Extra Hardware

I forgot to mention this in my last posts...

It seems that I have a little bit of extra hardware in the PAO hip. When I went in to Mayo's office in July, I got to see the x-rays of my hip post-surgery for the first time. Sara stuck the x-rays on the light up board thingy (I'm sure there's a medical term for that thing) and she pointed out each of the 5 screws that were now holding my bones together. That in itself is a weird thing to see but while we were counting the screws, I noticed that there looked like there was a tiny, one inch screw toward the top of my pelvis that seemed a bit out of place. I asked Sara what that was and her response was "Oh, that? That's a drill bit." Gulp. "A drill bit?!?!", I ask. "Yes", she said nonchalantly, "It must have broken off during surgery."

Yipes. It wasn't funny at the time because I was a little freaked out but after the appointment my husband and I were talking about it and we were both picturing Dr. Mayo drilling into my pelvis, cursing because he broke a drill bit and then saying something like, "That's the third one this week! Cheap medical equipment..."

OK, this may not be funny to you but you've not met Dr. Mayo. I'm not sure he's one to show a lot of emotion. He's pretty even keeled and consistent - not to say that he's not kind, because he is. Anywho, my fellow Dr. Mayo hip chicks probably know what I'm talking about.

So now I'm walking around with 5 stainless steel screws and a broken drill bit in my hip. I know what's going to happen when I go through airport security in March - it's not going to be the screws in my hip that set off the metal detector, it's going to be that bloody drill bit!!

I'm healing!!

OK, so it has taken me awhile to post my results of my last follow up with Dr. Mayo. :/ I saw Sara, Dr. Mayo's PA, because Mayo was on vacation (or something like that) and she looked at my x-rays and said my joints looked awesome. I'm so glad I seem to be healing just like I'm supposed to. I'm officially 5 1/2 months post op and I still have a little bit of pain when I lift my leg/knee up while I'm standing but I can definitely tell that things are getting better.

During my appointment I begrudgingly told Sara that I've been playing volleyball for the past couple of weeks and she kind of gave me a look. I told her that I was being very careful and wasn't doing too much jumping around. She said that as long as I limited my jumping, I should be OK. I wonder if Mayo would have said the same thing? Fortunately, she gave me the OK to play softball in the summer. Hurray!! It still feels like I have a hitch in my giddy-up when I run so I hope to hit the gym within the next few weeks and try to work out the kinks.

I don't have to go back see Dr. Mayo until my 1 year post-PAO anniversary in June unless my right hip starts giving me troubles but so far, so good.

I plan on traveling to South Carolina in March for a friends wedding and I'm wondering if I'm going to set off any alarms with all the hardware in my hip? I should probably ask Mayo's office about that prior to my vacation, right? :)

Stinking flu bug

I was supposed to go down to Tacoma for my 5 month post-op appointment but had to cancel because I got the flu. :( I had to reschedule for next week. I'll try to let you know how the appointment goes. Things are going fine so far. I still feel some pain but I've played volleyball the past 2 Tuesdays and it's gone pretty well. Just don't tell Dr. Mayo because I technically haven't been cleared to play yet. :)

3 months post-op and physical therapy

I've officially hit the 3 month post-op mark and I've been going to physical therapy for the past month. I believe things are going well but I still have pain frequently throughout the day. I know that I've improved my range of motion and my limp is just about gone.
I go to physical therapy twice a week and I have to admit, it's not as painful as I thought it would be. I pictured myself being in a lot of pain during and after PT but that's not the case. I can definitely tell when my PT increases my exercises a bit (she did that this week) but I don't hurt as much as I thought I would. The thing I have the most trouble with is the balance training I have to do. It's amazing how much your balance suffers after surgery! When I first start PT, I had to see how long I could stand on one foot. When standing on my surgical leg, I could only stand for 12 seconds! I have since improved that to over 1 minute but it still doesn't come as easy as standing on my non-surgical leg. I still have 2 1/2 months of PT left so I'm sure I will get better and better.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good considering it's only been 3 months since surgery and I'm told a total recovery could take between 6 - 12 months. I've been asked if I'm glad I had the surgery but I honestly don't know yet. I'm still in pain quite a bit of the time but it's a different kind of pain I was having before surgery. I think I made the right decision when I chose to have the surgery but I think it will take me awhile to be completely healed. I missed playing softball this summer and I'm going to miss volleyball this fall but hopefully I'll be ready to go by the spring. Hopefully Mayo will give me the ok!

My next appt. with Mayo is October 22nd so I'll know more about how I'm healing after that.

On a completely different note, fall is here! School started a couple of weeks ago and it's now football and soccer season! The leaves haven't quite started changing yet but fall is definitely in the air. It's my favorite season!

2 months!

It's been two months since surgery. Can you believe it?!? Actually, I can. I've been on crutches for TWO MONTHS!!! I'm so tired of them!
The good news is I see Dr. Mayo tomorrow for my 8 week check up. It's going to be the first time I've seen him since surgery.
Tomorrow they will take x-rays and I'll get to see my screws for the first time. Ewww. I'm optimistic that they will tell me that I'm healing well because I feel pretty good. I only take Tylenol once a day and have been gradually putting more weight on my surgical leg (even though I'm not supposed to).
My new trick for Dustin is walking. Well, I don't really walk, I gimp. I've not technically been cleared to start walking but I figured that since it's been eight weeks, I could try it out and see how it feels. It only hurts a little. :) I don't think I'm going to bend my screws because it has been 8 weeks and they are made out of titanium, aren't they?
Anyway, please pray that I hear good news tomorrow!!
K

I'm in a rut

Sorry for the delay in posting. As of two days ago, I'm officially at the 5 week mark. Whew! Only 3 more weeks until I see Mayo again. I'm hoping he tells me that I can ditch the crutches. Keep your fingers crossed!!

As I mentioned in the title, I feel like I'm in a healing rut. I don't have any new "tricks" to show Dustin anymore. Deep down I know that I'm improving. Even though I still have pain, it is decreasing - it better be because I'm almost out of prescription pain killers and I'm told I can only take 4,000mg of Tylenol per day. When each pill is 500mg, 4,000 doesn't seem like very much.
I can roll over easier in bed now but since I'm feeling a bit better, I long to sleep on my surgical side because that's the side I slept on prior to surgery.

I've now been back to work for one week and it's so good to be back! I never thought I would miss coming to work but I do! I eagerly await the days that I get to go to work and get bored on the days that I have to stay home. I started out working 4 hours per day, 3 days per week but I feel so good that I think I'm going to increase to 5 hours per day. Hurray!

Please remember me in your prayers on July 28 - the day I see Mayo. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high but I'm ready to stop using these stinking crutches!!

Bath Time

I thought I'd revive the Sesame Street's one hit wonder, Ernie whatever his last name is, once again for a post on bathing.

I have exciting news! I was able to take a bath today!!! It's been four long weeks since my last bath. Yes, I've been taking showers during those four weeks so I don't smell like my husband does after a long day at the farm. :)

It's very exciting that I'm finally able to take a bath because I'm a bath person. I don't really like to take showers. They just aren't as relaxing as baths.

I've been known to take some long baths in my time but because I decided to take one close to dinner time, I wasn't able to soak as long as I would have liked to. Oh well, I'm sure today's bath will be just one of many I will take in the future. :)