the vampire came and took most of my blood (one arm wasn't enough - she had to drain BOTH arms). All the tests were normal, so the fever will forever be unexplained.

Walking is certainly a lot easier today. I walked the perimeter of the ortho surgery ward, but I have to admit that by the time I got back to my chair, I was ready to sit.

Tomorrow I get to go home. If I can get up those steps, I'll be fine. : )

I am looking forward to being home....hopefully I can manage with crutches but I may end up with a walker....not sure yet.

Owie Owie Owie

I've been up twice. Once for a short little walk and once to use the bathroom. Owie.

Last night I had a morphine-type pump (I think the med was called delotted)  to control the pain, and this morning I'm back on Vicodin.

When I'm just lying around, I don't have the intense pain...but standing up is very difficult.

P.T. is coming soon for their second round of torture this afternoon. I can hardly wait. Sam brought me some McDonald's coffee (yum!), so I feel empowered now : )

Surgery Day!

At 1:07pm, I'm sitting in a skinny little bed with hospital bling on my left hand. I've talked to Dr. Barba and my hip has a pretty picture on it. The house symbol means that I'm going home (as opposed to a nursing home), the "M" is his initial and the "hospitalist" is the doc I saw 2 weeks ago. Not sure why he gets credit here. : )

Sam's enjoying this immensely I can tell (that's a lie).

I'll write more later. This needle in the back of my hand is rather annoying.

Sam's writing this:

The surgery itself lasted about an hour and 45 minutes, but we got to the hospital at 10:45, she went into prep for the surgery at 1:19, and the surgery started at 1:54....then, I didn't see her again until 5:15ish because she took awhile in the recovery room.

The doctor told me that my  mom could run again in 6 months. I think she's pretty excited about that. She thought about writing another blurb for me to post after surgery, but then she fell asleep mid-sentence. I'm sure she'll have more for me to post tomorrow.

She's going to be forced to walk tonight, which will probably be pretty painful, but she's got a button to press for Morphine, which she can use every 10 minutes and I'm sure she will.

On my way...

Sam is here and I'm packed and out the door...more later :)

All Things Happen For A Reason...

...or so it is said. Today I had the 2nd part of my root canal....WAY worse than part one. It wasn't so much that the procedure was painful, but after the anesthetic wore off, I was in misery. I believe I've mentioned before that I miss ibuprofen (especially on days like today). My dentist was kind enough to extend my last week's prescription of Vicodin (so what if I had to beg a little?). Yay! I like Vicodin! So, I had to endure a root canal to get a pain killer that actually works on my hip. Who knew?

After a quick trip to my shop, the UPS Store, and the post office, I came home and put my heated mattress pad on my bed (which I use instead of heating my house because I'm so cheap...lol). By this time my jaw was so sore I couldn't swallow the Vicodin fast enough. With the exception of a couple phone call breaks, I slept for 4 hours! Thankfully,  I woke up in time to watch Project Runway! (Was Christopher really crying on the runway? Twice??).

One more Vicodin and I should be able to sleep through the night.

Good night.

(and Happy Birthday to my bff Karen!! If you made it to 50, I can too!)