Second Week at Home: The New Routine and Progress

Life is getting into a routine at home with regular exercise, walking laps around the house, regular good food and restful sleep.  I am ambling around on crutches with significantly more confidence.  The next walking goals are to increase the distance that I am regularly walking and get down to one crutch around the week of my surgical review.  Review is next Monday and I am moving towards having enough strength in my hip stabilisors to achieve this later in the week.  It's likely that my right side will be the stronger one as it has been throughout this process. There is still work to do and a lot can be achieved in a week, so I am hopeful.

The major change that I have seen physically in the last couple of days is the ability to lift each leg up from the bed into the air while laying down.  So far it's only about six inches from the bed though it is a good start and a massive difference as I haven't had the strength in my hip flexors to lift much more than half an inch until Monday of this week.

The other functional goals that we have as part of the first phase of Project Awesome are to increase the amount of stairs that I practice daily and to eliminate compensation vaulting on stairs.  The compensation occurs as I don't have the hip flexor strength to easily lift my leading leg to place it on the upper stair and have been compensating by lifting the heel of the grounded foot to gain the additional height to clear the step.  Though I have the strength and balance to do this reasonably safely, it isn't the best way to climb stairs.  I have to practice lifting each leg higher while activating all of the required muscles.  It requires concentration and a huge amount of energy to clear each step when leading with the right.  The left is still about an inch off and I am still practicing as I don't want the progress to stop on the weaker leg.

I also need to increase the amount of outings that I do each week to improve my confidence and stamina.  I am still wary of being out in public and the only way that will change is by getting out there.  I need a bit more practice so that I am soon at the point where I am comfortable going to the pool and starting hydro.  I'm probably still a few more weeks off that.

One Month Post Op: Home for two days

Wow, what a relief to actually be here.  I'm tired and it's still difficult to do day to day activities but I am finding ways to do what I need to do.  I'm finding that these activities are achievable and slowly getting easier for me.


This morning I sorted out my cereal for breakfast, a cup of water and the pills that I would need to eat after and sat down in the sitting room to eat it - all on my own.  It may seem like such a little thing to some but there is an effort and thought required to put all the pieces of the process together.  The first thing that needs to be done is to find somewhere near the wheelie walker to put the crutches where I can reach both and they won't fall over.  The reason I need the wheelie walker is that when you are using two crutches you can't use your hands to carry anything which is required if you don't want to eat at the kitchen bench.  Then it's a case of getting everything you need:  a bowl, a cup, the cereal, the milk, the pills. You need to be able to sort out obstacles, like moving the stool that you left in front of the pantry door last night so that you can actually get the cereal out.  Set it all up and then put the cereal and milk away again.  Then it's get the wheelie walker carefully over the little tiled lip between the kitchen and the sitting room without spilling anything.  Getting into the chair getting close enough with the walker so you can still reach everything once you have sit down and then doing the reverse and getting things all away again.   


Real food is such a wonderful thing.  Even if it is just my choice of cereal.  It has been so much more than that since I've been home though!  My husband cooked my favourite risotto the day I came home (chorizo, mushroom and baby spinach).  I got to be a helper and instructor.  I think that my husband will soon weary of the instructor component and will be more comfortable with me navigating the kitchen and preparing meals again.  I've also had real salads, grainy bread and cereals and even toasted hot cross buns (they were frozen for my return home since I missed out on easter - and frankly missed out on hot toasted bakery/bread items in hospital).  There are real green beans in the fridge (not icky overcooked frozen ones) and other fresh vegetables that I'm looking forward to in the next couple of days.  My tummy is so much happier.  I am so in love with real food!  (I am a little curious as to whether I came home with any vitamin deficiencies.  I didn't get any final bloods taken and I'm not that curious I want to brave a trip to the doctors just yet, so I will just have to wonder)


Day to day at home is more exercise than in the hospital.  Activities like breakfast take time and energy to co-ordinate and our house is larger than the hospital room and immediate area that I used regularly while I was in hospital.  Even going to the bathroom is more exercise as it's a far longer walk from anywhere I am likely to be inside the house.  I've also tried to add the exercises that I have to do into my day to day activities so that I am getting more in.  This means that when I'm on my way back from the bathroom, I might do leg lifts at the basin (it's on a solid base and fixed - I'm not going anywhere hanging onto that) or maybe squats.  The trip back to where ever I was in the house has to be the long way - past each end of the house, even if I don't need anything from there.  I figure that the more that I add in, the more activity I'll have and the quicker recovery will be.  I'm ready to be fixed already.  I really have had enough of being so reliant on others, though realistically I know I have a little while to go before I'm going to be completely independent.  


I am going to have my PT come in twice a week to start off with and we will see how I go in adding to my program as I progress further.  I'm hoping to be confident enough to go to the hydro pool in a couple of weeks as well.  I've been cleared by the rehab doctor for this but I'm not quite ready for public yet as the walk to the pool from the entrance is reasonably long compared with the distances that I have been walking in one go at the moment.  I have a fear of being pushed over and there are always millions of kids at this pool that you need to pass to get to the ramp to get in - I'm sure that as I get stronger this will pass and in the meantime I'll find creative ways to maximise the exercise.  My PT is gong to check out some other pools in the area to see if any of the others have a set up which will be a little easier/safer for me until I have a bit more confidence.


It's almost time to start to figure out dinner again.  One thing hospital has done to me is make me hungry for dinner much earlier than normal.  Not sure what it will be for dinner yet but I can assure you it will be awesome!

Hydro, GP Checkup and Items off the checklist

This morning started out at Hydro and I was a little bit concerned that we weren't starting off the day well when there was no parking, the hydro pool was full of little germy children and the pool outside was cold.  It got progressively better though.  One of the outside pools was relatively unoccupied, though cold for the first few minutes it was ok and best of all there were no children's germs.  I know I have been harping on this recently, though the upset tummy late mid last week and the sore throat of the weekend has put me into a mild panic that I won't be well for next Friday and I might get bumped.  I think that I might just hide away from the public for the next ten days.  Unfortunately I do need to go into the office tomorrow for a while and then maybe again on Thursday for a little bit.  Next Tuesday is the last office day leaving me to be able to kick back and spend some time with my husband before I go into hospital.  Things have been pretty crazy in the lead up, mostly because we both need time off work for more than just a couple of days. A lot of my stuff has been 'housekeeping' type things that I've mentioned earlier (paperwork and the like).

Today's checklist included getting to the GP to get a new referral so that medicare will actually chip in for the operation, renewing a mail redirection, cleaning out some old paperwork and other old junk.  Nothing exciting but things that I am unlikely going to want to do for a little while.  Hell, I haven't wanted to do these tasks for the last year, the next few months is unlikely to be any different.  I'm a little anxious about getting everything done, even though I am sure that some of this stuff really could be put of for a few more months.  I guess I have really gotten into the idea of having a clean slate when I get home from hospital, or very soon after that time, that I am freaking out a little bit on the nearing deadline.   I'm not actually sure if I am misidentifying the cause of the anxiety and it's actually about the op itself and other associated bits and pieces that is causing the anxiety.  I'm not sure.   I know that I am looking forward to being on the other side of the op though a general anxiety would also explain my newly acquired OCD about Germs (which really haven't bothered me too much in the past, anymore than anyone else - I do wash my hands when appropriate and take the appropriate risks) and I do realise that I am becoming a little crazy about it just as I am about the other things that aren't neatly filed away in their happy little boxes.

Back to the GP visit:  the sore throat isn't anything too bad.  I think that the honey, chilli and garlic, lots of water, lots of fresh vegetables and fruit (not all together), have kicked it a bit.  I got the doc to check it today when I was there for the referral just to help put my mind at ease and it isn't too bad.  If it does get worse, I am apparently still allowed to take antibiotics and I have been given a script for that.  I think I would double check with the surgeons office first just in case but I shouldn't need them so it doesn't really matter too much.  The GP visit was pretty sucky as my normal doctor wasn't there and he is way cooler than the one I saw today.  (He's on paternity leave - so I would be an ass to complain too much about his absence).  I've only really just started to go to this clinic, I really do like this new doctor and I'm fussy.  He seems interested in what is going on and is actually knowledgable about it (he does work on some orthopaedic cases though with a different surgeon - so that helps) but I really think that even if he didn't have the ortho background, he would just be one of those doctors that really takes an interest in people so even though I understood the reason why he wasn't there today, I was still a little disappointed that the replacement didn't really live up to expectation (which may well just me not relating to her as well - not a reflection on skills and abilities as a GP).  It is difficult to find these doctors who not only take an interest but you also relate to and feel comfortable with.  If you have been lucky in your life and got an awesome doc first go, you should be very grateful!

I was lucky enough to have one of my best friends to help me stay focused on the clean out and this afternoon post doc's appointment was actually pretty productive.  I am a hoarder and even knowing this about myself, I was still surprised at just how much 'junk' I've collected over the years and carted around from one house to the next.  She'll be back on Wednesday to help relieve the insanity again.  We'll head off to pilates at midday and maybe get coffee on the way back home so it should be a good day.  Thursday is girls night again, so all in all it will be a good week.  Here's to it being a productive and stress free one as well :)

Getting my life in order

Much of the last week was spent on tasks not directly related to the surgery.  Once I had made the decision to proceed, there were a lot of housekeeping items that I have decided needed to be taken care of before the 'big day'.  This will be the start of a new phase of my life and the 'old' needs to be finished and left behind as well.  This is the really boring stuff, like going to the accountant and getting the taxes up to date, checking into all our insurances to make sure we have the best options for us at this point in our lives, unpacking a few more boxes that have been sitting in our new house since we moved in twelve months ago and other such 'fun' tasks I am sure most people are familiar with.  It is highly unlikely that I will be inspired to work on these tasks whilst focusing on recovery since I have done so well in putting them off over the last few years, so maybe it's about time that I get my whole life in order and start fresh, not weighted down by the 'old stuff'.

In the decision making process, there were a lot of things to consider about what I want from my future and I think that in part, the things that held off moving towards making these things happen is the 'old stuff' that hangs around and becomes an excuse to stay in the same place (metaphorically).  I'm not quite sure of there was a single catalyst was to start down this path or if it was a number of reasons that I have collected over the last few years that I am sure that when I figure it out, it will be a good story to tell.  At that point though I hope to have all of the boxes unpacked and well on the way down the bright and shiny path.

Rehab Equipment

I went out to look at rehab equipment to see what I might need for when I come home from the hospital.  I will find out a lot more about this when I have my pre-op appointment on the Monday of surgery week, though I'd like to be a little more prepared, so I thought that I would see how knowledgeable the sales staff were in a rehab equipment store coupled with the information that I've found online.  The first place I found when I looked online was only about twenty minutes away in Algester, so I decided to head out and see what I could find.  I was helped out by a really helpful guy called Darren who was able to answer all of the questions that I had about all of the different things that I need to consider.

Some things to help me out will be arranged by the hospital.  As far as I can gather this will be the walker thing (like one of these or maybe just a frame like this - whatever they decide).  The extra bits and pieces to make the house a bit more friendly for me.  One of the important things will relate to making sure that in the early days (until I am cleared by the rehab physio or doctor), that my knee doesn't end up higher than the level of my hip.  Until the musculature strengthens around the joint and recovers from the damage caused by the surgery there is a risk of dislocation if I do.  Apparently this isn't as a significant risk with anterior incision but from what I can gather, this doesn't apply to me.  So, I have been looking at day chairs with adjustable legs (because my tv chair is way too low and I'd never get out of it), a seat raiser for the toilet, bars for stability and a chair for the shower.  I looked at a reacher and I'm not convinced I'll need one of those.  I haven't been easily able to pick things up for years and wonder if I could get away from not picking up anything off the floor for 6 - 8 weeks if I have help at home.  I don't particularly want to become reliant on aids, so it is a bit of a balancing act with those as well.  Obviously I need to take care with some things - like where I sit, chair in the shower etc, I do wonder just how many more of these things that I will need.