And no, it's not the drugs.
Day 8 (9/18/15)
My last dose of narcotics was at 12:30 am that day. I was a little concerned about how I would feel just quitting those pills right away, but I was just fine, which means I probably could have stopped them sooner. But, how do you know when you're told to keep ahead of the pain? I was so concerned that, the day before, I had emailed my office to ask what to do. They said Tylenol would be fine to take in addition to the remaining drugs on the list. So, that's easy. Either way, happy to be off narcotics.
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| Britney is happy for me, too. |
As far as day to day, Mom and I developed a parttern:
Morning: PT, followed by 3 hours in CPM.
Lunch: FOOD!
Afternoon: 3-4 more hours in CPM, Mom naps & does her cross-stitch, I nap, read, watch trashy shows on Hulu. Finished the Hot Wives of Las Vegas and caught up on this season of America's Next Top Model. And I finally started watching the newest season of Orange is the New Black again, picking up where I left off awhile ago.
Evening: Dinner (with ice cream), then 2-3 episodes of NCIS with Momma, then PT and bed.
Of course, on this day, the routine got interrupted a little bit with a PT appointment in the afternoon.
The appointment started with massage of the surgical area, then mobility exercises while on my back. Then, flip over, massage of my butt (who knew that would get so tight?!?!?) followed by more mobility exercises. After that, left to do my isolation exercises, with two new ones - holding a ball between bent legs and squeezing and pushing out bent legs with a belt wrapped around them. The new at home routine looks like this now:
- Roll leg inward (15 times)
- Move leg outward to 45-degree angle (15 times)
- Move leg in circles, clockwise and counter-clockwise (15 times)
- Move leg to 90-degree angle at hip, with bent knee (15 times)
- Hamstring stretch while on stomach (3X30 sec)
- Bend leg at 90* while on stomach, rotate foot outwards (15 times)Glute, hamstring and quad squeezes, 10X10 sec each
- Squeeze travel foam roller (it's what I have at home) between bent legs, 10X10 sec each
- Push out bent legs with belt wrapped around them, 10X10 sec each
This was followed by 10 minutes on the exercise bike and 10-15 minutes in a cryo cuff, which is amazing. It ices and compresses at the same time. I didn't want it to end! I was also told that I can lay on my stomach for up to 2 hours each day and it's a really nice, passive way to stretch out the muscles in the front. So now I joke that I get "tummy time".
That day, flowers from one of my roommates in college arrived. It brightened my day!
One of my friends in Denver also stopped by to say hi and brought ice cream - cookies and cream. It was so good that I asked for a second bowl, ha! It was great to chat with her and catch up and so nice to have a visit from someone who isn't family. Mom joked that I should give her one of the many pictures I've colored during recovery, so I did, and signed it. Then I was told it was going on her refrigerator. What more can an invalid ask for??!?!
Drug list:
Vimovo 2X daily
Aspirin, 325 mg mornings
Regular vitamins and supplements
Regular strength Tylenol as needed (which has been rare)
Day 9 (9/19/15)
Our routine was once again interrupted as we had brunch at a cousin's house Saturday morning. When she opened the front door, she exclaimed, "I should have come to you!" But, really, I loved the excuse to get out of the house. We had a great time and ended up staying there for almost 3 hours, chatting and enjoying the company.
Since we didn't get home until 2, I went straight into the CPM until 6 that evening, then we had dinner and watched old episodes of Batman and Wonder Woman. I had secretly hoped that Mom had forgotten that I still needed two more hours, but she didn't. It's probably for the best. The 6 hours in the CPM wasn't too bad as I was entranced in the first 6 episodes of the most recent season of America's Next Top Model.
Drug list: Same as day 8
Day 10 (9/20/15)
I slept horribly the night before. The brace had just gotten extremely uncomfortable and it seemed like nothing I did helped make me more comfortable. As a result, got a late start to the day, and didn't do PT until after 10. Then, it was 6 hours straight in the CPM, as we were headed to another family member's house for dinner.
At this point, my parents started to worry that my mom had planned to go home too soon, as she was leaving 5 days before I was officially off crutches. It really annoyed me a little bit, because when I was booking flights, I specifically told her this and asked "are you sure?" multiple times. And I was told, yes, she had planned on starting back to work on 9/28 and if I knew I would have help, then that was fine.
Yeah. Right. So I just said, no these are the plans and we are sticking to them. I'll be fine. Also, I'm stubborn. So there.
I had read some article about how BCAAs had helped some patients retain muscle while recovering from surgery. Granted, this was knee surgery and the patients took it twice a week for two weeks before and then however many weeks after and I sure hadn't followed that protocol before surgery, but hey, figured it wasn't hurting anything to start taking them again. So ... added BCAAs to my water.
Drug list:
Same as Day 8, plus BCAAs
Day 11 (9/21/15)
Woke up in the morning and decided I would start work that Thursday (9/24 - day 15). I'd started to get bored and figured 2 weeks on short term disability ( and reduced pay) was enough.
PT in morning, about 1.5 hours in CPM and then Mom and I hit the road to run some errands. This included running my return to work form to the clinic, where a gentleman rushed to open the doors for me, even though there is a handicapped button for those doors. Then he held the elevator for me, asked what happened and I gave my usual short answer "I had a ligament repaired in my hip."
"Ouch."
"Hey, it feels better now that they fixed it."
Once I got to the office, someone in the waiting room jumped up to get the door just as I hit another handicapped button. He shrugged and smiled when I walked in and said, "It's the thought that counts, right?"
I smiled back, "Yes, it definitely is! Thank you!"
After the doc's office, I asked if we could stop by the gym so I could use the exercise bike. Mom dropped me by the front doors before she went to park, and as I was trying to open the doors (no handicapped button this time), the young man working the front desk rushed to my assistance. I then proceeded to have the exact same conversation as I did with elevator guy, and as I went to work out he said, "Be careful".
Men are so chivalrous when you are in a chunky brace and on crutches.
After the gym we did a little bit of grocery shopping, and then it was home to be back in that awful machine. I feel asleep in it and Mom took a nap when we were both rudely awoken with a knock on the door. I had no clue who would be knocking, and was so surprised to see a Oiselle package. It was a recovery surprise from my trail running buddy/friend and her husband: arm warmers, with the sweetest note attached. These will definitely help me fly when I can start running again in March!
In other news, the stitches had really started to itch, a good sign that the surgical entry sites are healing. Woot.
Day 12 (9/22/15)
Jeffery had a date with the vet, so only got in 1 hour with the CPM after PT.
No sickness, just needed his yearly heartworm test and distemper vaccination. Heartguard at this vet is up to $50 for 6 months. Yowza.
After returning home and having lunch, it was 3 hours in the CPM, a little reading (In the Arms of Mr. Darcy, one of many Pride and Prejudice spin-off books. None of them are as good as the original) and some watching of TV on the computer (Orange is the New Black).
Then I decided to make Momma dinner - one of my favorite recipes using zucchini cut in thick "noodles" and sauteing with garlic and other spices and shrimp. Then, you top it off with feta. Yummmm.
My stress level was really high that day - my apartment had left a renewal notice on my door the day I returned to Denver (essentially a day before surgery) and rent was increasing by at least 10.5% - and that was for a 15 month lease, renewing in December. So, this requires an evaluation of things, consideration of finding roommates, etc, which wasn't a priority immediately after surgery. So I asked for a 1 week extension since there are extenuating circumstances. I was told no. Apparently, the "It's about You" slogan for Griffis Residential is more like "It's about Money".
So, I de-stressed by beating Mom in Sorry!, just barely:
Day 13 (9/23/15)
There was no time made for PT or the CPM because, sutures out today! I made sure to wear running shorts, because, duh they needed to be able to get to the surgical site. It was a little more painful than what I thought it would be. I guess painful is the wrong word. I didn't expect it to hurt at all, but with the little tugs and pulls, it was a little like taking a band aid off - not completely pain free, but easily tolerable.
After those were removed, I was taken to get x-rays to make sure everything looked okay, since they did some sawing on my bones. One was taken standing up and the other lying down. On the lying down one, there was a wedge placed beside my bent leg (on the surgical side) and then the tech asked to to lay my leg down on the wedge. I hesitated at first and then moved my leg at a snail's pace, because I'd been told to not rotate my hip that way! I said, "I'm scared!" and the tech laughed and said, "I know, you've been told to not move it like that, but I promise it's okay!".
After that, my PA and a student in PA school came in and we chatted, talking about how I feel. The highlights:
- I said I was surprised at how good I feel. I was told this is the honeymoon phase, as I'm only putting 50% weight on that hip. As I start to use it more, it will feel more sore.
- I got mildly teased for still wearing my jet packs, as most people only use those for a week. For the record, the post-surgical instructions say 14 days. I was trying to be a good patient.
- I asked to review what happened in surgery, so the surgeon came out, teased me for not remembering our conversation and then we went over the surgery with color photos (ooooooo).
- Apparently, I had both a pincer and cam lesion (extra bones), NOT simply a pincer lesion like I was originally told.
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| Double duty |
- When I saw the picture of my frayed labrum, I literally said, "Whoa" outloud. It was seriously frayed, my friends.
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| It sorta looked like this. |
And that was it. The only other question I had was regarding driving - I knew it was when you were off crutches, but my next PT appointment was day 21 - the last day of crutches, so it was right on the line. I was told if I felt comfortable, it should be okay, but to not rush anything. Turns out, I have a ride to PT anyway, so I won't be driving, but should be able to get myself to work when I need to, so that makes me happy.
After the doctors appointment, I had physical therapy, which lasted 1.5 hours. It was an hour with my PT (who I really like), doing some work to make sure no scar tissue is forming and then building on the strengthening exercises I was already doing. Since Momma was leaving Saturday, I asked about the passive motion items she was helping me with, and I was shown how to do two on my own and the rest she said to not worry about, as I will be moving away from those anyway. After my work with her, I did 15 minutes on the upright exercise bike and then 15 minutes in the cryo cuff.
My new list of exercises looks like this:
On back:
- Isolation squeezes: glutes, quads, hamstrings 10x10 sec each
- Squeezing foam roller between bent knees 10x10 sec
- Pushing out on belt wrapped around bent knees 10x10 sec
- Pull bent right leg towards chest 15x
On belly:
- Quad stretch 3x30 sec
- Push out with bent leg 10x5 sec
- Push in with bent leg 10x5 sec
On all fours:
- Quadriped rocking 15x
Standing:
- Calf raise 15x2
- Surgical leg back 10x
- Surgical leg back at 45* 10x
After PT, I essentially had 6 straight hours in the CPM. During that time, I confirmed my return to work the next day, got a few things arranged related to that and more reading/coloring/OITNB.
Day 14 (9/24/15)
First day back at work! Part of me was ready, the other part was annoyed I was back to soon. Spent the first few hours working from home and then Momma took me in for a few touchbase meetings. It was good to see my co-workers, catch up with them, and get back into the old routine. After the meetings, I rode the exercise bike for 17:30, and the mileage said 6 by the time I was done, but I'm sure it was really more like 3. Something was off!
After Momma picked me up, we had lunch and then I was back to work. I timed my return just right as some new projects had become available, so I was happy to have something with which to immediately get my brain going again. Some people like to be eased in, but I like being busy.
I had to do some work while in the CPM, and finally resigned that I may have to sleep in in the last week. I was at the point where I could get in and out of it without assistance, so that was good, but the thought of trying to sleep in it again still wasn't my favorite idea. I made it about 3 hours in it, barely sleeping, when I gave up, put my brace on and called it a night.
So, we'll have to figure that time management aspect out.
All in all, still a pretty darn good week. If this is a post-surgical honeymoon phase, then I'm ok with it.
You are pretty much the poster child for patient compliance.
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