One week ago I had my LPAO, and I think it was still going on at this time as well. I'm amazed at how much I am able to do already. I can get to and from the bathroom and bed without any assistance. I am able to dress myself using my grabber. I haven't tried putting on my own socks yet, but it is summer, so I can live without them. I plan on taking another shower today which I hope will go quicker than last time. I have been doing my exercises twice a day: ankle pumps, quad sets, glute sets, heel slides, abductors, and leg lifts at the knee. The only exercise I have any trouble with is the abductors. I have to move my leg out to the side and back in and I do not have enough strength to do it correctly. I am still taking my Norco every 3 to 3 1/2 hours. I was trying to spread them out more, but the pain is still too much. I did sit up in my wheelchair and the couch for a total of 3 hours yesterday, and that left me with a lot of pain last night and this morning. Some of it is muscle pain, but then I also have pain in my butt and groin, which I think is bone pain or screws. I will be making my first trip out on Thursday to take care of some paperwork, which is also Jeff and I's four year wedding anniversary. Who knows if we will do anything special. It's up to Jeff since I can't move to do anything, lol. I'm happy about the progress I've made in one week, and I hope I can keep the progress going. I just need to find the focus to get back to my school work. I finished my first summer class with a 100% so I hope I can pull off the same for my other two. Well, now I am rambling.
Last, but not least, please keep my friend Ashley in your thoughts and prayers. She is about to have her 8th orthopedic surgery on June 20th in Boston and is super stressed about it. She needs all the good vibes she can get!
Here is a pic of my silly Lilly doing what she does best. I hope it brightens your day!
EDIT: I forgot to add that I have my follow up appointment with Dr. Scheid on Wednesday, June 22nd at 9:15 am. I can't wait to see my x-rays!
2 comments:
It sounds like things are going pretty well. My daughter is having LPAO surgery on June 28th with the same team of doctor's. Any suggestions for her?
First of all, best wishes to her for a speedy recovery! If she's young, it will be a piece of cake. My biggest suggestion to you is don't be afraid to ask Dr. Scheid the tough questions. I had a hard time questioning him at first, but it's worth the tension to get the answers you need. While she's at Methodist, if the nurses or techs come in and offer her something, she should take it. They don't always come when you push the button so take advantage of the times they do come in. Also, ask the nurses to wake her up during the night if they switch her to oral pain meds. I think I started on these right away with morphine and it was really easy to make the switch. If you don't ask the nurses to come in, they won't. The hospital stay was so much easier than I thought it would be and I enjoyed the mornings because I would be alone and could just sleep as much as a wanted. Having too many visitors all the time makes it hard to get rest. Tell her that as long as she takes the pain meds when she should and follows the suggestions of the doctor, her pain will be just minimal. She'll have to push her green button a lot the first night and next day, but after that it's better to back off. I hope all of this makes sense and helps. Also, if you haven't seen it yet, check out this site: http://hipchicksunite.ning.com/
I'm a member and it's a great way to get advice from girls all over the world going through the same thing.
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