Wednesday, March 30, 2011
I can walk! I can walk! I can walk!
Yipppppeeeeeee!!!!! To say that I am excited and happy is the understatement of the year. Lots of good news all the way around today. The x-rays showed that the bone graft in my leg has completely fused and that I'm already forming new, strong, bone around the bottom of the implant. My surgeon asked me if I was ready to ditch the crutches, umm, yeah! So ready! I do have to wear the brace for another 2 weeks, but that is bearable and after 20 months on crutches 2 weeks is nothing.
After the appointment I walked out of the exam room, with.no.crutches. It was weird, but felt good and didn't hurt. This is so different from last time, when it took me a month to transition because of leg and knee pain. My muscles is a bit sore but overall, I feel really good and have been walking all over the house. I'm excited to clean up the house! I have two FREE hands. For as long as I live I will never, ever, ever take walking and having 2 free hands for granted again.
I have been cleared to do pretty much everything.. whatever that means LOL. I know I can't run and jump and will ask my physical therapist tomorrow for clarification on what I can do. I didn't want to ask my surgeon.. i'm sure he already worries about me. He told me to be careful at least four times. I wanted to say "Really, do you think I want to have get back on crutches or have surgery again? Of course i'm going to be careful!".
Hopefully my limp/gait isn't too bad and my physical therapist can give me a list of exercises I can start doing at home as well as in the clinic. I have a 5K Livestrong walk in Austin I need to start training for!
After the appointment I walked out of the exam room, with.no.crutches. It was weird, but felt good and didn't hurt. This is so different from last time, when it took me a month to transition because of leg and knee pain. My muscles is a bit sore but overall, I feel really good and have been walking all over the house. I'm excited to clean up the house! I have two FREE hands. For as long as I live I will never, ever, ever take walking and having 2 free hands for granted again.
I have been cleared to do pretty much everything.. whatever that means LOL. I know I can't run and jump and will ask my physical therapist tomorrow for clarification on what I can do. I didn't want to ask my surgeon.. i'm sure he already worries about me. He told me to be careful at least four times. I wanted to say "Really, do you think I want to have get back on crutches or have surgery again? Of course i'm going to be careful!".
Hopefully my limp/gait isn't too bad and my physical therapist can give me a list of exercises I can start doing at home as well as in the clinic. I have a 5K Livestrong walk in Austin I need to start training for!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tomorrow is the big day and a major "oh crap" moment today
After 20 months of being on crutches (well 2 months I was allowed off but it took me a while to transition to no crutches and by the time I transitioned we figured out that it wasn't working) I have my big appointment tomorrow. I am crossing my fingers and toes that everything looks good and I will be allowed to lose the crutches and the knee brace. At this point I don't know which I hate more....
My major "oh crap" moment happened while at the gym lifting weights. I finished my bench press, my inverted rows and then moved onto cable rows. Apparently that was a bit much for my shoulders, because.. well you know, they get a LOT of work using crutches. I was in the middle of a row when I felt a "pop" in my left shoulder and felt an ache. At that point I said a not-very-nice word in a loud voice, stopped my upper body workout and finished my gym visit by riding the Spinning bike. When I got home I still had some shoulder pain, and a few more choice words, took some ibuprofen and tried to take it easy with my shoulder (HA!). Hopefully this is nothing bad and I don't think it is, even though it is annoying. Once my surgeon allows me to stop using crutches tomorrow, see i'm thinking positive, I should be able to rest my shoulder for a few days. I'm not even thinking of the off chance that he'll tell me to use one crutch because that won't allow my left shoulder to rest and I don't even want to go there in my mind. In fact.. I may be able to use this to my advantage by whining about my poor shoulders and my shoulder pain.
We'll see what he says tomorrow!
My major "oh crap" moment happened while at the gym lifting weights. I finished my bench press, my inverted rows and then moved onto cable rows. Apparently that was a bit much for my shoulders, because.. well you know, they get a LOT of work using crutches. I was in the middle of a row when I felt a "pop" in my left shoulder and felt an ache. At that point I said a not-very-nice word in a loud voice, stopped my upper body workout and finished my gym visit by riding the Spinning bike. When I got home I still had some shoulder pain, and a few more choice words, took some ibuprofen and tried to take it easy with my shoulder (HA!). Hopefully this is nothing bad and I don't think it is, even though it is annoying. Once my surgeon allows me to stop using crutches tomorrow, see i'm thinking positive, I should be able to rest my shoulder for a few days. I'm not even thinking of the off chance that he'll tell me to use one crutch because that won't allow my left shoulder to rest and I don't even want to go there in my mind. In fact.. I may be able to use this to my advantage by whining about my poor shoulders and my shoulder pain.
We'll see what he says tomorrow!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Slowly getting rid of some of this pudge!
Since my surgery I have lost about 10-15 lbs! Not too shabby, considering most of my time has been spent on the couch with my leg propped up. I do try to be as active as I can, however I do tire easily and past experience has taught me to be very cautious when things start aching. The reason i'm not sure about how much weight I've lost is because I couldn't get an accurate reading on the scale when I was non-weight bearing. It's a bit hard to balance on the scale with one leg and the numbers bounced around a bit so I just guestimated.
It all started when I was in the hospital post surgery. The food was just gross and I didn't have much of an appetite so I didn't eat much. Not exactly the best way to lose weight and my husband started double checking and adding things to my hospital menu. I am not a picky eater... I will eat almost anything when i'm hungry. When I refuse to eat that is saying something about the food. After I got home from the hospital I still didn't have much of an appetite, thank you pain medication, and didn't want bread or pasta anymore. I had some serious vegetable and fruit cravings, which I think was my bodies way to counteract the pain medication (morphine is known to slow down the bowels). Then I found out about a Facebook Group that Jennifer Boudreau Clements started, called Lose to Live. Here is a link to her blog http://andsomefruit.blogspot.com/. Jennifer lost 200 lbs and is now a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor who motivates everyone around her. I can't thank her enough for adding me to the group!
Several people in the group raved about the recipes in a certain cookbook so, of course, I had to go out and buy it.
So far, all of the recipes that I have made have been a hit. And the recipes are versatile. I made the Swiss Chard Frittata recipe, using Swiss Chard from our garden and a leftover red bell pepper. My husband made a frittata this morning using left over spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
The awesome thing is that I don't ever feel really full or really hungry. And I don't get major cravings anymore. My strength levels are good too, in fact I'm strong enough to finally be able to buy this shirt. I could probably cut more calories and lose weight a bit faster. However I want to make sure that I continue to heal, grow bone and gain some muscle.
It all started when I was in the hospital post surgery. The food was just gross and I didn't have much of an appetite so I didn't eat much. Not exactly the best way to lose weight and my husband started double checking and adding things to my hospital menu. I am not a picky eater... I will eat almost anything when i'm hungry. When I refuse to eat that is saying something about the food. After I got home from the hospital I still didn't have much of an appetite, thank you pain medication, and didn't want bread or pasta anymore. I had some serious vegetable and fruit cravings, which I think was my bodies way to counteract the pain medication (morphine is known to slow down the bowels). Then I found out about a Facebook Group that Jennifer Boudreau Clements started, called Lose to Live. Here is a link to her blog http://andsomefruit.blogspot.com/. Jennifer lost 200 lbs and is now a Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor who motivates everyone around her. I can't thank her enough for adding me to the group!
Several people in the group raved about the recipes in a certain cookbook so, of course, I had to go out and buy it.
So far, all of the recipes that I have made have been a hit. And the recipes are versatile. I made the Swiss Chard Frittata recipe, using Swiss Chard from our garden and a leftover red bell pepper. My husband made a frittata this morning using left over spinach and sun dried tomatoes.
 |
| Cast Iron Skillet |
 |
| Ingredients |
 |
| Saute |
 |
| Add Egg |
 |
| Finish in Oven |
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| Breakfast is served! |
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Knee range of motion is stalling and my scar is starting to fade
I was trying to figure out an exciting title but.. well... I gave up.
My husband reminded me that it's been a few days since I've written something. I was going to write something on Friday, but with the tragedy in Japan I felt a bit selfish wining about my issues.
The title is pretty self explanitory. My range of motion has stalled at about 110-115 and I am extremely frustrated. I know some of it scar tissue because when I aggressively massage my scar and knee I will feel little 'pops' which is scar tissue breaking up. I've also had a few 'pops' while doing my patellar massage so I'm sure that there is some scar tissue there holding me back. I know that my physical therapist can do some manual manipulation to help things along, I just don't want to need that. I've never had issues getting my range of motion back so that makes it even more frustrating.
Now to the good news. My scar is starting to fade, yippee. (Which means I won't have 4th graders walking by me looking at my leg giving a horrified gasp and yelling "woa"). I started using Mederma cream upon the recommendation of the Tech at my surgeons office.
I've only been using it for 1 week but I think my scar is starting to lighten up. I'm planning on taking progress pictures to compare. The directions say that it should improve the appearance of a new scar in 8 weeks, a few months in an old scar. Since I have a combination of scars I will probably have to use it for 3-4 months.
Here are some before pictures of my scar. Hope this stuff does what it says it does! I would like to get rid of some of this redness.
My husband reminded me that it's been a few days since I've written something. I was going to write something on Friday, but with the tragedy in Japan I felt a bit selfish wining about my issues.
The title is pretty self explanitory. My range of motion has stalled at about 110-115 and I am extremely frustrated. I know some of it scar tissue because when I aggressively massage my scar and knee I will feel little 'pops' which is scar tissue breaking up. I've also had a few 'pops' while doing my patellar massage so I'm sure that there is some scar tissue there holding me back. I know that my physical therapist can do some manual manipulation to help things along, I just don't want to need that. I've never had issues getting my range of motion back so that makes it even more frustrating.
Now to the good news. My scar is starting to fade, yippee. (Which means I won't have 4th graders walking by me looking at my leg giving a horrified gasp and yelling "woa"). I started using Mederma cream upon the recommendation of the Tech at my surgeons office.
Here are some before pictures of my scar. Hope this stuff does what it says it does! I would like to get rid of some of this redness.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Snickers
It's been an eventful week.
On Monday my parents left nice and warm Texas for snowy and cold Oregon. I do not envy their drive. Hopefully they will be back home, safe and sound, today.
Sometime on Monday, we're not sure if it was when my parents were loading up their car and had the front door open, or when we had the back door open because we were self-cleaning the oven, one of our cats got out. We weren't too concerned, she's snuck out before and usually hangs out in the neighbors yard until she wants to come inside. Then she scares the living daylights out of us by jumping onto our bedroom screens in the middle of the night.
Tuesday came and went, no Snickers. By Tuesday evening we were starting to get concerned, so my oldest and I walked up and down our street asking the neighbors if they had seen her. I had visions of the neighbor dog mauling her, an owl getting her, or her being hit by a car (we did drive around the neighborhood and there were not kitty carcasses so that eased my mind a bit).
On Wednesday we went online and filled out a form that would be sent to all of the animal shelters in the area, with a picture of Snickers and her microchip #. By this time my husband and I had resigned ourselves to the fact that Snickers had either died or someone had found her and took her in. The kids were pretty sad, we got her as a 6 week old kitten, she was found after she and her litter mates were dumped on the side of the road, and she's been part of this family for almost 4 years. Even our other cat, Sampson, seemed mopey and sad.
Wednesday night at 10 pm, just as my Netflix show was ending, I heard a faint "meow". Almost immediately our German Shorthaired Pointer, Otto, ran too the door wagging his tail. Sampson got up off the couch and ran to the door too. As I was getting up I heard a series of "MEOW, MEOW, MEOW" right at the door, how dare I leave that poor cat outside while she obviously wanted in. When I opened the door Snickers walked right past me to the food bowl. Typical cat behavior, here we were worried and she didn't even care, all she wanted was food.Still, we went to bed happy knowing that she was safe and nothing bad had happened.
This morning, as we were getting up, we heard excited little feet coming down the stairs. Elise, our youngest, came into our room carrying Snickers in her arms and the look on Elise's face was priceless. Totally melted my heart. She was so happy to get her "Snicky Licky" back and couldn't stop smiling and giggling. The boys were excited too. Snickers does the "bed shuffle" at night. She sleeps with every child for a portion of the night and the boys really missed that.
As of right now Snickers is still sleeping in one of the kids rooms so whatever she was doing outside really tired her out. Hopefully she won't get outside again.
On Monday my parents left nice and warm Texas for snowy and cold Oregon. I do not envy their drive. Hopefully they will be back home, safe and sound, today.
Sometime on Monday, we're not sure if it was when my parents were loading up their car and had the front door open, or when we had the back door open because we were self-cleaning the oven, one of our cats got out. We weren't too concerned, she's snuck out before and usually hangs out in the neighbors yard until she wants to come inside. Then she scares the living daylights out of us by jumping onto our bedroom screens in the middle of the night.
Tuesday came and went, no Snickers. By Tuesday evening we were starting to get concerned, so my oldest and I walked up and down our street asking the neighbors if they had seen her. I had visions of the neighbor dog mauling her, an owl getting her, or her being hit by a car (we did drive around the neighborhood and there were not kitty carcasses so that eased my mind a bit).
On Wednesday we went online and filled out a form that would be sent to all of the animal shelters in the area, with a picture of Snickers and her microchip #. By this time my husband and I had resigned ourselves to the fact that Snickers had either died or someone had found her and took her in. The kids were pretty sad, we got her as a 6 week old kitten, she was found after she and her litter mates were dumped on the side of the road, and she's been part of this family for almost 4 years. Even our other cat, Sampson, seemed mopey and sad.
Wednesday night at 10 pm, just as my Netflix show was ending, I heard a faint "meow". Almost immediately our German Shorthaired Pointer, Otto, ran too the door wagging his tail. Sampson got up off the couch and ran to the door too. As I was getting up I heard a series of "MEOW, MEOW, MEOW" right at the door, how dare I leave that poor cat outside while she obviously wanted in. When I opened the door Snickers walked right past me to the food bowl. Typical cat behavior, here we were worried and she didn't even care, all she wanted was food.Still, we went to bed happy knowing that she was safe and nothing bad had happened.
This morning, as we were getting up, we heard excited little feet coming down the stairs. Elise, our youngest, came into our room carrying Snickers in her arms and the look on Elise's face was priceless. Totally melted my heart. She was so happy to get her "Snicky Licky" back and couldn't stop smiling and giggling. The boys were excited too. Snickers does the "bed shuffle" at night. She sleeps with every child for a portion of the night and the boys really missed that.
As of right now Snickers is still sleeping in one of the kids rooms so whatever she was doing outside really tired her out. Hopefully she won't get outside again.
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