Currently on the couch shackled to the cpm machine for the countless hour. Supposed to do 6 hours every day. It's a full-time job.
Texas Orthopedic Hospital was fantastic. From admitting to discharge, every single person was wonderful. I had a great care team.
The procedure itself went fine. I was scheduled as the first procedure of the day, which was great since I didn't have to fast all day. They got me into preop, hooked me up, and gave me a nerve block. Don't remember much from there. I DO remember being in the OR and I asked them if they listened to music and they said, yes, and I asked what kind, and they said Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. LOL.
Y'all they do NOT mess around with drugs there. I had every drug under the sun. Tylenol, morphine, fentanyl, muscle relaxers, I don't even KNOW what else. I was SO HIGH. Not in pain, though.
One of my main concerns about the procedure was controlling the nausea. Last time I had a procedure, I battled it for days and wasn't able to get any drugs to help because it was over the weekend.
So they gave me like 4 different anti-nausea drugs. I still felt sick, but as long as I remained motionless I was okay. It wasn't until they made me get up and use the bathroom that I felt really dizzy and got a wave of nausea. In a matter of seconds, I was given a barf bag, a cool towel on my neck, some water, and an alcohol pad was held under my nose. <--- now that's a great trick. Not that I would have been able to really puke because my stomach was empty except for water and pills, but it passed.
Once we got home, I was able to climb the stairs no problem. I'd been practicing for weeks and I'm SO glad because as loopy as I was, muscle memory was key there. The rest of the day was spent lying on the couch, trying (unsuccessfully) to eat something, and sleep. I knew I probably wouldn't be able to eat until the anesthesia was out of my system, so that wasn't a surprise. I went 36 hours without eating. Applesauce was the first thing I could get down.
The day after surgery, I had physical therapy. They want you to start moving right away. The exercises are very small right now. You gotta move, but in the right ways- no bending past 90 degrees, can't smush the grape (or put more than 20lbs of weight on that leg), and you can't sit still for more than 30 minutes at a time. Plus 6 hours on that machine and ice packs every 2 hours.
The meds: 4 different kinds of pain pills. I didn't have to take the narcotics, which is great for the nausea and constipation, but the NSAID is a pretty high dose. Even if the pain isn't bad you still gotta take it because it helps control abnormal bone growth. They give you omeprazole to help with the stomach upset, plus you're taking a low dose aspirin to help prevent blood clots. So many pills. But, surprisingly, no antibiotics. Apparently the guidelines changed in 2023 and I love that. The appetite comes and goes so I have to force myself to eat something when it's time to take meds so they don't tear up my stomach. Trying not to take the zofran because I don't want to add to the constipation.
One thing that I didn't expect: They gave me a scopolamine patch to help with the nausea, and damn that stuff is strong. I'm sure it helped, but they said to keep it on for 3 days and on the second day the side effects were so bad that I took it off early. It gave me horrible dry mouth (which probably helped keep me hydrated because I was drinking water like crazy), made me dizzy (which kind of counteracted the whole purpose and made it harder to use crutches), and blurred my vision (which was fucking weird). The dry mouth and dizziness lasted for a couple of days after removing the patch, and my vision is still a little blurred up close but it's improving. That drug is wild.
I figured out pretty quickly that using crutches is hard. You can't carry anything with you, so I busted out an old fanny pack and keep it strapped on all the time. Plus it takes a TON of energy. Fortunately my office chair has wheels so I've been scooting around the house on that most of the time. Still, energy levels get depleted surprisingly fast and everything takes way more effort. I made myself breakfast the other day and nearly passed out before I realized I was getting tired. I suppose when you think about it, your body is putting a lot of energy into healing so simple tasks like taking a shower are exhausting.
I'm trying to be as independent as possible, because that's just the way I am, but thank GOD for FH. There is no way that I could be alone and take care of myself right now. At this point I've figured out how to do basic things, but in the beginning I was useless and my energy level still tanks at random times and I need help. I hate having to depend on someone else to care for me, but that's the way it is right now. I feel very lucky.
Let's see what else. I'm sleeping in the brace because it prevents me from rolling over on that side. There are 4 little incisions stitched up on my leg. I have a stack of magazines and books saved up to keep me sane during the cpm sessions. I can get myself on the back porch for some fresh air, but FH won't let me go up or down the stairs by myself. I try to go down with him in the evenings to say hi to the chickens and get a change of scenery. FH is taking over chicken duties and he's not thrilled but we don't really have a choice haha. He's also been taking me to my appointments because obviously driving myself is not an option. We are having the maid come weekly for now, because damn the house gets dirty fast when you can't maintain.
I noticed my foot was turning blue, probably from not using that leg and keeping it elevated in the cpm machine 6 hours every day. Flexing/pointing wasn't really helping, so I added a resistance band and that seemed to help out a lot.
The first week is probably the hardest, right? Uphill every day.
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