Post-surgery Week 1

Week  1:

Surgery day, post-surgery Day 0:  During my pre-surgery briefing from the anesthesiologist I expressed my tendency to be slow to wake up after anesthesia.  He assured me that he didn’t need to put me too deeply under and that I should wake quickly.  He wasn’t kidding, I came up pretty fast and left the clinic in pretty short order.  My sister was there waiting for me when the nurses wheeled me out, she offered to be my designated driver and my helper over the first several days of recovery.  She was bound and determined to ensure I wouldn't face this alone.  The surgery center sent us off with an instruction sheet, a pair of crutches, and a bandage on my hip the size of a diaper.  As you’d expect the anesthesia chemicals weren’t fully out of my system when we’d left: I had to ask my sister to stop the car after a short drive because the movement of the car and the flashing scenery in my periphery was beginning to make me dizzy and sick to my stomach. 

During the drive to get home and lunch, Charlene gave me the bad news she’d received from the doctor, that  I would not be allowed to run or walk any extended distances at all until he was sure my hip and femur were 100% healed.  That means I could not run, run/walk, or even walk the Avenger’s Half Marathon Weekend events I’d signed up for at the beginning of the year.  Charlene suggested I contact runDisney requesting a registration deferment from the 2015 events to 2016.  They answered quickly, I could submit the deferment application online begin September 29.

 We returned to my house after lunch, to begin a 30 minute on/off ice schedule listed in my post-op instruction sheet.  Later that night we tried a short “walk” to the housing complex’s main gate: to show sis the walking gate into my complex as well as to test myself on the crutches.  It didn’t even take 20 meters of using those things for me to know that they would wear me out and that they chafed.  We’d have to take care of that the next morning, that and a couple other necessities.  I also realized that standing up from the seated position was putting strain on my right knee, fortunately I have a patellar tendon strap to use to help with this.

Post-surgery Day 1:  I slept on the couch over night, I wasn’t about to try the stairs so soon.  It wasn’t a good night’s sleep, duration wise or comfort wise: I couldn’t get more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time and my post-surgery aches never allowed me to achieve any level of comfort.  I had hoped sleeping on the couch, using one arm as a footrest, would be helpful for blood flow but all it did was lock my knees and cause more discomfort.  Next time I sleep on the couch I’ll have to have a pillow under my knees. 

My sister Charlene and I took advantage of the poor sleep to get an early start on the tasks we needed to accomplish: temporary handicap placard from DMV (plus a couple other personal wants), find a medical supply store to buy padding for the crutches, pick up some cleaning supplies (at Sis’s insistence of helping around the house while she helped me through this first weekend), and pick up some food stuffs.  I was completely exhausted by the time we got back home even though Charlene did all of the lifting.  I immediately got back to the icing routine and hovered around the precipice of napping.  Sis started cleaning around the house and taking care of anything I needed.  She even prepared dinner for us and didn’t raise an eyebrow when I asked for my part of dinner to be prepared to my taste.

Post-surgery Day 2:  This time I slept in my recliner, to a much greater effect: more comfortable and longer lasting.  My sister and I worked on the easiest and safest way(s) for me to ascend and descend the stairs after she got in her morning run and I iced.  Thankfully I’d gotten some strength and control back in my hip so it didn’t take a lot of practice to feel confident in my ability to go up and down (another part of getting up the stairs was that is where the showers are).  Per the post-surgery instruction sheet we were given at the surgical center I could remove the bandages and finally clean myself up, I didn't really need more incentive to navigate the stairs.  I wish they would have told me I’d have to learn new ways to shower but hey, it was such a huge relief I guess I'll just have to be inventive. 

My brother in-law Billy came over to take care of trimming a couple bushes in front of my house a little later in the morning.  I hated to ask him to come all the way over to take care of something that I'd neglected but he really wanted to help make my down time easier and it would be wrong of me to deny him when he'd let me help him in the past.  I returned to my icing routine while he and Charlene worked on my front yard.  I felt bad about them doing so much work for me but they are both adamant that I do everything I can to promote a fast and complete recovery, and so am I (I’m bound and determined to help myself heal ASAP). 

A little later in the afternoon Sis and I got out of the house to do some shopping and idea spawning, we were both getting a little stir crazy at home doing the same thing over and over.  I even used an electric shopping cart at one of the grocery stores for the first time; both of my my latissimus dorsi were still raw from a day and a half of crutch use.  As for how that went, let’s just say that I’m glad I drive my car better than that cart (shelves and displays were not safe around me in one of those things).

Post-surgery Day 3 – I slept in the recliner again, it was even more restful than the first time.  I accidentally put almost my full weight on my left leg during the early morning hours but thankfully I realized it quickly and backed off.  I’m lucky it didn’t hurt something though my left quad did complain a bit through the rest of the day.   My sister and I both got up around the same time, she for a run and me to begin icing.  After she returned and completed her post-run stretching and fueling we cleaned/rearranged my kitchen and dining room so that I could have easy access to everything and a comfortable place to eat.  I was exhausted after just an hour doing that even though my sister did the majority of the work.  It was difficult to believe the arthroscopic surgery could knock me down that far but I accepted it since I didn’t have a choice.

Later in the day we went grocery shopping, to prepare me for the coming work week.  I drove my manual transmission car for the first time since the surgery:  it was uncomfortable enough that I could only stand it for about 15 minutes.  To make things worse I had to use my crutches in the first grocery store we stopped at, their electric carts were all broken.  My hip/leg protested quite a bit during and after that stop.  Fortunately for my hip and I the next stores we visited all had electric carts available.

When my sister and I finally arrived back at my house later in the afternoon we tested my ability to get through the garage fire door.  I almost fell down during the first attempt and though we tried a few other methods we didn't quite figure a safe way for me to get in.  We realized a little later in the evening that I’d need some way to carry things in the house when I’m alone, too many things couldn't be carried while on crutches.  Charlene and I searched around the house and she ended up discovering that a race swag bag turned sideways would fulfill my needs.  It was perfect to hang around my neck, stuff with whatever I wanted to carry (within reason), and move around on my crutches unencumbered.

Post-surgery Day 4 – Another night in the recliner, this thing really is a rest saver.  If my downstairs bathroom were a full bath as opposed to a half bath I’d probably not go up the stairs again for the next 1 to 3 months. 

My house suddenly became empty a little later in the day: Sis went home.  We both needed to get ready for the week ahead and her immediate family needed her too.  
I took care of my typical Sunday chores, one tiny step at a time.  I was ready to call it a night and go to bed after just one hour of what are normally simple tasks:  even my right foot was aching for all of the time I needed to stay upright and balanced on it.  Making my own dinner was a new adventure too, especially trying to get the finished meal from the stove to the table.  If I stand right in between the stove and my breakfast island I can stretch out to reach each place with a small amount of leaning, then it's just a matter of passing things from one hand to the other.

Post-surgery Day 5 – I slept in my bed for the first time since the surgery; it was a deeper sleep but my hip protested a lot every time I woke up.  Much like my time on the couch I need to have a pillow under my knees as well as under my heels.

While getting my lunch and snacks put together for the work day I found another bag among my race item collection that has my company logo.  I will use it for carrying things at work like the first bag does at home.  I also found out, with a little trial and error while I loaded my car for the trip to work, that I may have figured out a way to get through the garage fire door by using my left foot as a door stop and then exit the house backwards.  It will take more testing.

I was very lucky today that my friend and carpool pal Jill Soper was agreeable to taking the wheel for the drive to and from work today, the short drive from home to her house made me very aware that my hip still wasn't ready for an extended drive.  Before my surgery I thought I'd be very ready to return to work after 5 days of recovery but it turned out to be more of a strain than I anticipated.  Some of the worst parts about returning to work after surgery and an extended weekend are leaving the comfort of my own cave and hearing a bunch of inane comments and questions from people I have barely even seen before.  I am grateful for how patient and accommodating my supervisors and coworkers are though, they make it easier to get through a long day.  There are limitations at work though, no matter how accommodating my boss and coworkers are: my icing time has to be modified, I’m on my crutches a lot more than at home, and sometimes I have to hop a lot more than normal.  I’ve found that my right (plant) foot fatigues very quickly during the work day too.

I ended up finding a way to back into my house, through the pesky fire door, that feels easy to do and control though the door handle did pull a nasty trick by catching my bag and almost tripping me.  There sure are a lot of menial tasks I have to figure out along the way.

Post-surgery Day 6 – Over the course of the last 6 days I believe the heel of my palms have taken almost as hard of a beating as my left hip did during surgery.  I have realized that they’ve been aching nonstop for days now and every time I get on the crutches I feel it even more.  When I look at my hands I always expect to see deep bruises though there aren't any.  Of course my hip ached the first thing in the morning but that is as much about not having the opportunity to ice after work last night because I was late getting home and then being too busy during the limited time I had before needing to go to bed.  I also noticed this morning that the method I’ve used to get out of the shower two times is actually causing me to dig the corner of my bathroom counter into my hip very near the sutures.  I can’t allow myself to do that. 

I seem to be engaging my core a lot when using my crutches and when I change from standing to sitting and vice versa, I can feel it pulling at both hips.  I don't know if this is good or bad but when I already ache it's not exactly comforting.  My lower abs ached throughout the day too:  while on the crutches, when I have to hop, or when I have to stand on my right leg for any length of time.  I don’t feel discouraged yet but new aches and pains sure put a damper on things.  This was definitely one of my down days, I should have stayed in bed.

Post-surgery Day 7 - I had a poor start to the day again: my left side ached from before I even got out of bed, it made sure I knew that it was not happy.  Later in the day I realized the ache had faded away and that even my lower abs were feeling somewhat better.  I don’t doubt that the pressure change and approaching storms were giving my remodeled body a lot of grief.

I thought my garage fire door was bad, these self-closing doors at work are real buggers:  they close heavier and faster than my doors at home.  I’ve tried the same tricks I’ve learned already at home but these aggressive doors don’t allow me the chance to apply them fully.  Sometimes each different thing I bump into decides it must be my new challenge:  how best to use the public restrooms, how accommodate myself when the restroom isn’t set up for the handicapped, how to clean up after everything is done and I’m ready to leave, even getting out of the room itself.  It's kind of amusing sometimes, picturing myself from the outside trying to figure out things that are normally thoughtless.

The first week is done now.  I'm getting as used to my temporary situation as I can, relearning things in a new way, but I'll be happy to be done with this phase and move onto walking unassisted again.