Another day - another sit...

You would think by my lack of daily posting, that I would be very busy - thus the reason behind the break in posting. Truth be told - I'm not busy....just getting lazy. :-(

Last Thursday - a week after surgery, I did attempt to wash my hair. It was actually quite comical. I took our handheld shower head and hung it down where I could reach it. I sat on the edge of the tub and slowly slipped myself into the tub - having both legs hanging outside over the edge. I then pulled the shower curtain past my legs and took the overflow and rested it into my lap and then proceeded to wash my hair! Not particularly comfortable or good to look at - but it got my hair clean - which was the goal!

Then I had a meeting at church that evening. Since I'm still on pain meds, I'm not allowed to drive so my husband had to take me and bring me home. The meeting itself was OK. I had to hop down one small set of steps and then up another small set of steps before I could get to the stair rider that goes to the second floor. That was fun. Not. Leaving I had to do the same - take the stair rider, hop down a small set and then back up a second small set before I could go outside and get back in the car. My reward for this - a very swollen foot/ankle - and a Rita's wild black cherry italian ice.

Friday there was an errand to run and so my hubby again drove me. This took less time and my ankle responded by not swelling as much.

But Friday was a week and a day post surgery and so it was "reveal day" the day I could take off the ace wrap and dressings and air out my ankle.

The ace wrap came off easily. The cotton batting wrap also came off easily. However the gauze dressings were another story. Apparently the poke holes had some post surgical bleeding and so the gauze was seriously stuck to both my skin and the sutures. I had to call the doc's office to see how they wanted me to proceed. The doc's assistant called me right back and told me if I was there how they would do it, but explained that I could take water soaked cotton balls and dab at the gauze until it got wet enough to release from the skin/sutures. Before I did anything else though, I had to let everything dry thoroughly - put nothing on it (as in ointment or cream) and then I could put 4x4's or band-aids on the sutures and re-wrap or whatever.

So I got the kids to bring me a bowl of lukewarm water and some cotton balls and a towel, and began dabbing at my dressings to try and loosen them and get them off my ankle. This was a time-consuming job, but one I was happy to do. After a while, I got the last bit of gauze off and my ankle was mostly free. (I left the steri-strips on the incisions/sutures.)

The ankle and lower leg are starting to whither from lack of use. That's the first thing I noticed. The next thing I noticed was that Doc was able to do the surgery with only TWO poke holes - not the three I thought he had created. There is one on each side of the front of my ankle. There were guide lines drawn in case he needed to do the open surgery - but the cute message on my foot was gone. Bruising seemed to be minimal - but the longer the ankle was free - the more the bruising seemed to come to the surface. The greatest bruising was where the lesion was. The arch of my foot and my heel still felt a bit numb - but I guess that is all part of it.

A while after the unveiling - I had to go to the bathroom and so crutched my way there. As I sat on the throne I lifted my ankle to the tub side and looked and was shocked. I had to left my good leg next to it and was even more shocked. My surgeried ankle was purple and mottling more and more right before my eyes. When I finished, I clomped my way back to my nest on the couch and got my ankle/leg raised and asked for an ice pack. With the ankle raised, the purple started to go away and the color returned to close to normal. But now the throbbing began. Within an hour, I had to take a pain pill because not just was my ankle throbbing, but I was getting a head-ache and starting to get nauseous. It took a few hours for all of this to calm down - but before it fully did - I decided to re-wrap my ankle. Once I re-wrapped it - all those symptoms started to recede. I was able to have a bit of soup and then started feeling more human.

What I think happened was that even though I didn't feel sharp or intense pain, since my level of pain tolerance is so high, this must have been some really intense pain to make me nauseous. Once wrapped and supported - the pain level started to be more manageable and my feelings of being sick started to go away.

Saturday I still had some strong pain in the ankle and continued to take some pain meds but as the day wore on (and I had things to do to try and prepare for my husband's birthday with our children) it all seemed to get better.

Today is Sunday - Mother's Day. I didn't go to church because I didn't feel that I should have my ankle un-elevated for so many hours. Once the others left, I went and washed my hair again today. That felt good. Then I got a little dressed up because its Mother's Day. But we have 50-60 MPH winds here and it's cold - so I'm sitting with a sweater on and wrapped on a blanket - can't tell I'm dressed up. My children are planning dinner for me - so that will be nice.

All in all - things are going well - I think. I'm back to the doc on Friday to get the sutures out. Then we'll see what he says.

Day-by-day - that's the only way I can take it.....

Making Strides

Well, tomorrow will be one week since my surgery. I've been home from the hospital for almost six full days....

The last few days here where we live, have been beautiful, summery days - and we are just at the beginning of May. Sitting on the couch with either the TV on or watching a video either on the TV or on my laptop has lost is sparkle...I am BORED!!!!!

Since sitting in the hospital the day of my surgery, I've become addicted to the Maury Povich Show - especially the "baby/daddy" shows. Not for the stories per se - but the entertainment of it all...some of these people are just downright hilarious!!!!!

So, this morning after my daughter and I got our "Maury fix" - I decided to venture outside. In less than a week - how much has changed in our gardens. My grandmother's rose bush (a peace rose) is exploding with blooms of all sizes. Her pink rose bush just under the peace rose - is starting to blossom as well, our iris patch which was only buds last week is a fragrant blaze of color and smells. The white lilac which was beautiful and fragrant last week - is done and brown - yet the french lilac in the front yard is now a beautiful fragrant and blooming bush.

The walk around the yard was wonderful. If felt great to get outside - feel the breeze, the sun, smell all the smells.....It was great....but when I got inside and sat back down on my couch - my ankle complained long and loud about the new adventure - and it didn't do anything but hang around for the "ride".....

Later in the day, I ventured out again - to visit with a friend and give her some things for the school. It was nice to have company and nice to chat with a friend. Was also nice to again be outside. But as before, my ankle complained about the trip. :-(

After supper, my youngest wanted to show me her flag work for the memorial day parade (she is captain of the color guard at her school) and so once more - I went outside for a brief stint....The ankle complained yet again, but not as bad because I had taken a pain pill when I had come in from the second trip out...

I had one more adventure today...and that was taking a real BATH. My ankle is still wrapped in the ace bandage and more and the sutures are still in, so I can't really take a full bath. Since my surgery, I've been sponging myself off - but that's as far as its gone. Today, I had had it and decided I needed to just get into the tub...

Adventure to be sure...

I wound up sitting on the side of the tub and then sliding my behind down into the tub, and then swinging my good leg into the water. Because my right leg is the one that had surgery, I have to sit at the drain side of the tub - so no real chance to soak, but my right leg could hang over the tub edge and the rest of me could soak. And that's precisely what I did.....

I was afraid getting out would be a real challenge - but it wasn't that bad - I swung my good leg over the edge, dried that leg and both thighs, as well as my hands - then I hefted my behind up and onto the edge of the tub - dried myself and was done! (Of course, I prayed the whole time I wouldn't slip backwards into the tub and hurt myself or the tub in the process....)

But it worked!

Tomorrow - challenge number two - washing my hair.....

History - Part 2

So - I got my appointment at the Orthopedic Clinic the last week of July/first week of August. At that time I was told I had suffered a "Grade III Sprain" - the doc actually told me I would have been better off breaking it (and I did give him permission to break it for me!). He said these severe sprains often can take up to six months to heal.

Not news I wanted to hear with the County Fair almost upon us and another marching band season almost in full swing.

So - he put me back in an air casr - for another four weeks. Told me to go BACK on the crutches and be as non-weight bearing as I could for about the next two weeks and come back again if it wasn't better.

So - I played the good little patient and as much as I didn't like being non-weight bearing - I did my best. The county fair wasn't too bad - I sit alot anyway "protecting" our exhibits. But trying to navigate the fairground in crutches was pure danger. People just didn't care and more than once I got a crutch kicked out from under me. Thankfully I could stand so I didn't hit the ground.

I kept myself to "doctor's orders" and the ankle still hurt. I made a follow-up appointment.

While I waited for the follow-up appointment, I researched grade three ankle sprains, and found that much of the research called for total immobilization of the ankle for a period of time. This intrigued me since my ankle was never fully immobilized. I never felt that the air cast did enough to mobilie or support the ankle - there was still too much movement in it.

My appointment came and went. I got there and because it is a clinic situation, even if you have an appointment, you are seen on a first come, first seen basis. While I was in line to sign in, several people cut the line because they were on crutches or canes (I wasn't at this time)and so I sat for hours waiting to be seen. I finally gave up and went downstairs to the ER and begged for a cast. They told me I would have to wait for the orthopedic docs from the clinic to be finished and come down before that could even be considered. I have another university game to work and couldn't give that much more time to waiting for them. So the ER docs did another set of x-rays and gave me a new air cast and said - buh-bye.....

Pain in my ankle and a pain someplace else as well.....