5/23 update

sunday is my day to update, so here we go....

it's really doing well, i think. i had my 2 week follow-up appointment on friday. dr. mathien and dr. rappe' seemed to think that things looked perfect. they took x-rays and took my old dressing/steri strips off and took the sutures out. dr. rappe' reminded me that this recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. i'm much better at sprinting. i do enjoy seeing progress in my daily exercises that dustin has me doing. i can now do a straight leg raise without too much pain. that makes me happy b/c initially, i couldn't even raise my leg at all! and my extensions are coming along too. slowly but surely. i start "for real" physical therapy this week. and we are heading out for our first official camping trip in our camper this weekend with swartz and betsy. we're excited about that. and although i still have 5 weeks, 4 days left on crutches, i'm still looking forward to getting away with my precious family. how i love them.

5/16 update

it's sunday evening and i figured i'd update on my progress since last sunday. so far so good. my recovery has been easier than i anticipated.....guess i had prepared myself for the very worst, and it hasn't been that bad. i stopped taking pain meds (for the most part) on thursday. every now and again it gets a little achy before bed so i end up taking something in order to sleep. i am trying to be on the "machine" (as i call it...actually, the CPM) for a few hours a day. it feels good to get my knee bending/straightening - especially if i haven't moved it too much. there really is little pain.....unless i really try to push it and bend it farther or straighten it farther. but, still, it's really not that painful. achy is more the word i would use to describe it, i think. and my ankle stays slightly swollen. so it's overall just uncomfortable, but not painful.

only 6 weeks, 4 days until i'm off crutches. i'm definitely already on the count-down. it's pretty hard having everyone else do things for me......simple things like getting a drink (that's next to impossible on crutches!) or a tissue or whatever. molly has either been completely wonderful or completely over it! she told me i hadn't been much fun since i'd been on crutches. :)! i don't feel like i'm much fun either. i keep telling her (and myself) that it will be worth it in the long run!! adie has quickly become a daddy's girl! she's just a "go with the flow" girl, so it hasn't phased her too much.

i'd covet your prayers over the next 6 weeks and 4 days!! i want to continually rest in Christ - let Him be my strength and my joy. and somehow share that with those around me, even though i can't do much of anything else!

more pics

this is pretty much what i look like at all times these days.....completely tired, greasy and generally disgusting! :)
removing the dressing at the hospital since it had seeped through every layer!


and there it is!! the beastly one! :)

surgery!

well, it's day 3 after surgery.....here's a recap since thursday:

*went in for surgery at saint mary's north at 7:00am

*took me back at 8am to get IV going and all the prep work

*began surgery at 9:30

*finished surgery at 12:00

everything went perfectly with the surgery. because of the location and shape of my defect, they had to do two plugs of bone instead of one big one. kind of like a snowman. this helped them shape it better to the contour of my bone. and they ended up nailing them in. i was admitted for a 23 hour stay, which i was happy about. saint mary's north is brand new and super nice. i got suite 3030 which someone said was peyton manning's suite. super nice and HUGE! and other than the nurses kind of being ding-dongs, the stay was really nice. and as long as they kept the demoral shots coming, i stayed pretty pain free and happy. they brought in a CPM unit (continuous passive motion) which i started on....it's a contraption that you put your leg in and it bends/straightens your leg for you. the doctor wanted me to get to 0 degrees extension and 90 degrees flexion. and i'm already doing better than that, so i'm happy!

my first evening home (friday) was pretty rough. i got a little behind on my medicine (oxycontin and percocet) since we had to get the Rx filled....and until i got caught up, i was brought to tears a few times. hurt like the dickens. my knee felt like it was just gonna rip apart; and a lot of my pain was actually from my hip flexor - i am continually trying to compensate for my knee by using my hip and it gets super tired and sore. but i can't help but use it! anyhow....by bedtime friday night most of my pain was under control, and i had an ok night of sleep. and each day continues to get better. i'm still staying consistent with the pain meds - have been trying to space them out a bit more today. but i figure for the first week i'd better use them!

today on the CPM, i was at -5 extension and 100 flexion. pretty pumped about that. plus i was able to stretch my hip out really good.....and that felt SO good. it's just so tense all the time! been trying to do quad sets (just tightening my quads) and working on a leg lift. still can't do that. dustin assures me it's normal.

the girls have done really well so far. molly's been a good little helper and adie hasn't jumped on me, so i'd say that's pretty incredible. they've been troopers. and dustin has been wonderful. and my mom is pretty awesome too. i've got lots of help and tons of food. it's nice to be surrounded by such helpful and loving people. i'll try to keep updating on my progress!