Home from the hospital...again!!

So, I know on my last post that I said I would post about was happened at the doctors. Well, my post-op appointment did not go as planned. In the evening of Friday, October 3rd I found a large lump at my incision. I got really scared and thought that I had over done it on Friday because I had done the stairs like 3-4 times that day. Doug got me an ice pack - but that didn't work. I really thought that my screws were coming loose (the ones in my hip silly people). I didn't want to go to the ER over the weekend - well merely because if you have ever sat in the ER you would understand.

Turns out I should have went to ER over the weekend. When I got to the doctors, Dr. Goodspeed's med student, Bryan, took a look at my incision and the lump. He told me that I had an infection and that they were going to have to open me back up and scrape it out!! What the hell!!??!! No, no, no, this appointment was to have good news - not this. Dr. Goodspeed came in and said that yes, indeed I would need surgery - and it was going to have to be the same day.

Doug drove me across the hospital campus to the hospital and they admitted me. My appointment was at 10 am and my surgery was to be after 6pm. Thus no food!! I had the worst headache by the time my surgery came around at 8pm.

The infection was luckily superficial (on the surface). However Dr. Goodspeed had seen some puss (I know - gross) near the bone and hardware. So they decided to treat it as a bone infection. They told me that there wasn't anything that I did wrong with cleaning. The infection was because of the tricky spot the incision was at.

I have very small and deep veins that roll. This makes I.V's not so much fun. In the course of the week in the hospital I blew 3 I.V's and the veins refused the 4th. And that is not including all of the sticks.

So after a week in the hospital I got home on Saturday. I have a Picc line in my arm and am administering my own I.V. meds every 6 hours!! and I earned myself 6 more weeks off. UGH!!! I am fortunate to be able to work from home, but it is not as easy as if I would be in my office with everything around me.

As far as the hip recovery... I am doing well I guess. I have been have a lot of burning, tingling, pain in my leg. They said that this is due to the fact that my muscle and nerve were cut and re-attached. Ice and nerve medication is helping with this. I am starting to move around a little better. While I was in the hospital, PT worked with me to ditch the walker. I am now using crutches.

I go back to the doctor in 2 weeks, so lets hope that appointment goes a little better!!!

I'm Home!!!

**A quick note - sorry this is so long, I kept adding to it, but never posted, I will start to do more posts so they are shorter**

I came home Saturday, September 20th. I was to come home on Friday but the social worker at the hospital decided that Fridays were not for working and did not order my walker or crutches. UGH!! Anyway, me and all of my equipment are home.



I live in a two story house that only has one bathroom...on the second floor. So I got acclimated to the stairs very quickly. I won't be doing them too much right now, as that wears me out very quick. Doug has been an absolute dream. Everything that I have needed he has bent over backwards to get me. It is going to take me a while to let people do things for me. I am very stubborn (isn't the first step - admitting) and have always been the helper not the helpee.



Doug has installed handicap bars in the bathroom. I have a potty riser, walker, and crutches. It is amazing how this surgery ages you by 50 years! Good thing it only ages you for a couple of months.


First Week Home - The first week seemed to fly by. I had so many people coming to see me that the days went really fast. I hate taking pain pills (everyone knows this), so everyone has been trying to convince me that it is OK to not be a hero and take the meds. I did pretty good only taking pills two to three times a day. The morphine was giving me headaches so I tried to take that as little as possible and stuck mainly to the Oxycodone.

Second Week - Before the surgery I decided that I would work from home while I recoup. After all I am the controller at my company and for many things if i don't do them, they won't get done. That is not a dis to any of my co-workers, there are just some things that only I know how to do. This has been challenging. I have worked from home before on days where I was out because of a cold or asthma, but I have always been able to take the stuff I did at home back into work and file it or do what I needed to do. I am totally dependent on my boss right now, who has been a gem working with me. He brings me work to my house two days a week and I give him stuff that needs to be taken back to the office. I never really thought that my two bosses realized just how much I did for their company, but I believe that they are realizing it now. The other day my boss told me that I was running him like crazy and that his days were going a lot faster. And just think - he is only doing half of what I do - so that made me feel really good. Nothing like a little job security

As far as recouping - the end of the week has been a little rough. I have felt a little more down as the week went on. I hate looking at my leg and knowing that it won't and I can't move it. I have a large bump right at my incision, which is scaring the hell out of me, but it has also caused that section of my incision to come open. I thank God I am going to the doctor on Monday. The pain is getting a lot better, at least if I really concentrate on mind of matter. I have been trying to only take the Oxycodone once a day. First of all I hate the way meds make my head feel (nope never experimented with pot - and I am pretty sure I wouldn't like it seeing as I hate the "high" feeling from these pills); secondly, I do not want to come out of this surgery recoup addicted to pain meds!! I am motoring around better with my walker. My friend Fred finds it absolutely hilarious that I am using a walker. He calls be "broke ass" or "hop along" depending on his mood.

Present Day - Today, Sunday (two days before 3 weeks since surgery) I broke down. I may have mentioned this a time or two, but I was (am) a very active person. Sitting for two days when I am sick is hard so these past two weeks at home have been a little tricky. Today I cried, a lot actually. I guess I was feeling sorry for myself. I know darn well there are people out there that are much worse off than I am and some won't get any better, but today I needed to cry. Doug felt helpless, he didn't know what to do to make me stop crying. Truth be told, there really was nothing he could do, I just needed to let it out. I was feeling down, not to mention that I was really weak today. I am glad that I lost a lot of wait before getting this surgery because lugging around your body can wear you out quickly. You know how your arms feel the day or so after a great work out? Well, mine have been feeling that way every day! They are so sore from my shoulder down to the thumb joint. I think a lot of the hand pain comes from having to grasp the walker and the railing when I want to go downstairs.

I go to the doctor tomorrow. I am anxious to go. I hope I hear some good news; I am not sure exactly what I want to hear, but I hope it is good. I know it will be a little painful and tiring tomorrow seeing as I have another appointment with a different doctor before the surgeon, but I am looking forward to getting out!! I do not know how people live like hermits. It has only been two weeks at home and already I am a little stir crazy.

Well I know this post was extremely long - so thank you for sticking it out to the end. I promise from here on out the posts will be shorter and more frequent. I will let you know how the doctors went. 'Til then!!

Less than two weeks and counting...

I think that the last two weeks before surgery are going to be brutal!! They seem like they are moving so slow, but then again I feel like I have so much to do. I "googled" PAO surgery and found quite a few blogs of people who are going through or went through the same thing. In a way it has been a comfort to know that there are other people like me. I came across Beth's blog. She has been very helpful, even emailed me to let me know of a group on yahoo called the "hipsters". I logged on and found a wonderful list of items to get or do for surgery prep. Some things I would have never thought of!

This weekend I plan to go get some of the items including silky PJ's (again would have never thought of this) because they said the silky ones help you to move in and out of bed better. My friend has a shower chair for me and I have a potty seat lift.

My other form of prep is that of keeping my sanity. I do soooo many things now like tennis, mountain biking, kayaking that I am very afraid that I will go stir crazy. I love to knit so I have stocked up on projects. If all goes well, many people will be happy this Christmas.

I also went to the podiatrist to see about what I thought was corn removed. Turns out it is a bone sticking out!! Then he also pointed out that the protrusions by my big toes were bunions. WTF!!! I though only old ladies got bunions, I am 27 years old!!! It is because of my flat feet. He wants me to have surgery to correct them, as it will only get worse as I get older. UGH! Another surgery. I tried to get them to do that surgery and my PAO at the same time, but they will not. So I am now facing another surgery...UGH

So anyway...that is where I am, just continuing the prep work until the big day.

Hello...is this thing on?

So this blog has been a long time coming. I read a lot of knitting blogs and now facing my PAO surgery I am reading fellow "hipster" blogs. Let me give you some background. I am 27 years old and I enjoy sports. I play tennis, mountain bike, kayak, hike, jog, go to the gym, and do whatever athletic thing tickles my fancy! I have never really know when to quit. When I am not going buck wild out doors, I am knitting. No knitting does not age me, just take a look around...there are many young and cool knitters. Knitting is not your grandma's knitting these days.

I am two weeks away from having my life changed dramatically (and hopefully for the better). On September 16th I will go in for PAO surgery to correct very painful hip dysplasia. I am scared shit less (yes there will be swearing in this blog...sorry I'll try to keep it to a minimum). I went today for my pre-op appointment. I came home and googled "PAO surgery" and could not believe the community of fellow PAOers. All of which have helped to ease my mind as a read them. So I figured I would return the favor and document my surgery from beginning to end of full recovery. On this blog you will read about the PAO surgery as well as my adventures in life and knitting. I hope you'll stay and read.