Life on a Cane..Week 1

So as of this past weekend..I have ditched the crutches (hopefully for good) and have -upgraded to a cane..woohoo!

Ok not sure if it is an upgrade but.....

#1 My shoulders, arms and hands really needed a break..after 10 weeks on crutches I think my upper body was about to fall apart and I was getting blisters on the palms of my hands..ouch- it was time to say buh-bye to the "sticks" and hello to the shiny silver cane.

#2 If I can stay off the crutches and stick w/ the cane that means hopefully soon I will be walking on my own again and then driving (FREEDOM).

#3 Cane's can be a hit at parties..see pic below..cane took center stage

** It would be a better upgrade if my cane had pink sparkles just to make it more fun...well a girl can wish ;)

So the past two weeks have been big..back to work and off of crutches..now that is what I call progress! Me Likey!

Ok so the down side is that my pain has seemed to increase since I started using the cane..usually I am fine from morning to mid afternoon, but around 3pm the deep pain in my hip starts. Now I am sure this is partially due from going from being inactive for so long and now almost putting full weight back on my hip, but I am no Dr., so I will see what will happen.. if the pain progresses I may switch to crutches for 2nd half of the day (PT suggested that) ,but I am stubborn (never claimed it was a good quality..it just is what it is) ,and I want off of all these "accessories" and back to my "normal" existence and life, so I am trying to deal w/ the pain as best as I can and push through it..again I am not a Dr ,so please don't take my advice on this..it's more of a trial situation for me. I will get back to you w/ the results.

Ok got to try to go to sleep..pain is still preventing me from sleeping comfortably..this really better start to get better soon ,because I could really use some good healing sleep.. Until Next Post....G'Nite

Hipster in Hollywood

So I took my Hipster out west this past week. Had my 6 week checkup on April 27th and Dr. Fabulous gave me the clearance to head out west as long as I promised I wouldn't go out dancing all night....I was OK w/ this stipulation ,because crutches and dancing don't really go hand and hand for me..I also realized a couple of drinks, crutches, and walking also don't go together well for me...but that is another story.



So I am dedicating this post to what it is like to travel after 6 weeks post surgery and on crutches ...lets call it my Hollywood edition:)


So my biggest fear about this trip was the plane ride..6 hours of being confined to a chair, and not much space to move honestly was scaring the hell out of me so much so that I almost forgot about my fear of flying ;) But the day we left to Cali there were clear skies and it was a very smooth flight, so I got to get out of my seat quite often and w/ the help of a cane and the tops of the chairs going down the aisle I got my exercise too (Dr's orders were to move about the cabin every 1/2 hour). I didn't get to achy sitting due to the ice packs and the "walks' and made some new friends on the plane along the way :) Plus my flight attendant had a hip replacement a few years back and totally understood what I was going through so he was a huge help and hooked me up w/ huge bags of ice as well as gave me some very helpful hip advice. I wish I could remember his name, but if you fly on jet blue and have a middle age , bald man, who had a hip replacement and was a professional dancer as your flight attendant then you will be in good hands! Also thanks Mom, K, and N for helping me pack and carry my bags ,because w/out your help there would have been no way I could have done this trip!


Once I was in Cali my mom did get me a wheelchair through her hotel.(Thank you Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica for providing the wheelchair) to help me get around when we did more long distance walking trips..so for Venice Beach, The Getty Museum ,and Joshua Tree National Park I sucked up my control freak nature and went along for the ride, so I could enjoy the sights..my hipster was not going to keep me down. Only bummer was that I could not do the hikes in Joshua Tree National Park..even my wheelchair couldn't make the trails, but I will go back again once the old hipster is better and hike the hell out of those trails ;)


view from my wheel chair..Venice beach


being wheeled around Joshua Tree...as they say sometimes you just got to roll w/ it ;) haha


For the longer car trips (aka..Joshua Tree National Park) I had my Ten's Unit w/ me so I could get pain relief while I was in the car, and it was a huge help, so I am definitely glad I brought it along w/ me for the trip, so if you are injured and have one definitely take it w/ you!


Also if you have great friends while traveling they will drop you off at the front door of places (to reduce walking on crutches) Thank you guys for doing this, it was a huge help!

One thing that did happen was my hands got blisters from the crutches ,because I did a significant amount more walking w/ them while I was in Cali unlike I was doing here ,so I wish I got some kind of covers for my crutches to help (I know they do make them)..lesson learned..ouch!


Another thing is that I didn't want to look back at my trip and remember the whole hip thing so I tried to knock my crutches out of the way for most of my pics....I know it may seem silly ,but that was not the part of the trip I wanted to remember :)
Sitting you don't need to have crutches, and you can take a pic w/ out them in the way:)
Standing..all about balance..and weight shifting to your good leg..but you need someone to hand you your crutches afterwards or then you will have a problem ;)

or just cut them out of the pic all together by getting a shot of the neck up :)

All and All it would have been easier and probably a little more enjoyable if I wasn't dealing w/ my hip pain and the crutches, but on the same note I am happy I went and it was good for my mental well being! Sitting around in pain in your house for 2 months is not good for anyone! It also showed me that I am at the point where I am definitely capable of doing more and w/out so much pain meds..I only used my vicodin at night and stuck to aspirin during the day.

Hopefully I can start to transition off my crutches this week and start using my cane ,and then get rid of all the "accessories" soon! I am officially starting back to work tomorrow..yay.. I think I am finally starting to see that light at the end of that tunnel people keep talking about ;)

Thanks to my mom, my lil bro , K, N, and M for being so helpful to me during this trip and for watching out for me and my hipster ..Thank You- Thank you- Thank You..it was a fun and fabulous time!

Later Dudes ;)