Wonderful Moment

This morning I tried something and it worked. I yelled out, "It's A Wonderful Moment."

I can bend my leg up to 60 degrees now, which means I can reach my right foot and put on my own socks. I know this does not sound like a big deal, but to me, it is a very big deal. Imagine being 28 years old and not being able to put your own socks on and your parents have to help you everyday.

I could even put cream on my foot, which was in desperate need of, the skin was so dry that is was flacking. I know - too much information. 

Next goal, be able to put my own shoes on.

Christmas Decorating

One of the many things I love about the Christmas Season is decorating the house and the tree. A little hard to do so this year.

Have you tried to carry something while walking with a walker or crutches - its a little difficult. So I sat back and my mother decorated the house this year. But, I did help with the tree.

I got the office chair and sat in front of the tree with the box of ornaments and decorated the front/lower half of the tree. Someone else will have to decorate the top half and the whole back side.

As you can tell, it is bare in some spots and yes it is leaning a little

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Interesting Spot

Due to where the bones were located, the Doctor had cut a few nerves, and maybe re-attach them after....

Anyways due to the procedure, I have a numb spot. That's right, on the right side of my knee cap I have no feeling there what so every. The Doc says the area will decrease in size over time. Right now it is the size of two Blackberry Curve cell phones - can not think of everything else to compare the size to.

It is a weird feeling - I see with my eyes I am touching that spot, but do not feel anything - and when someone else touches that spot, it gets even weirder. (Note to self, find better words to describe this sensation)

As I put lotion on my leg, I am always so delicate around that area. I know nothing bad is going to happen, but since I cannot feel the pressure, and I always worried about putting too much pressure on that spot.

So, how long will this spot be this big and when will it start getting smaller? I am taking bets - 1 month, 6 months, 2 years, never....

Two Different Sizes

I do believe my legs are becoming two different sizes - it that is possible

Here is why I think so

My right leg, I am not using it, so therefore I am losing muscle in that leg. Plus I seem to pulling the straps on my brace tighter than I was before.

My left leg, I am using it in over time, and building muscle in that leg. Believe me, I can balance for awhile just on my left leg. In addition, it's the leg I hop around on to get from point A to point B

I stare at my legs, and see no difference, but I sense it. Does that make sense?

I will re-examine my legs every week and see if I am right or just going crazy. I am leaning towards the second option.

Can you believe it?

Can you believe it?

It has been one month since my surgery

Only two more months - not sure to celebrate or cry....

New Post

Sorry Sorry Sorry

I know I have not posted anything for awhile

Anyways, what my doctor said at my follow up appointment

First, we took x-rays and the ladies there were wonderful.

Doctor came in and said the x-rays look great and everything is healing just fine. I got switched from the Zimmer Brace to the Transformer Brace (That's what I am calling it). It is way lighter than the Zimmer Brace and with this new brace I can start bending my leg. So I can

bend my leg 30 Degrees right now, and the brace is set up so I cannot bend in any further. In addition, I can put 10-20% weight on my leg. A big step.

Then in two weeks I can start bending my leg up to 60 Degrees and then in another two weeks I can bend my leg up to 90 Degrees. Yes, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  

Outside World

Yesterday, I got to visit the outside world, for the first time since the surgery - ohh ahhh

So much work - get dressed, pack a bag of stuff you need, pack pillows and blankets for the back seat, pack equipment. Then hop on one foot going down the ramp, with help from a walker and of course Dad and get into the car. This whole process took awhile.

Gravel roads, not good for the leg

Saw my Knee Doctor - more details in next blog entry

Since, we were in Red Deer, Mom wanted to go to Costco, where I lost count of how many times I almost got run over. Please, watch where you are going, person in wheelchair here, please give me some space, I know its Christmas Season and you are slightly stressed, but please look around

Head home and pack everything inside and rest.


 

Sleep

Sleep, Sleep, Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

I would love to have one night where I have a good deep sleep

My main problem is, I am use to sleeping on my side and I can't right now. It is a little difficult to do, with this brace on my leg. Also, I am not use to sleeping on my back, and I am waking up with major pain in my back. Not sure due to sleeping on my back or the bed.

I tried one night to sleep in a normal bed, but halfway through the night, I moved back to my Hospital Bed, so that's not going to work.

I just have to wait - I am hoping come Wednesday, when I go for my follow-up appointment, I get a smaller brace and doing activities would be simpler. Time will tell  

Independent

So, I am an Independent Women (insert Destiny's Child's song), and not being able to do simple tasks is really hard for me.

For example, I cannot even put socks on or off without help.

It is nice to be catered to, but I would love to do things on my own. All my meals are made for me, laundry done for me, my water bottle is refilled for me, and everything must be an arm reach away from me, so I can reach them or else I have to call out for assistance.

Mom and Dad have been fantastic in helping me, but I feel guilty sometimes. Its not like I am asking for stuff every five minutes, but I still feel quilty.

Only 2 1/2 more months to go

Did you have one of those days

Hello,

(Wait, am I writing a letter/email...)

Anyways, did you ever has one of those days, you wish you could stay in bed all day and do nothing. I know I have felt this way.

But believe me, it gets old fast. After two weeks lying here in bed, you are just inching to do something. Anything besides, sit, watch tv, and do sit down projects. The outside world, does it still exist?

Well, today is a good day to stay in and not venture out. No Sub Calls for me today or tomorrow, meaning I do not have to drive this in weather.

Stay safe everyone

Water

Yes, I understand drinking lots of water is important. Yes, I have been drinking lots of water every day. Yes, I am drinking straight water - no added juice crystals or sugar etc.

Have you picked up on my sarcasm yet?

Drinking all this water, means multiple trips to the little ladies room. During the day, whatever, I can deal. During the night - making a few trips. That is the part getting on my nerves. I would love to sleep through the night, without getting up every few hours. Is that to hard to ask?

Ok - rant over

Maybe

My New Song

So, this is my new song, well its a song I used to sign often. It is by Sharon, Lois and Bram (Loved them growing up)


I am slowly going crazy
One two three four five six, switch!
Crazy going slowly am I
Six five four three two one, switch!

Yup!

Shower Time

It's shower time, with a leg, that has a big brace on it that cannot get wet and cannot put any pressure on the leg either. Well, how the heck do you suppose I have a shower than?

Step 1 - Get to bathroom (See Blog Entry "The Daily Trip" for details)

Step 2 - Wrap the right leg with a garbage bag, to protect from water

Step 3 - Transfer myself from office chair to transfer bench (See Picture Below)

 

Transfer Bench

(That's its official name. Why, I don't know)

 

 

Step 4 - Use straps on brace to lift leg and balance it on the rim on the tub

 

Step 5 - Close shower curtains, the right way, so water does not go everywhere

 

Step 6 - Start water, check temp of water

 

Step 7 - Send water to detachable shower head that one can hold in hand - like the ones you see at  

             the Hairdressers

 

Step 8 - Recheck water temp., since for some reason it got hotter, than when running through the tap

             (If someone can explain this concept, that would be wonderful)

 

Step 9 - Shower, and try not to get shampoo in eyes - which I gotten soap in my eye every time.  

             Would not have made a good hairdresser, and that I cannot cut a straight line worth my

              life

 

Step 10 - Yell for towel, since I cannot reach a towel on my own

 

Step 11 - Get out of the tub, by lifting scraps on brace and moving right leg, without moving it in

                the wrong direction, that will cause pain

 

Step 12 - Dry and dress, by standing on one foot

 

Step 13 - Head back to my Hospital Bed, for rest (nap) and take drugs

 

Step 14 - Repeat

 



 

Picture of my foot during shower time

Random Stuff

My knee brace (known as a zimmer brace - why, I have no clue), has a neat feature, that is probably not meant to be used that way. Moving my right leg is hard, and trying to move it on its own, causes pain, but there's help. As you can see in the picture of a leg brace below, you can see several straps going across. These scarps are excellent, when I need to move my leg. I grab the middle strap or straps and lift and move the leg. Easy

 

 

Shots, I am half way through my daily shots, and its not getting any easier. It is bad that you cannot remember from the day before which side of the stomach you did the last shot? I made it easy to remember. With permanent marker, I marked right side of the stomach with an O and the left side of the stomach with an E. O is for odd days and E is for even days, therefore today, the shot went in the left side and tomorrow it will be in the right side. Simple

 

Stay tuned for the exciting explanation on how does one take a shower, when one cannot put any weight on the right leg and one cannot get the brace wet. Ohhh Ahhh

 

 

The Daily Trip

I love my Hospital Bed!

It would have been a much harder time without it. No one realizes how low the couch or your bed is, till after you had surgery. I am in my Bed, probably 99% of the day. I have my organizer next to me, that has books, remotes, laptop, projects and of course my drugs. Go Drugs (Is that bad to say?)

All the equipment I have, is so wonderful to get around the house, even though I do not move much from the bed. The other 1% of the day, is me going from my Bed to the Bathroom. That is probably the number one question I get these days - how do you get to the bathroom?

Well, I use my walker to get myself to a standing position, beside my bed. I do a balancing act, since I cannot put any weight on my right leg. Using the walker, I hop a couple of steps to the office chair, that is on the laminate floor, while the living room is carpet. The office chair can wheel just fine on the carpet, but there is a little ridge when the floor goes from carpet to laminate floor - normally not a big deal, but when sitting in an office chair, trying to go over it - a big deal. From there I drag my right leg, while push with my arms and left leg to go to the bathroom, and navigate the corners. From there I use the counter to balance myself again and where I have a handy raised toilet seat. If you have no idea what a raised toilet seat is - see picture below. Again, no one realizes how low toilet seats are, till you cannot bend your leg.

See - simple process. Repeat several times throughout the day or during the night

Then I do everything in reverse to head back from the bathroom to the bed. Fun, Fun, Fun

So, it is very important to drink lots of fluids, but man, that means many trips 

Are You Trying to Scare Me Death?

After my surgery, I was hooked up to a machine which checked my Blood Pressure and Oxygen Levels every 15 minutes.

I did not mind, since when I felt my strap on my arm tightening, I would wake up and do my leg exercises, to decrease my risk of blots clots and keep blood flowing to my toes. Also, I had breathing exercises, which was breath in for four and breath out for 4, a few times - easy.

Later, in the evening, it was being done once a hour, which I did not like as much, since I did my exercises less. I ask the Nurse, if you could make it check every 1/2hour, but she gave me this weird look.

During the night, the Nurse came in and check my Blood Pressure and Oxygen Levels once in awhile, but one check lead to a scare.

After one check, the Nurse starting to ask me if I had any Heart Problems I was a wear of - this woke me up. Another person came in and gave me an EEG Test (Not sure what type of heart test it was) and then left. I wanted to start shouting, "What going on? Do I need to worry?" I waited patiently, which felt like hours, was probably only five minutes, the Nurse came back and told me everything was fine. He was worried about my Oxygen Levels and wanted to make sure, it was not something more serious.

Well, thank you for looking after me, but I think you gave me an anxiety attack along the way

Me and My Brace

This here is a picture of my Leg Brace - ain't she a beaut

Yes, it goes from the ankle to the top of my thighs

It feels like it weighs 20 pounds, but in reality probably only a few pounds, but enough, that I have to lift it, when getting it into and out of bed or just have to move the leg for any reason. I cannot put any weight on my right leg for six weeks....six weeks....

I can open her up, when I am not in motion, which is good, so when I have a itch on my leg, I can reach it, not just try to ignore it. I wonder if I can decorate this brace for Christmas?

It's bulky, so wardrobe this days have been nightgowns, instead of sweatpants. Sweatpants kept getting caught on the velcro and getting stuck.

Doc said, when I see him in two weeks, maybe we can have a different brace (please say yes). We will have to see. My Surgeon is in Hawaii right now....I tried to convince him that taking me with him would be good, and me mending on the beach would be amazing, but no dice. He did come and see me before he let for his flight on Saturday, to double check on how I was doing.

Shots

I have to give myself a shot every day..every day

It is a blood thinner, since I not moving much, it is a good thing, but

Here is a picture of the needle I have to inject into my stomach everyday, for the next two weeks. I am not afraid of needles. I donate blood all the time and have no issues, but when you have to administer it yourself, well

Lucky, I have a wonderful Dad, who gives needles at the time, to livestock, but still counts in my books and have more experience than I do. So everyday around 11:00am, I get a shot, and then mark it with a black marker, so we know where it went it.

The nurse gave me this shot on Saturday, and I would like to know what she hit, since the spot she hit is a very nice colour of purple

Three down, nine more to go

Hospital Food

So, I did not end up getting take-out or having pizza delivered to my room, because the food was not bad

For supper, I had cream of broccoli soup, with butterscotch pudding for dessert. Don't forget about the prune juice. The soup was delicious and I had to eat it very slowly, because the drugs made me a little sick to my stomach.

For breakfast, I had brown toast, with this amazing cinnamon spread on it. I so badly wanted seconds of that. There was coffee (not for me) and apple juice (yes). There was a cube of cheese, which made me think of the movie - "The Devils Wears Prada." My favorite was the cream of wheat, with bran, oh that hit the spot......I had a few bites, but most of it was left uneaten.

For lunch, I had tomato soup, with crackers. Plus a small sandwich, with turkey salad in it - not bad, a little dry for my taste. For dessert - rhubarb square.

Overall, the food was pretty good and I did not starve. I had a thought, if I could give one of the nurses a $20.00, would they run across the street and get me a DQ Blizzard. I would gladly have paid for theirs, wouldn't that work

      

She's Alive

I know many people complain about the Health Care System here in Canada, but the Red Deer Hospital is just amazing. There staff go beyond their call and are friendly 24/7.

I was given one of those stylus hospital gowns and a housecoat to change into, plus hot wipes. Don't forget those cool booties one wears on their feet - must get a pair for later. One wipes your entire body with this hot wipes to clean your whole body - I kept thinking I showered this morning, how clean do you need me. Plus getting this wipes after would be great since the concept of the shower is hard. And those hot blankets, those are amazing and if you have ever had those, you know exactly what I mean.

I was up and down, restless, but also walking a bit since I will not be doing a simple thing like that for awhile. I had my mother's friend with me, chatting away about everything under the sun, to keep me calm and mind off things. She was wonderful!!!

Weird thing, they were ahead of schedule and took me down to pre-op sooner than expected.  Where they double check everything, and the Doctor and Anesthesiologist talk you. The Doctor marks the leg, so there is no mistake.

They no longer do the count down from 100, before you sleep. I remember the Anesthesiologist asking me where I like to go on vacation and next thing I know,  I am waking up in Recovery Room. Go Figure.

  

Today Is The Day

Today is the Day

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Deep Breaths, Deep Breaths

I have excellent Doctor, and everything will be fine. Maybe except my shower this morning. Of course, there was a problem with the water and I had no water pressure. Oh well, life goes on.

Waiting for my Mom's Friend to pick me up and take me to the Red Dee Hospital and begin this journey

Talk to you in a few days

I Think I Love My Bed Too Much

It is marvellous that I have a mother who works at Home Care - Equipment Equipment  Equipment

I have Crutches (Mine), Walker (Grandparents), Wheelchair (Grandparents), Raised Toilet Seat (Home Care), Transfer Bench for Shower (Home Care), Detachable Shower Head (Parents) and a Hospital Bed (Home Care).

Why a Hospital Bed? Well, I learned from last surgery that I cannot sleep in my own bed. I am a restless sleeper, and in the morning my leg would be in pain, because I did something in my sleep I should not have done. So, it was me and the couch last time - good for leg, bad for back. This time around we got a different option, hence the Hospital Bed.

I have decked it out, put an extra layer over the mattress, bunch of pillows and a big body pillow. It does not look like a Hospital Bed anymore. The fun part - it has a remote control, hee hee hee. I can lie down or sit up or lower/raise the bed, fun fun.

I have already been lying in it already, while watching TV. I know in about two weeks, I be sick and tired of it, but right now, it is this new fun toy to play with.

 

 

My Bed!

Organization

I am so freaking organized, that's it is scary

I have all my equipment ready to go
I have my temporary handicap sign
I have projects and books ready for the boredom
I have cleaned and reorganized my room
I have bought my mother's birthday gift already (which is a week after my surgery)
I have most of my Christmas shopping done already

What else do I have to do to get ready? I can't think of anything else......





  

The Do's and Don'ts Prior to Surgery

Today, I got the "Cruising through Inpatient Surgery" Booklet in the mail, from the Red Deer Hospital. Fantastic Read

Most of it is common sense

• Do not smoke
• Do not drink
• Do not eat breakfast
• Don't wear jewelry
• Etc. Etc. Etc.

The part I really love, is "Do not shave legs 10 days prior to surgery." Have you seen my legs, I going to look like the woolly mammoth, by the time surgery comes. In addition, I will not be able to shave my legs for awhile after the surgery. Well, at least the extra hair will keep me warmer right?...maybe?

The booklet explains everything from prior to surgery, during surgery, post surgery and discharge.

Another interesting tidbit, "Depending on your length of stay, you may receive a menu for food selection." Hmmm Hospital Food. Who knows, maybe it will be half decent. If not, I am ordering pizza. Do pizza joints deliver to Hospitals?  

Why I Started A Blog

Hello, my name is Melissa and I am having Knee Surgery

I decided to start a blog to keep myself from going stir crazy, while I recover from surgery and share the interesting moments

Why type of Knee Surgery am I having? While, the Doctor is going to open me up, take a saw to the bones in my knee, take them out and put them back the way they should be, with some metal parts to make sure everything stays where they should. The Doctor sews my knee back up and then recovery process begins. Oh and the whole process only takes 1 1/2 hour - I told the Doctor to take him time, there is no rush

Why do I need this Surgery?  The bones in my knee are misaligned and its creating arthritis/eating away at my cartilage. Doctor told me that I was born this way (Insert Lady Gaga's Song In Your Head) and get the surgery sooner or later

So stayed turn to my adventures and mishaps