Soreness is here and "real" life is returning

On Wednesday I got the go ahead to move up to 50% weight bearing and ever since my right leg has not been happy.  I was quite the sight on Thursday morning when I was really hobbling around the house and the physical therapy clinic muttering "ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch". Thankfully the soreness, and stiffness in my ankle and foot, is getting much better as my leg adjusts to being used again. It's really weird but I almost feel as if my right leg is longer than my left, however when I look in the mirror I look even, and I have noticed that the feeling is going away the more I use my leg. I guess I'll find out at the end of March if my leg is uneven. (I hope not!).

My x-ray pictures were pretty impressive and my surgeon was thrilled with my progress. The reason my surgeon likes the Biomet Distal Femur Compress is because it saves bone by putting counter pressure on the end of the femur which, ultimately, encourages bone growth and keeps it strong. According to my x- rays my bone is already starting to grow wider and thicker along the end of the implant. The humerus bone that they placed along the length of my femur and implant to stabilize everything is starting to mold into my femur. See, all of that hobbling and gym time have really helped with my healing, even when certain people (ahem long suffering husband) thought I was crazy.

Speaking of gym time... I have managed to PR on my bench press and am progressing very nicely with my upper body lifts. I have missed going to the gym and am really happy that even though I haven't been going to the gym consistently the past year or so I haven't lost much strength.

Another exciting thing happened this week. I finally got to see Wicked!!  Sorry for the picture quality, it was taken by cell phone. Our seats were all the way at the top and the staff was worried about my being able to go up the steps but I made it. The seating was a bit tight and I had to maneuver myself around to get comfortable with my leg but it was well worth it. It was an awesome show.

Last but not least my parents are (finally) leaving tomorrow. They've been a huge help with everything but now that I'm able to drive again they are going back to Oregon. It's going to be weird, we've had visitors since the beginning of January and it's going to seem so quiet and weird. I have a feeling that between the kids after school activities, guitar lessons and practice, and soccer we'll be too busy to notice things being too weird and quiet at home.

Hard to believe its been 6 weeks

Tomorrow is the big day. If my x-rays look good I will go to 50% weight bearing and then, hopefully, in 4 weeks I will get rid of the crutches for good. It's kind of hard for me to wrap my head around. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm excited but honestly it's really hard for me to get excited about anything regarding my leg. It seems like the past 18 months have been a constant stream of excitement and then major letdown so my mind is preparing itself for the possibility that something could be wrong tomorrow. I know, I know. I should think positive but it's hard (imagine me saying this in a whiny voice).

On a more positive note I think that my surgeon will be pleased with my progress. As of last Wednesday my range of motion was 112, I've had no issues with riding either the recumbent or conventional bike, and I can keep my leg straight when lifting it straight up in the air. I'm also back to regular weightlifting at the gym and I have lost a few pounds.

Perfect Song

I love this song so much. It's a must share.

Update on my goals

A few weeks ago I wrote about my goals for this year. While I haven't been able to get a huge head start on my goals for the year I'd like to think I'm moving in the right direction.

I've been lifting heavy upper body weights at the gym. I still feel a long way off from being able to do a dead hang pull-up a lot of my upper body strength was preserved by using crutches the past 19 months.

Since joining the Facebook weight loss group I have lost some weight, my clothes fit differently and there are definite changes when I look in the mirror. Since I'm on one crutch it's a bit hard to figure out how much I weigh, since the scale won't settle on one particular weight I have to guestimate. However, I'm not going to obsess about the scale, or a certain number, I'm using it as a tool to satisfy my curiosity. My goals of strength and crossing the finish line at various events are much more important than a number or a certain size.

Speaking of crossing the finish line.... I had a conversation with one of the physical therapists last week about my goal of doing the Austin Livestrong 5k walk. He told me that in his opinion I would have issue no with training or walking a 5k, as long as I get off crutches soon so I have time to train. Just in case, I hobbled 1/3 a mile this past weekend with two crutches and 1 leg. It took me about an hour, but I did it. I hope I don't need to hobble 5k, but just in case it's better to be prepared.

It's been a crazy week

This past week has been a bit crazy so I haven't had much chance to really collect my thoughts and write.

Last Friday everything here shut down because we actually got some SNOW! I didn't believe it until I saw it, needless to say it shut the schools and my physical therapy clinic closed for the day. I did my therapy at home and enlisted the help of my oldest son with some of the exercises. He wasn't too excited but he helped me out with the bribe of playing a video game.

Saturday was spent running errands and I noticed that the bottom of my scar seemed bumpy and was itching, right at the suture line. That evening I saw something on my scar and tried to wipe it off, then realized it was pus. I squeezed a bit, just to make sure, and a bunch of nastiness came out. To put it mildly I freaked. My husband drove me to the ER while I was trying not to panic and think about an infection in my leg ruining my implant and new knee. I was diagnosed with an infection in my sutures, which is apparently pretty common, especially in someone having as many sutures as me. It's nothing really serious, but it was a good thing I went in because even mild infections can get serious very quickly. After being examined by the ER doctor and the Orthopedic Fellow on call I got 10 days worth of antibiotics and was sent home.

My physical therapist, surgeon and I think some of the blame of the infection is the pads on the knee brace. The pads get sweaty when I work out and then they rub against my incision. I was using silver impregnated band-aids to cover my incision but I started having a reaction to the tape and had to discontinue using them. When I had my ER follow up appointment with my surgeon, he pretty much said it was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't situation". Hopefully, between the antibiotics and the incision and sutures completely healing I won't have any more issues.

The good news for the week is that my range of motion is now at 107 and my pain is getting much better. I went one day this week without taking my morphine and I only need percocet for break through pain when I go to physical therapy. I tried one physical therapy session without percocet and while it wasn't too bad I decided that I'd rather take the percocet and be completely pain free.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

I hit an important milestone the other day. I took my 15mg of morphine and it controlled my pain all day, so well that I didn't need any percocet for breakthrough pain. Woohoo. Of course I didn't go to the zoo or gym that day, I pretty much sat around the house except for a short excursion to Peter Piper Pizza with the family. But still, yeah for milestones!

Yesterday was a physical therapy day and oh boy I am feeling it today! So much that my aching leg woke me up and I woke my long suffering husband up to get me a percocet. Of course, being the nice guy that he is he jumped out of bed with a smile on his face and a song on his lips... oh wait, that was the dream I had. In reality he kind of grumbled and then made a mad dash to the kitchen so he could get back to the bed I was keeping warm. See, wasn't that thoughtful of me? I'm kind of hoping tomorrow's physical therapy session doesn't result in a leg so sore that it wakes me up. I'm trying to figure out what I did that would make me that sore, the only thing I can think of is the recumbent bike since I was a bit achy after Monday's gym session. Maybe I'll have to limit my time to 5 minutes during therapy sessions since I'm doing more exercises afterward. I'll have to talk to my therapist about that tomorrow.

My physical therapy session went really, really well. My therapist and the assistant therapist told me that I should be the poster child for knee replacements and that I am far advanced in my recovery than the other patients they see. Especially after three weeks (today) post surgery. Someone made the comment that I should work out with the other knee patients to get them to stop whining. Ha! See being stubborn and determined work in my favor sometimes. I rode the recumbent bike for about 10 minutes, normal seat position which means my range of motion is somewhere in the 100's. Then I hopped on one of the exercise mats and did some heel slides, with 5 second holds; ankle pumps, all 4 ways; clam shells (ugh); Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) for 10 seconds on 50 seconds off; and ice, while putting my ankle up and concentrating on stretching my leg, to work on my flexion.

We didn't have a chance to go to the gym so my husband and I worked out at home in the evening. I had to get a little more creative since I'm on one leg and can't do a dead hang pull up or get on the ground to do a push up. Well I could get on the ground, getting up would be a bit more interesting. Thankfully I found my exercise bands so I could do some band rows, lat pull downs and shoulder presses. I did incline push ups using my bathroom counter as support and then my husband hoisted me up onto the pull up bars so I could hold myself up and control myself coming down. As soon as I am able to walk I am getting some of these pull up bands so my husband doesn't have to hoist me anymore.

On my last bit of news, I have joined a weight loss group on Facebook. I've gained a lot of weight since my original diagnosis and it needs to GO. It's been really good to have people in the same boat as me, passionate about health and fitness but needing a little bit of accountability and support. In my case it's been easy to say "it doesn't matter I can't do x,y,z anyway" as an excuse to eat what I want. I know it's not all just my food choices, being inactive for 18 months hasn't helped either, but I need to get out of this rut. I wouldn't have worked out at home if the founder of the group hadn't encouraged me to think outside the box (I was whining about not going to the gym) and just do something. Thanks Jennifer for the advice and support!!