The Surgery
Recovery - Week 1
Recovery - Week 2
Week 3
Day 15 (Thur) – I've noticed throughout the day that I’ve had some minor improvements during the last two weeks and a few drawbacks: The discomfort I had while driving to and from work has almost faded completely, pain and pulling during big stretches in the hips and legs after long periods of sitting has also faded almost completely, my wrists are hurting a lot more now even when I’m not on the crutches, the heels of my palms continue to be tender to the touch and when under pressure, and my right foot tires quickly from being my primary means of support so often.
I have a 4 day break starting tomorrow, I wish I could take a day or two off for complete rest but it’s just not possible: I'm alone this weekend and then will be out of town the next.
I discovered during the evening that my left knee hurts when it’s straightened and I flex my foot upwards. I believe it’s happening because of my inactivity and the lack of use of the leg and foot itself. I will periodically stretch it in hopes of getting rid of the pain.
Day 16 (Fri) – My first necessary adventure this weekend is to get an oil change, in preparation for next weekend. I loaded up a backpack with some fruit, fluids, and a book in anticipation of spending a couple hours at the local garage. It was pretty shocking when the store associate called me up to the counter shortly after I settled into a chair with the news that the car was complete and ready to go. I was actually a little disappointed; the time outside of the house, out of the daily routine, was something I looked forward to. I did end up treating myself to a nice breakfast out before going back home, to stay out another few minutes. I just didn’t want to face an empty house when doing everything there takes a lot of effort, where the only sound is the rattling of the demons running around the inside of my head.
I had my Blu-ray, a decent collection of DVDs and BRDs, and my icing schedule to keep me occupied for the evening.
Day 17 (Sat) – I tried to spend as much time off my feet and off the crutches as possible today, just move about as necessary. My sister Charlene and brother in-law Billy were in California, participating in the Disneyland 10k today so I got up early to with them both a good race. I then ended up staying awake to keep tabs on my sister’s finish time: she earned herself a new PR and placed 4th in her AG (I was very proud of her). I even spend a good hour or more keeping tabs on the results page as she fluctuated between 3rd and 4th place. It felt just like last November (2014) after the Disneyland Avengers Half Marathon where she and I both placed in our age groups and we waited for the results to solidify. After the excitement of her race and Billy’s finishing I began working on my weekly recovery blog posting.
Later in the afternoon I drove to a local grocery store to pick up a few necessities. My palms definitely appreciated the break but it didn’t take long for my right foot to start complaining.
Day 18 (Sun) - I had originally intended to go see a movie, to get out of the house and allow my brain to turn off, but I decided to use my energy for something more productive: I shopped for and bought a pair of fingerless weightlifting gloves with a little padding in the palms. They feel great while crutching around (though my wrists still protest). The gloves helped me get around more comfortably while shopping over the next couple hours. I was trying to find some clever way to display a "winner's" shirt I had received earlier in the year, some older music that I’ve been thinking of lately, and a good movie. I successfully found 2 out of 3 things (movie and music), that isn't bad.
Day 19 (Mon) – My sister spent most of the day with me today: I helped her return the rental car she and by brother in-law had gotten for the long weekend and then we went out for lunch at Jason’s Deli. After lunch we swung into my standard grocery stores to stock up for the short week and the week following.
Later in the evening Charlene washed my laundry while I iced. I hate asking her to do it, to even help with laundry, but frankly I can’t get it up and down the stairs. Even if I took small loads up and down using my race bag I couldn’t get it done just for the fact that multiple trips on the stairs wipes me out. While the laundry did its thing she and I watched Wall-E on Blue-ray, we also talked about her races for the rest of the year, my new knee pain, and each of our future race plans.
Day 20 (Tue) – I slept on my right side for a little bit during the night. It felt good until I had to roll over to turn off my alarm, which did not please my left hip at all.
Stretching my hip and leg out at work is difficult but I’ve been able to arrange my office so that I can get as close to the set up I need. My frustrations with the physical building that I work in continue to grow; each day the doors make me lose balance, opening the exterior doors even hurt my wrists because of the angle I have to position myself, even the men’s room adds to the stress levels because they are not set up for a handicapped person at all.
To my delight I’ve been able to schedule my first physical therapy session for a week from the coming Friday: I get to shed my crutches, I get to do my first free walk in a month, and I get to start the process of becoming healthy again.
Day 21 (Wed) - 3 weeks done, one to go. I am seeing improvement in my daily life, it feels so good: My morning drives are becoming easier (nearly discomfort free both trips), the knee and foot stretching seems to be helping, and best of all I sneezed twice today and had no core pain at all. The sneezing/core pain was one of my biggest indicators of trouble at the beginning of this whole thing. I’d call that progress.
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