General State of Things
Well, I didn't keep up with my day-by-day postings about the ankle, but since not a whole lot changes day by day, I think I'm okay with that.
I'm still hooked up to the ice machine, and now that the dressing has changed, I can feel the cool water, and it's amazing. It really provides a type of relief that even pain killers can't. I'm very much in favor of this rig and heartily recommend it to anyone having any sort of surgery where it would be appropriate. The only drawback is that since I do not have a separate large freezer, I've been asking friends to pick up ice for me bag after bag after bag, and I can only store so much in my freezer to get me through just about a day. So it's kind of a neverending ice-trek. If I had ice making or storing capabilities, this would be easier, I'm sure. It's still worth it. The regular Nurse Nancies all know to bring a bag of ice when they come over to visit, so that's been great.
Still having some pain, but it's all but wiped out with the drugs. I've weaned down pretty substantially, down to 2 percocet while I sleep (one at a time for 5 hours each) and then a darvocet every 5-6 hours during the day. And unless I really bang it around, that definitely covers me, and doesn't make me spacy. The doctor says that's a great level to be at and he's happy with my progress.
The X-rays came out well, he said that he's seeing improvement already. He also said the incision was in good shape and that I'm coming along nicely. I've been a good patient, I think - I really haven't pushed myself to do anything other than lay here and elevate. I can't imagine doing this if I had a child, or if I didn't have such amazing friends who were willing to help me all the time. I'll probably get tired of the dependence soon and start pushing the boundaries of what's good for me, but so far it has been a relaxing vacation from the hubbub outside the door. Talk about being homebound! I've walked out my front door once in 10 days.
I've got the shower thing down. I wrap a towel around the thigh of my bad leg, and drape it over the side of the tub, while sitting on a bath bench covered with a towel (it's kind of grody.) I then tuck the shower curtain between my hip and thigh and drape it to close it. So any water that sneaks through gets caught by the towel (and not much does, really.) I've managed to take 3 showers this way with the handheld shower, and it's both thorough and totally satisfying. After a few minutes of being down, my ankle pretty much gets all warm and goes numb. The doctor says that's not so great for it, and that I should limit my showers to once every 3-4 days. But the nice thing is that it doesn't particularly hurt. Either that or I'm just so freakin distracted by the glorious running water that it's not a big deal to my brain. :)
Not showering for 4 days reeeeally makes you appreciate it when you finally do. I can tell you that.
Anyway - not a lot of gimp news. It hurts more now that it has a sleeker bandage, but I'm sure that's a part of it getting better. I need to get stronger. I am definitely learning to use the crutches better and the muscles that haul me around are getting stronger. It's very clear when I have to get myself up from a sitting position that my arms are learning some new skills.
The cats are driving me crazy. Either using my wedge as their own personal furniture, or clawing their way over my exposed flesh to reach an alternate destination - I really would like to string them up by their whiskers right now.
I know it's hard to think of doing it when they're this cute... but still. Notice the gimp-foot dangling precariously off of the side of the wedge, about to perish.
I'm feeling the need to read and/or nap.. perhaps both. Maybe I'll write something of more substance later this afternoon. There are some issues percolating that I'd like to explore, but I'm not sure quite how. Maybe time will help me sort through it.
I'm still hooked up to the ice machine, and now that the dressing has changed, I can feel the cool water, and it's amazing. It really provides a type of relief that even pain killers can't. I'm very much in favor of this rig and heartily recommend it to anyone having any sort of surgery where it would be appropriate. The only drawback is that since I do not have a separate large freezer, I've been asking friends to pick up ice for me bag after bag after bag, and I can only store so much in my freezer to get me through just about a day. So it's kind of a neverending ice-trek. If I had ice making or storing capabilities, this would be easier, I'm sure. It's still worth it. The regular Nurse Nancies all know to bring a bag of ice when they come over to visit, so that's been great.
Still having some pain, but it's all but wiped out with the drugs. I've weaned down pretty substantially, down to 2 percocet while I sleep (one at a time for 5 hours each) and then a darvocet every 5-6 hours during the day. And unless I really bang it around, that definitely covers me, and doesn't make me spacy. The doctor says that's a great level to be at and he's happy with my progress.
The X-rays came out well, he said that he's seeing improvement already. He also said the incision was in good shape and that I'm coming along nicely. I've been a good patient, I think - I really haven't pushed myself to do anything other than lay here and elevate. I can't imagine doing this if I had a child, or if I didn't have such amazing friends who were willing to help me all the time. I'll probably get tired of the dependence soon and start pushing the boundaries of what's good for me, but so far it has been a relaxing vacation from the hubbub outside the door. Talk about being homebound! I've walked out my front door once in 10 days.
I've got the shower thing down. I wrap a towel around the thigh of my bad leg, and drape it over the side of the tub, while sitting on a bath bench covered with a towel (it's kind of grody.) I then tuck the shower curtain between my hip and thigh and drape it to close it. So any water that sneaks through gets caught by the towel (and not much does, really.) I've managed to take 3 showers this way with the handheld shower, and it's both thorough and totally satisfying. After a few minutes of being down, my ankle pretty much gets all warm and goes numb. The doctor says that's not so great for it, and that I should limit my showers to once every 3-4 days. But the nice thing is that it doesn't particularly hurt. Either that or I'm just so freakin distracted by the glorious running water that it's not a big deal to my brain. :)
Not showering for 4 days reeeeally makes you appreciate it when you finally do. I can tell you that.
Anyway - not a lot of gimp news. It hurts more now that it has a sleeker bandage, but I'm sure that's a part of it getting better. I need to get stronger. I am definitely learning to use the crutches better and the muscles that haul me around are getting stronger. It's very clear when I have to get myself up from a sitting position that my arms are learning some new skills.
The cats are driving me crazy. Either using my wedge as their own personal furniture, or clawing their way over my exposed flesh to reach an alternate destination - I really would like to string them up by their whiskers right now.
I know it's hard to think of doing it when they're this cute... but still. Notice the gimp-foot dangling precariously off of the side of the wedge, about to perish.
I'm feeling the need to read and/or nap.. perhaps both. Maybe I'll write something of more substance later this afternoon. There are some issues percolating that I'd like to explore, but I'm not sure quite how. Maybe time will help me sort through it.