Monday, October 24, 2011

6 Days Post Hardware Removal Surgery

Sorry, I haven't been by to blog. I caught a nasty, nasty, cold and haven't been able to even think about how my knee is coming along between the coughing, sneezing, sniffles, etc. It's been a long time since I've had a cold and this one hit me hard!

Wish I could recover here!
I am able to walk pretty well, but I can feel the tightness of the stitches pull at times. I haven't taken any pain killers since day 2. I can only assume it is healing well on it's own.
I haven't taken any of the bandages off to see how it looks but I will see it in two days when I go to get the stitches out. I know I sure miss a shower! I'm looking forward to that, for sure.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Hardware Removal, October 20, 2011

It's been 48 hours since my surgery. I had a lot of pain yesterday, but the Vicodin kept it under control. I was so tired I went to bed at 7:30 p.m. and slept for almost 12 hours. It must have done me a lot of good because my leg pain was noticeable better today.

Dr. R told me to try to do a little light exercises on the stationary bike so I did a little yesterday. It was tough just to make one rotation. It felt like the stitching would pull and tear, but after the first rotation, all was well. I went very easy and very slow.

Today, I've not used any painkillers, that how well the pain is. And I'm a big baby with pain and a gal with a whole bottle of Vicodin so I am very please how well this is coming along.

My biggest complaint is that my throat is really, really sore. I'm not sure if I am coming down with a cold or if it is from the tube going down my throat. My stomach also doesn't feel well either. As typical of Vicodin users, I have constipation and have been diligent about using Plum Smart with no luck. Guess that is the price you pay for pain relief.

I finally got to see and touch one of my screws that Dr. R. saved for me. They are thinner than I expected, but boy are they long! I can't imagine how big that plate must have been.

I am walking without the crutches now, although very slowly. It doesn't hurt to walk, only the range of motion is low because of the bandages, and of course, the stitches.

If I didn't have these cold symptoms, I would be feeling pretty darn good.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Hardware Removal--Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Seventeen months ago I knew that I wanted my hardware out, if possible. Just having it, knowing it is there, was something I wanted to fix.

My big date was October 18th. I was to report to Kaiser at 7 a.m. I was scheduled to go off at 9 a.m. Well, nothing ever goes on time, but they wheeled me in at 9:20 p.m. The surgery was supposed to go on 65 minutes, which to me seemed pretty fast. But I digress.

Al tells me that Dr. R came out to talk to him about 50 minutes after I went off, which means it must have been an easy time of it. My first memory after the surgery was the time, since they have clocks everwhere. It was 10:50 a.m. and I sure was feeling groggy. So tired and so disoriented. I had no clue where I was when I woke. I thought maybe I was on the airplane, or maybe still in Argentina. I was hoping they would let me go back to sleep but they told me I would be going home in less than an hour. Are you kidding? Where was I again?

Alfred came by to see me early in the recovery and then came back maybe 40 minutes later. I'm happy to report that Al said I looked way, way better in just that short time.

I got home fine and pulled out my crutches from the garage. I tried using two of them, but found that one crutch worked better for me. My pain level wasn't bad at all, but of course, I was on the Vicodin. They bandaged my leg up pretty well so I am not able to see how bad the incision is. Dr. R was able to give me one piece of my hardware as a souvenir. At Kaiser they normally don't do that, and I was very curious to see how it looks. I'll post a photo soon.

Now it is almost 24 hours after and my leg is much more sore today. With the bandages, I can't tell if it is swollen, but my guess is that it is. I've been using ice to keep it down, as well as keeping my leg elevated. I decided to try without the Vicodin this a.m. just to get an accurate assessment of my pain. It hurt indeed! Time for the Vicodin again. The leg feels sort of battered and I can feel tugging of the incision. I can bear weight on it, but can't really bend it with any weight on it.

We're really early in the game, so far so good!