Me and My Calfsters... It Doesn't Sound Right ..and It Sure Don't Feel Right!

AHHHHHHHHHHH!  Here's a riddle...When Recovering from hip surgery what do you expect NOT to happen.......  Give up??? How about not being able to walk on your "good" leg as well as your "bad" leg! Unfortunately this isn't a riddle..it is reality...temporary reality, but reality just the same!

I have been doing PT for four months now..Hospital PT, Visiting PT, and now outpatient PT. This past week I have been pushed up to 3 days a week of PT. Day 1 Aquatic Therapy (mon)  Day 2. Land Therapy (Wed) A mixture of exercise for all parts of my leg and hip.  As my PT guy said to me.."You don't have just a hip problem you got a whole leg problem"  (meaning that muscles, nerves, tendons have all been affected by my 3 surgeries, immobility, crutches, bed rest, compensation, yada yada yada ) ,so he wants to take things slow and be careful..hence why he doesn't want me parting ways w/ my crutches quite yet.).  Day 3 Land therapy (Friday) My PT guy was out today and I got another PT guy..don't get me wrong this guy was a nice guy and he seems to be good at his job I just think things went awry, because he didn't know my case or me. His  concern was that my calf muscle on my right side seem to be greatly atrophied, so we spent the hour doing stretches and strengthening my calf muscles..The stretches hurt (a lot), but the other exercise for my calves just seem to hurt like regular PT pain..working muscles that are recovering kind of pain. 

I left PT, went w/ D to Market Basket in my wheelchair (no way could I do my first real market trip on crutches...I almost got knocked over a few times in that place and I was in a wheelchair!!??) Then I went out to hear D perform some songs at a local Bar for a Beatles Tribute night (he did a great job by the by...awesome rendition of Blackbird by the Beatles) and watch a great Beatles Tribute Band..it was a fun night..I spent it sitting down..had some pain in my hip but D's brother got me some disposable Ice packs (Thanks Mark) and I made it through the night and had a fun time to top off a very busy but successful day (pic on top is from that night).

6AM Sat morning..woke up in excruciating pain...tried to get up to go the bathroom and realized I couldn't stand on either one of my legs. D is not only a "Rock Star" but a nurse as well..there was some inflammation..he felt it was due to overuse from my PT session the day before. I was in severe pain all day..icing my calves till they were numb..eventually I couldn't take the pain by 6pm and put a call into DR. M. He actually called me back in 10 minutes..My surgeon returning calls on a sat night..Shocked..I know I was! Dr M as always was helpful..he agreed that my calf muscles were definitely/ strained and most likely inflamed..so his recommendation was ice packs, propping my legs up on pillows, taking more of my pain med and adding prescription motrin for inflammation. The next 48 hours was pretty rough between the pain and aching in my lower legs..not being able to walk..and feeling sick from my meds..I pretty much wanted to be someone else. It is now Monday night and I can put some weight on my good side now and move around a little bit..eased off some of the meds, but still resting.

When you have been through what I have been through (fellow hipsters ya know what I mean) when something goes "wrong" it can be a little scary..you don't want anything else wrong w/ you, you don't want your recovery to back track, etc. I tried to fight through that fear as much as I could which isn't always easy especially when you are on pain meds. It also makes you nervous in trusting PT. I am all for PT, and it has helped me a lot, but I also know my own body and I should have probably spoken up when the stretching was hurting and when we seemed to be doing all calf exercises since that is not what I have been doing. I trust my PT people, because they are experts, but I got to remember to that I am also an expert....of my body! Fingers crossed legs will be back on track by my next PT session on wed!

No Pain..No Gain...not quite yet!

PT!!!!

Pretty much PT is my life currently..I have graduated from visiting PT to out patient PT in the past few weeks.

My First session

PT Guy :"Wow you have so much scar tissue going on I can feel it through your shorts"
ME: "Hmmm ok..yes I can feel it too
PT Guy: "The first few weeks we are going to have to do massage therapy for this, because you need to break up the scar tissue...seriously you should be even massaging yourself every day...you should probably even book an apt for a massage"
ME: OK..If you say so..massage it is!


Later that week: First Official PT day

PT Guy: get on bike for 10 minutes

and hour passes w/ intense PT exercises

PT guy: ok we are now going to massage that scar tissue
5 minutes later..
Ok see you next week

Now I know PT is what this all about, but seriously all I got was a 5 min massage and I am on week 3..talk about not following through w/ the program ;)

I have been doing the stationary bike as well (up to 38 min a day now) and this week out patient PT is now to 3 times a week. It has been a pretty intense work out..I seriously have passed out every day after my session for a good 2 hour nap..and I don't usually do this...and ice packs are back in full force!

Drum roll please:

Today was the big day though..June 21st 2010...Aquatic Therapy!  This was a first for me ..and I was soooooooooooo excited! I love to swim so this seemed right up my alley.  First off...Water is magic!!! Second Off my bathing suit still fit me from last summer..yay! (That is always a fear after you have been sitting around for 3.5 months ;) )

Location: I was in a large 4ft deep swimming pool..I am 5ft 7inches.. 

I handed my crutches over to my PT guy and grabbed onto the bars on the ramp to lower myself gradually into the pool...by the time I was at the end of the ramp..I was WALKING on my own w/out crutches...I felt like Superwoman and water is the source of my magical powers! I walked the length of the pool 4 times..two of those times he had me walking backwards.  We also did calf and glute stretches in the water which was easier and I practiced standing on my "bad" leg while doing kicks to the side and then vice versa. Then it was all over and as I slowly walked up the ramp I felt my magical powers being drained from me...especially when my crutches were handed back to me.  My PT guy said you are not the first person to look like that getting out of the pool ..I am sure I wasn't;)  He said I am a interesting patient due to my 3 surgeries and the extensive nature of this particular surgery, as well as my extreme psoas tendinitis issue, so he is currently not following the "No Pain No Gain" mentality..he is saving that for later on...excellent ;) He did say before I walked off to the changing room....we got to do some more massage therapy this week... ;)

So at this point in my recovery:
**I am approaching my 4 month anniversary..YAY (Dr M. said the first 4 months are the worst and it will take about 6 months to get back on my feet)
**I am using a cane full time at home in my apt and crutches for outdoor adventures ( this is what my PT and Dr orders are currently) until my muscles are stronger.
**Still going to the pain clinic every few weeks to regulate my pain meds (hopefully I will be done w/ that soon...pain meds sure take a toll on your body but everyone is insisting that I need them to get through my PT currently..ugh)
**Doing Stationary bike at home every day..working my way up time wise..38 minutes currently!

Also I have started a new blog..one that focuses on more than just my hipster..I am still definitely will be updating this blog I just added another one..for fun ;) You can check it out or become a follower of it:

http://sj-sarahinthecity.blogspot.com/

"Hip"fully Enlightened

Tonight as I was writing to one of my lovely "hip sisters" I wrote down the words

"I think in the past week I have truly come to peace w/ my hip...I think in the end it has given me more than it has taken....."

I would like to back track for a second ...Last week I got one of those lovely before summer colds that takes you out of commission for a good 5 plus days and in my case this sentence is almost ironic...but nonetheless I have been up to this point a busy "resting hipster" (PT ALL THE TIME..is my new motto). Pretty much I had a break from my break in life (see I told you I am ironic) but since I couldn't do any PT, and I couldn't talk (because my voice was very hoarse) I had time to read (Dead in the Family :Sookie Stackhouse Series book 10, The Host, The Help, and Eating Animals...discuss amongst yourself my wide variety of book choices..I am a diverse individual ;) )













as well as I also had a lot of time to think and reflect, not like I didn't have lots of time to do this before, but being three months out and 3 surgeries in you always start looking at things w/ a new perspective.  I mean everyone reflects especially when you have "major" events happen in your life...why is this happening.....why did this happen to me...what did I do to deserve this...as George Costanza so eloquently said,.."yada yada yada".  .I know you catch my drift, but nonetheless I feel a strong desire to write this particular post...and as they say it's my blog so I can do what I want...actually does anyone say that ;)

Maybe it's the pain meds, maybe it's been the 3 months of being mostly in the house, maybe it is the cold, or maybe just maybe I have been a little enlightened...... stranger things have happened ;)

So here it goes..No way around it..what happened to me and my hip (yes we are now 2 entities) sucks...bottom line...Pain Sucks, Surgery Sucks, Recovery Sucks, Missing out on things Suck, Being Stuck in the Hospital Sucks, Missing Work Sucks (I know some of you may disagree w/ that but...) Being Dependent Sucks...OK I think you all getting the Sucking Point, but I think as we all know sometimes life can just Suck. We will all have our moments of unhappiness, pain or what not, but what you get out of the suckiness is another matter all together, so w/out any more chit chat this is what doesn't suck....

-I have learned to be a stronger person...mentally and physically
-I have found out how much I like to write
-I know I can deal w/ pain and I know how to get through it
-I am a braver person
-I know I have people I can count on no matter what and I will go as far as saying that some relationships have even gotten stronger through this period of my life, because of the working together part.  Hard times can bring people closer, as well as show you who are truly your real friends. (Thank You to my Friends and Family for all your love and support...no words can ever express how much you all mean to me and what you have done for me.)
-It has open me up to reevaluate my life in many ways and appreciate what I do have in ways I may have not before
-I have met my fellow Hip Sisters who have experienced the same journey and together we have been able to educate others and lend support to other Hipsters (Thank You Girls for all your help xox)
-I have learned how to be Pro-active/ to understand that I have to make things happen for me..get the right help, get the right information, not take no for an answer, to be my own/best advocate
-Understanding my body and how fragile it is, but also how strong it is, and what it has the ability to do
-How to do things even though they may not be my "normal" way of doing it..I can still get the job done..(Example one: My wheelchair way of sweeping and washing floors) So being independent during a time when I am more dependent
-Asking people for help and feeling OK w/ it as well
-Learning how to fight and strive and work hard to create my own happiness even during dark times...this is never given...ever.
-Learning how to be more patient (as a patient..and as a non-patient too ;))

So even though there has been some very dark times I am now understanding that the lesson learned may be more valuable to the rest of my life than having a "perfect" hip...because as we all know; nothing is perfect ;)

ps. I just noticed that this is my 50th post on this blog..LOL..I wrote 50 posts about one body part....LOL.... wonder what I could do w/ a more diverse subject matter ;) Happy 50!

Hipster In Boston!

Well I am now getting out and about a little more and this past weekend I made the official first " Lets get dressed up and go out on an adventure to the big city"...;)  A birthday celebration for my BFF Nicole (Happy Birthday again N!)

A group of us went out to a nice dinner at Pomodoro in the North End of Boston (highly recommend the restaurant by the by). Now if you are not familiar w/ the North End ..most of the restaurants are very tiny inside..which makes for a nice, quaint , and romantic time, but proves to be a little tricky if you are on crutches..especially big shiny red ones like the ones I roll w/..;) The restaurant was quite accommodating though..they actually put my crutches by the front door so I didn't have to worry about leaning them on anything or anyone (by accident) ;) and they retrieved them for me for "bathroom breaks" or to stretch.
Sitting for long periods of time is still hard on the hipster, and it's not as easy to stretch when you are out to dinner, but I would recommended it if you are sitting for awhile or you will probably regret it once you do finally stand up. Also being on pain meds out and about is a little different than in the comfort of your own home. At this point the pain meds are helping me w/ my ability to function better day to day w/ my increase PT and moving around, but they do make you feel a little off.  That "offness" you feel though seems to magnify though when you amongst lots of people and lots of commotion...can't quite put it in to words ...but I did feel a little woozy while I was out and about...

It was really nice to get out and feel a part of this world again,and be part of the people you care about celebrations (missing out on things is really one of the worst parts of recovery)

Parking was very hard..even w/ my handicap Placard there was no where to park...honestly handicap parking is very very very limited...which is quite ridiculous...and the one handicap parking space was being used by a very non-handicap man...PEOPLE handicap parking is for people who are handicap getting out of the car..if you drop off a handicap person and then use the parking that is not what it is for and not allowed..ok I feel better that I said that! But luckily my friend was driving and dropped us all off out front of the restaurant and he went and parked the car (Thank You Bowen)

Overall it was a FABULOUS night and I look forward to getting out more!
Ps. It did take the whole next day to recover physically so it's good to space out adventures in the beginning (but I also moved as well during the week..but I will save that for another blog post ;) )
pps. Don't worry..I DIDN'T WEAR HEELS..I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSONS..heehee

Did you just call my tissue.......FAT??????????!!!!!!!!

Well I am officially 3 month post surgery as of tomorrow and 2 days ago I had my 3 month check up w/ Dr. M and here is what he had to say...

My swelling seems to stem from a collection of fatty tissue, scar tissue, and muscles not molding back into place yet because as he said to me .."Sarah, I did do A LOT of work in there ..it's going to take some time..." So it is causing swelling in a few places in my hip and that in turn is putting pressure on my sciatic nerve..which is causing pain radiating down my leg and into my foot. Also I do have bad arthritis in a section of my hip..in the "already to much damaged part" which may also be causing me pain..plus one of my major muscles hasn't fired up yet..so the big thing at this point is PT!! Need to get my hip and leg stronger...ASAP! So Dr. M graduated me from visiting PT to outpatient PT (yay another milestone..I like those). I am going to do a mixture of aqua therapy/and land therapy which should be interesting since this will be a new "hip" experience for me. It looks like I will be able to start back to work part-time in July (YAY), and no driving until I am off all pain meds and walking w/out any crutches or a cane...need a strong right leg to be able to hit the brake when needed. So I have been approved by "The Ride" to transport me and my hispter around when needed..which I am sure will make for some "interesting "rides ....especially when I don't have any pictures of my "grandchildren" to share w/ my fellow passengers..lol ;)  Currently I am using a mixture of one crutch or a cane inside my apt and two crutches for outside adventures..which I have been having more of..YAY!

Thank You soooooooo much Jaxson for making a hospital experience as fun as it can be (I am jealous ..I think Dr. M is starting to like you more than me..lol) and thank you for a really fun post hospital day..what a great way to celebrate my 3 month anniversary..You're the Best!! xoxoxoxox

Also some other sidenotes:
Thank You Ellen for a great lunch outside in the BEAUTIFUL sun..so nice, fun, and invigorating for me and my hipster....I had an awesome time xoxo
Thank You again Dad for my stationary bike ..I am up to 22 minutes on it and I am going for 25 minutes before the end of the week..GOALS! xoxo
I had a FABULOUS time celebrating your birthday Mom..it was a nice and fun dinner, and I also enjoyed being w/ Karen, Maria, and Marla ..Wonderful ladies/Wonderful evening  xoxox
What all this means is that I am also starting to be able to do more, sit a little longer, and walk farther on my crutches..which is all major improvements in the past few weeks :)

To my fellow hipsters I guess my one negative thought currently is Pain..I am so tired of it....I just want to feel some relief ..I mean I am obviously better than I was 3 months ago, but I am still in enough pain for the pain to get through my pain meds and be w/ me almost every minute of every day which is disheartening, so that is what I am waiting for to improve most of all....pain is extremely draining....pain meds are extremely draining as well....but hopefully I will start to see some major  improvement w/ that soon. I have been going to a Pain Clinic to help w/ this part as well.

Well that's all Folks.....for now ;)

Clot or No clot...That Is the Question....

Well on the positive side I made it two weeks w/out going to the hospital...
So on Friday my PT dude was nervous about my swelling that seemed to have gotten worse on my hipster and I also had pain in my calf so he thought I should give Dr. M a ring- ring to see what was up (and to also ask him how his time in Hawaii was..Not ;))
So I followed my Pt guy's "orders" and rang Dr M...his advice was as follows:

This surgery has a high risks for blood clots...this is not something you take a risk w/..if your swelling has increased and you are having calf pain GO TO YOUR LOCAL EMERGENCY ROOM...like now (well he didn't actually say" like now" but you get the idea)

So I did....after waiting 8 hours for my ultra sound I was Clot Free...next week when I see Dr M. hopefully he will get to the bottom of why I have so much swelling in my hip...well he better get to the bottom of it..because it is truly a pain..literally!

No pics this time of my Hospital trip..I think I have enough to last me a lifetime..It looked liked any other hospital visit so you can use your imagination for this post ;)

Thank You Carrie for taking me and keeping me company xoxoxo
and Thank You D for taking the 2nd shift xoxoxo

On another note. I have made it to 10 minutes on my stationary bike this week..Yay! I have graduated from visiting OT and have stronger arms because of it..Yay..If this surgery doesn't work I can take up female arm wrestling for a living..Thanks Neil;)
I got my cane in the mail..so hopefully my new cane will bring me no more crutches karma soon...The cane is staring down the crutches in my room as I type this ;) Also I had a outdoor adventure this weekend as well....Thank You for a fab lunch on the ocean Dennis, Nicole, Scott and Abby..much needed for my mental health!
So it looks like all my bases are being covered.
Peace Out for now Hipsters :)

!!!?&?%$#@!!&*!!!!! and more

Seriously back at the hospital again..%$#@!!!
Trying to keep my blog "clean", so I will refrain from what was really going on in my mind when my Dr's office said I needed to go to Children's Hospital emergency room to get checked out.  So to back track a moment I have been making some progress w/ weight bearing and physical therapy, but then there started increase swelling next to my incision ...like a tennis ball lump...that was warm to the touch..so off to Children's I went.  After an ultra sound, 3 Dr's, iv fluid, blood tests, meds and 8 hours in a room in the ER  I was released w/ a mummy leg..see picture ...  No infection..yay, but swelling isn't probably going to disappear for awhile so they thought some good old fashion compression would help..but to compress this swelling it would take 7 ace bandages ,because it needs to be compressed from my toes to my belly and this is the only way along w/  resting it. After 4 days of compression and ace bandages falling off constantly...my PT guy, and I decided to give it a break for a few and just rest it and I will be seeing my surgeon in a few weeks (he was in Hawaii during all this at a "medical conference"..aloha Dr M) so I think I will see what he has to say....since my white cell and red cell count wasn't bad I am deciding not to stress over the swelling until Dr M says there is something to stress about...not that I am giving Dr M permission to stress me out ;)

So w/ all this swelling and "visiting" hospitals..I am still dealing w/ the fact my hip is causing me a great deal of pain, and my pain meds are not cutting it and the swelling is just making the pain worse so Dr M at my 6 week apt told me he wanted to go to a pain clinic because w/ the increase PT there would be increase pain..maybe he had ESP about the swelling that would be ahead..hmmmm...well that aside I did have my first apt (as well as my 2nd and third..loooong story) at the pain clinic this week. Had some difficulty getting paperwork all settled..I mean THEY had difficulty getting the paperwork settled, then they prescribed me and had me take meds that were WAY TO STRONG but now I am on a 12mg Fentanyl patch..it is strong, but no where near as strong as the 25mg..I am definitely in a lot less pain at the moment (actually I can't feel my hip at all), but I am having some icky side effects currently,but they told me that would take about 5 days or so to subside..I will have to get back to you all on that.  So on that note that is what is going on right now and if this blog doesn't make sense blame it on the patch, because that is what I will do ;)

Thank You to my "hospital entourage" Dad, Ellen, Dennis, Jessica, Carrie, and Pete for keeping me company during a really stressful night ..greatly appreciate it!xo
Thank you Nicole for the beautiful flowers and for cheering me up..you are an amazing friend!!xo
Thank You Nancy for coming over and making me forget the hipster w/a fun movie xox
Thank You Mom, Dennis, Nicole, and Dan for a fun first afternoon out...much needed for my mental well being which is also important! (also a shout out to "Lee Harvey" for great entertainment on my first afternoon out)
Thank you to Dennis, Mark, Liz, and Carrie for helping me out through my rough day/ night on the 25mg patch...so glad you guys were there ...xoxo

Thank you to my "little" bro Sammy for visiting me and cheering me up ..it was sooooo awesome seeing you (and I do remember..LOL)

ps. Thanks to my hip twin MP who gave me a tip on these great sneakers (see pic on side) that feel absolutely amazing on my hip and foot!!! Love Them!

 

 

 

 

 

Fentanyl Patch is used for Managing moderate to severe chronic pain in patients who need continuous, around-the-clock narcotic (opioid) pain relief and whose pain cannot be managed by less powerful pain medicines.Fentanyl Patch is a narcotic (opioid) analgesic. It works by dulling the pain center in the brain.Read more: http://www.drugs.com/cdi/fentanyl-patch.html#ixzz0nOGaCjzz