I'm almost 5 weeks post RPAO, and I'm going back into the office part-time tomorrow (I've been working from home part-time since week 2). I work for a financial services company doing product development, so I do a lot of sitting during the day either at my desk or in meetings. I am lucky that my job does not require much standing or walking since I'm still on crutches. Sitting may be difficult for long stretches but I am prepared to deal with that. I had originally planned for 8 weeks off work so I am happy to be ahead of schedule.
Next milestone will be going to the therapy pool starting next week. I've joined a pool near my house and I look forward to walking in the water and doing some easy range of motion exercises.
Long-term goal: If I continue to do well, and physical therapy goes well, I would like to try putting on my skates some time in October. Harlick is refurbishing my boots and should have them back to me next week. My goal is to do some light stroking and edges. It all depends on my strength and balance. This is a pretty aggressive goal for someone who is still on crutches, but it's something to shoot for.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Post #100
Last night I went out with friends and climbed 8 outdoor steps to get into the restaurant. When I got to the top, the people eating out on the patio clapped for me. Talk about earning your beer!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Driving under the radar
Well, I couldn't help myself. I was in my parents' suburban neighborhood. The streets are wide, people drive slowly, and there were no other cars on the road. The worst that could happen -- I could hit a mailbox, or maybe a trash can. So I drove around the block, and it was just fine.
I am not supposed to drive for two more weeks, but I had no problem moving my operated right leg from the gas to the brake and back again. I even drove several miles home from my parents' neighborhood in traffic, and all was well. I even had to slam on the brakes to avoid an idiot driver, and was able to do so.
I will be a good patient and promise not to drive long distances or on the freeway for two more weeks, because I could tell my thigh muscles were getting tired by the time I got home. But now I know it's safe for me to go to the grocery store, the post office, the coffee shop, or even the office, which I've promised my co-workers to do part-time starting next week (I was going to carpool with my Dad). Just knowing I can go places on my own feels so liberating!
I am not supposed to drive for two more weeks, but I had no problem moving my operated right leg from the gas to the brake and back again. I even drove several miles home from my parents' neighborhood in traffic, and all was well. I even had to slam on the brakes to avoid an idiot driver, and was able to do so.
I will be a good patient and promise not to drive long distances or on the freeway for two more weeks, because I could tell my thigh muscles were getting tired by the time I got home. But now I know it's safe for me to go to the grocery store, the post office, the coffee shop, or even the office, which I've promised my co-workers to do part-time starting next week (I was going to carpool with my Dad). Just knowing I can go places on my own feels so liberating!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Four Weeks
Clearly I haven't spent the past 4 weeks working on my tan
I am halfway to my post-op appointment where, please God, I will find out that I can ditch at least one of the crutches. I am 2/3 of the way to being able to drive and go in the pool. I have stopped the insane sweating. I am done with the hospital bed. I am so done with the iron supplements.
I am starting to feel pretty normal, other than being unable to get the song "Tennessee Waltz," complete with Lawrence Welk-type orchestration, out of my head. It's been two weeks since I took any pain meds so I don't think this is opiate-related, but I have no other explanation.
I also have this overwhelming urge to go shopping. I don't have the stamina to shop or try a bunch of things on, and I don't even know what size I will end up being when all is said and done; I'm not about to actually go to the mall. So what is driving this shopping desire? I think I've been watching too many episodes of "What Not to Wear," which is shown in reruns two or three times each weekday. I think Stacy and Clinton would agree that a brand new hip deserves a brand new wardrobe, so if anyone wants to nominate me to be on the show you have my blessing. Shut up!
Sleeping is still not a sure thing, and before this I was a really good sleeper, so I'm perplexed and not quite sure how to fix it. I've ruled out heavy drinking and sleeping pills, for now. I am still unable to find consistently comfortable sleeping positions throughout the night, and often wake up long before dawn. But that's OK! I can take naps any time I want to.
Not that I'm just sitting around doing nothing all day in my jammies, although occasionally that happens. I confess that I have read my share of People magazines, although I draw the line at The Enquirer and I've avoided the most ridiculous daytime TV shows. (Note: "What Not to Wear" should NOT be categorized as crappy daytime TV.) Most days I try to be as normal as possible by getting up, showering, making an attempt to tame my hair even though blow drying is out of the question, and putting on "real" clothes from the loungewear family (i.e., sweats).
I attempt to sit upright each day for as long as possible. I try to get up and walk around throughout the day and/or get out of the house if someone is willing to come get me. I'm not yet ready to walk in my own neighborhood since our streets are not well paved and the terrain is hilly. I am able to shower standing up on one foot. I can do light housework, such as cleaning up cat barf, doing laundry, and washing dishes. Monday I even vacuumed half of the main floor (it is possible, just takes a while) and cleaned the upstairs bathrooms. I actually sat on the floor and scrubbed from there - it's easier than mopping upright.
Which leads me to ... I can sit on the floor and get up from the floor using my good leg. It's a neat party trick.
I have not yet tripped, fallen, or accidentally put my full weight on my right leg as so many PAO patients do. In some ways I wish this would happen so I could test out my hip, but I know it's not ready. Don't worry mom, I'm not planning to actually do this.
My upper thigh is still numb, lumpy and a bit swollen. The scar looks really good and doesn't hurt when I touch it. I occasionally feel odd twinges of pain in my outer hip which I imagine are screw heads poking me, but since I'm not sure what screw heads feel like this could all be in my mind. I feel odd pulling sensations in my muscles. Sometimes my knees hurt, especially at night. I know how important strong quads are to keep the knee joint stable; my quads are not just weak, they are pathetic after four weeks of atrophy. My hope is the knees will be just fine once I build the muscles up again -- I've never had knee problems and don't want to start now.
I actually feel like I could walk just fine without my crutches, but I'm not going to be a fool and try it. There will be plenty of time for walking. I'm sure I'll look back fondly on these lazy, boring days when I'm in the midst of physical therapy hell in September.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
An excellent PAO article
This article was written by a medical student and PAO patient. This is a great PAO primer if you are preparing for surgery or as reference for your friends and family so they can understand what you are talking about.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Three Weeks
Has it been three weeks? Has it ONLY been three weeks?
Time seems to be moving slowly; I'm focused on my 8-week "bye bye crutches" appointment and I’m not even halfway there.
As I write this, it is 105 degrees in Portland; we’ve had record high temperatures the past few days. I still have trouble regulating my body temperature, and coupled with the heat this has been difficult. We don’t have air conditioning because our house is up on a hill and surrounded by trees; it never gets hot enough for us to need air conditioning (until now). We do have a basement which is cool, but I'm at the point in my recovery where I want to get out of the house and be more active. I can’t really do much outside without dissolving into a sweaty tired mess.
Today my parents took me out to lunch at a nice air conditioned restaurant. Then we went to the grocery store (also cool) and pharmacy (not bad). I did a lot of walking in the stores and felt pretty strong on the crutches. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I got home and took a two-hour nap!
So here is my three week update:
~Scar looks good and I’ve started massaging Vitamin E oil into it. I’ve heard that Bio Oil works well but also heard that any oil is fine, and since the scar already looks so good I see no reason to buy the Bio Oil because I have some Vitamin E.
~I try to sleep in my regular bed but still bail out in the middle of the night to the hospital bed. The mattress on the hospital bed is horrible, but I can change the settings and get more comfortable. Plus I hate waking Perry up with all my tossing and turning. I did spend one night early on sleeping in the recliner but did not repeat it because the hospital bed is better. I can usually sleep on my non-op side with a pillow between my legs but sometimes that just hurts. It’s hard to move the pillow and my leg around to find the sweet spot but when I do, it's great.
~My pain level is usually a 1 and I’m not taking any pain killers. The pain I do get feels muscular and not like it’s inside the joint or in my bones. It’s hard to tell for sure, but I don’t think I feel anything where the bones were cut. I feel sharp pain if I move my leg too abruptly. I am trying not to actively lift the leg as I was told not to, but occasionally I do by accident. I’m able to do it, but I feel sore in my hip flexors and my inner thigh when this happens. I’m trying to be more aware so as not to do it accidentally.
~I’m trying to do things around the house like laundry, cleaning, etc. I carry things around the house in a tote bag around my neck, in my teeth, in a backpack, tucked into my waistband … whatever is handy. It takes a while to bring all the clean laundry in to the bedroom and put it away – several trips with the tote bag – but I feel productive. My house is a mess – we have a long-haired cat shedding everywhere and the vacuum cleaner is just not going to happen with crutches – but I have learned to live with it. Laundry, of course, is not optional.
~Thanks to the CPM machine, my range of motion seems excellent. I can bend over to pick things up from the floor, reach forward and touch my toes, tie my shoes, paint my toenails, bring my leg in to my chest (not all the way by any means, but darn close), sit on the floor, and pull my operated leg up over my head with my hands a la Biellmann. OK, OK, I can’t do the last thing, I was just seeing if anyone was still reading.
~I have gently tried external rotation (e.g., sitting cross legged). My external rotation (turnout) has always been limited and it’s exttremely limited now because of post-surgical stiffness. This surgery did not correct my anteversion (my femurs are rotated inward) since that would be an additional surgery (femoral osteotomy) and my surgeon did not want to do it. (I didn't really either, although the thought of better turnout almost made it worth it.) I don’t know how much my external rotation will improve once I am able to stretch and work on it. I hope to have external rotation that is no worse (and if the stars align, better) than before. Otherwise returning to ice dancing, with its requirement for turnout in order to do even the easiest turns, may be challenging or impossible. This was my biggest outcome fear going in, and it’s too early yet to know how this will turn out (pun intended) in the long run, because I’m not allowed to do any real stretching or rotating yet.
~I’ve lost 12 pounds. I’ve been eating very healthily and I’m definitely not starving myself or dieting. Everyone says my formerly muscular legs are looking wimpy. So we can safely assume that’s 12 pounds of muscle gone to hell.
~Sneezing and coughing aren’t as excruciating as they were earlier in my recovery, but I still feel them in the joint/incision.
~My hands still hurt when crutching but I’m getting used to it and it rarely bothers me.
~I can still see the bruise from my first Fragmin injection, given to me in the hospital by Nurse Ratched. I can still see the bump where the IV needle was inserted. I can just barely still see the bruise from my autologous blood donation! Needles and I just don't get along.
~I am going to have a glass of wine before bedtime. I haven’t had an adult beverage since before my surgery. I have a feeling I will sleep quite well tonight.
Time seems to be moving slowly; I'm focused on my 8-week "bye bye crutches" appointment and I’m not even halfway there.
As I write this, it is 105 degrees in Portland; we’ve had record high temperatures the past few days. I still have trouble regulating my body temperature, and coupled with the heat this has been difficult. We don’t have air conditioning because our house is up on a hill and surrounded by trees; it never gets hot enough for us to need air conditioning (until now). We do have a basement which is cool, but I'm at the point in my recovery where I want to get out of the house and be more active. I can’t really do much outside without dissolving into a sweaty tired mess.
Today my parents took me out to lunch at a nice air conditioned restaurant. Then we went to the grocery store (also cool) and pharmacy (not bad). I did a lot of walking in the stores and felt pretty strong on the crutches. I didn’t realize how tired I was until I got home and took a two-hour nap!
So here is my three week update:
~Scar looks good and I’ve started massaging Vitamin E oil into it. I’ve heard that Bio Oil works well but also heard that any oil is fine, and since the scar already looks so good I see no reason to buy the Bio Oil because I have some Vitamin E.
~I try to sleep in my regular bed but still bail out in the middle of the night to the hospital bed. The mattress on the hospital bed is horrible, but I can change the settings and get more comfortable. Plus I hate waking Perry up with all my tossing and turning. I did spend one night early on sleeping in the recliner but did not repeat it because the hospital bed is better. I can usually sleep on my non-op side with a pillow between my legs but sometimes that just hurts. It’s hard to move the pillow and my leg around to find the sweet spot but when I do, it's great.
~My pain level is usually a 1 and I’m not taking any pain killers. The pain I do get feels muscular and not like it’s inside the joint or in my bones. It’s hard to tell for sure, but I don’t think I feel anything where the bones were cut. I feel sharp pain if I move my leg too abruptly. I am trying not to actively lift the leg as I was told not to, but occasionally I do by accident. I’m able to do it, but I feel sore in my hip flexors and my inner thigh when this happens. I’m trying to be more aware so as not to do it accidentally.
~I’m trying to do things around the house like laundry, cleaning, etc. I carry things around the house in a tote bag around my neck, in my teeth, in a backpack, tucked into my waistband … whatever is handy. It takes a while to bring all the clean laundry in to the bedroom and put it away – several trips with the tote bag – but I feel productive. My house is a mess – we have a long-haired cat shedding everywhere and the vacuum cleaner is just not going to happen with crutches – but I have learned to live with it. Laundry, of course, is not optional.
~Thanks to the CPM machine, my range of motion seems excellent. I can bend over to pick things up from the floor, reach forward and touch my toes, tie my shoes, paint my toenails, bring my leg in to my chest (not all the way by any means, but darn close), sit on the floor, and pull my operated leg up over my head with my hands a la Biellmann. OK, OK, I can’t do the last thing, I was just seeing if anyone was still reading.
~I have gently tried external rotation (e.g., sitting cross legged). My external rotation (turnout) has always been limited and it’s exttremely limited now because of post-surgical stiffness. This surgery did not correct my anteversion (my femurs are rotated inward) since that would be an additional surgery (femoral osteotomy) and my surgeon did not want to do it. (I didn't really either, although the thought of better turnout almost made it worth it.) I don’t know how much my external rotation will improve once I am able to stretch and work on it. I hope to have external rotation that is no worse (and if the stars align, better) than before. Otherwise returning to ice dancing, with its requirement for turnout in order to do even the easiest turns, may be challenging or impossible. This was my biggest outcome fear going in, and it’s too early yet to know how this will turn out (pun intended) in the long run, because I’m not allowed to do any real stretching or rotating yet.
~I’ve lost 12 pounds. I’ve been eating very healthily and I’m definitely not starving myself or dieting. Everyone says my formerly muscular legs are looking wimpy. So we can safely assume that’s 12 pounds of muscle gone to hell.
~Sneezing and coughing aren’t as excruciating as they were earlier in my recovery, but I still feel them in the joint/incision.
~My hands still hurt when crutching but I’m getting used to it and it rarely bothers me.
~I can still see the bruise from my first Fragmin injection, given to me in the hospital by Nurse Ratched. I can still see the bump where the IV needle was inserted. I can just barely still see the bruise from my autologous blood donation! Needles and I just don't get along.
~I am going to have a glass of wine before bedtime. I haven’t had an adult beverage since before my surgery. I have a feeling I will sleep quite well tonight.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
WARNING ... GORY SCAR PICTURE
It's really not all that gory, but I know some people are squeamish and if that's you, please do not read on. For those of you still with me, here's a pic of my incision on the eve of three weeks post-PAO. The skin is dry and yucky, but the scar itself -- lookin' good.
Here's the guided tour:
~This photo was taken facing me, so it's right side up. The top of the scar, upper left in the pic, is at the top of the iliac crest.
~The entire thing is about 6 inches long.
~The dot at bottom left is one of two small holes left by the drains.
~The skin around the scar is lumpy and swollen. The entire hip is swollen but not as much as I expected; I can wear normal-sized clothes (although I haven't worn anything tight or form fitting yet).
~The purple cross-hatch marks are magic marker. It's slowly wearing off, but I don't really want to scrub it. Touching the scar is still a little bit icky.
~Overall I have been impressed with it from the first time I saw it in the hospital. There were no steri-strips, staples, or stitches. (All stitches are internal, with super glue holding it together on the outside.) I was truly expecting something horrifying and it's really not.
~Clearly I need to work on my tan.
Stay tuned for my 3 week update tomorrow.
Here's the guided tour:
~This photo was taken facing me, so it's right side up. The top of the scar, upper left in the pic, is at the top of the iliac crest.
~The entire thing is about 6 inches long.
~The dot at bottom left is one of two small holes left by the drains.
~The skin around the scar is lumpy and swollen. The entire hip is swollen but not as much as I expected; I can wear normal-sized clothes (although I haven't worn anything tight or form fitting yet).
~The purple cross-hatch marks are magic marker. It's slowly wearing off, but I don't really want to scrub it. Touching the scar is still a little bit icky.
~Overall I have been impressed with it from the first time I saw it in the hospital. There were no steri-strips, staples, or stitches. (All stitches are internal, with super glue holding it together on the outside.) I was truly expecting something horrifying and it's really not.
~Clearly I need to work on my tan.
Stay tuned for my 3 week update tomorrow.
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