Out with the Old, In with the New · 4:38am Feb 25th, 2017
Well, there it is. What to say about it? I'm told it's mostly titanium with some high-tech ceramics. Manufacturer unknown, but I should ask. Can't say I feel it, except that the old pains are gone and the new ones are far lesser and of a different kind. Wednesday marked a month since it went in, which seems both a remarkably short and long time. The surgeon was pleased with his work, the physical therapy staff is pleased with my progress, and I'm pleased with the results, such as they are.
Surgery went smoothly, and I was super calm beforehand, so calm, I think they suspected I'd taken something before showing up. So, a little something to relax, get wheeled to the operating room, a spinal, and I wake up in the recovery room. Time there was long: Apparently, my body liked the spinal anesthesia and wanted to hold on to it. For perhaps two hours I could not feel or move my toes, and my brain was positively convinced that my left leg was at a 45º angle crossed over the right, despite what my eyes told it.
The hospital stay was 2-½ days. Staff was super nice, I suspect mostly because I comply: I'm that type. Not much more to say about it as I'm told my experience was typical, so if you've been there (which almost everyone but me has been) you know what it was like.
The first post-op week was a blur, which I bet you are thinking was due to pain meds. Nope. Hardly took any, as they were short lived and unpleasant. It was fatigue, sometimes rather sudden, which dogged me for perhaps the first ten days out of the hospital. Staying awake at any time of day was difficult, and when awake, I found myself completely unmotivated to do anything. Anything. And, of course, when I wanted to sleep that was difficult to impossible since I had to sleep on my back like a corpse and keep both legs elevated.
Yet I wasn't discouraged because improvements in motion and strength were noticeable by the day, and I moved my base of operations back to the first floor and resumed a more normal life, albeit a lot slower and measured one. When it takes time to move from room to room, you really need to plan ahead.
The second week and part of the third were the worst, not due to the surgery, but a cold. Just when I'd started to emerge from the fog, I was waylaid again, and this new way of depriving me of sleep made things worse. During this time I at least got away from using the walkers and... well... resumed regular dress. That allowed me some outdoor time, walking from the sidewalk to the garage like I was in a prison exercise yard.
At the end of the third week, when that x-ray was taken at the surgeon's office, I got my driving privileges back, but even now, driving seems weird after the hiatus. Home therapy is over, and next Tuesday I start a three-week stint of outpatient physical therapy to build strength and restore my balance. Although I can walk quite a distance without a cane, the old rolling gait remains, making me unsteady. By the end of March, the situation should be fully addressed, and I hope to be in better shape since perhaps 2006.
All this superfluous moving-about news aside, what about putting my glued-together butt in a chair and getting down to writing? Yeah, I did that starting on Tuesday. Not a lot, but some. Notes became first draft text and some serendipitous music selections on the classical station filled in a story gap. I think.
I have a ton of non-writing projects that are on hold due to motion restrictions: Can't have that expensive new toy popping out now, can we?* Therefore, now that my head feels normal, I'll be spending time here, working away at the next chapter. After all, how else am I going to test out this slick new WASD keyboard with Cherry brown switches?
PS: Avatar changed. Wanted to do that for some time. Additionally, I've one non-writing, pony project schedule for this weekend. It's been hanging around since the end of November. Once it is done, I'll post a picture.
* No "crossing the midline" with either leg, keeping the body-leg angle greater than 90º, limiting rotation of the torso, absolutely no rotation of the operated leg. As you can imagine, this makes many common tasks frustrating and tedious. And seriously, having the freaking thing pop out is a risk that will remain for a while.
New avatar" adorable. New hip: practical.
Did you keep the old parts? You can make some interest things from human bones you know.
4435674
I chose that particular picture since the poor thing's mane is as unruly as mine.
Your avatar is new(ish) too, isn't it? A very determined fellow there, off to conquer the world.
4436086
You know, I meant to ask if I got the parts back, but never got around to it: They never offered either. And by the time I was in the operating room and feeling rather relaxed, it was too late.
It would be a unique experience, to hold one's bones. The next time I see my orthopedist/surgeon, I'll ask what became of my partial remains.
4436406
Yes, and a close match for my mane "style" as well!
4436406 well, I wish you luck getting that little piece of yourself back.
Glad to hear the surgery went good and you're recovery is going well, except for the cold, of course. Bleh! Like the new avatar. The expression is priceless!