5 weeks Post-Op

So... another week further into recovery. I can honestly say - there are more good moments than completely awful ones. When I type that out it seems unreal that 5 weeks have already passed - I am beyond halfway through my initial recovery. I have noticed that some things are a little bit easier. Definitely better than a couple weeks ago but I am still in more pain than I really thought that I would be at this point - which sucks...

I run between a 7/8 (when I wake up and when I push 6 hours on pain meds) and a 3 when icing, using CPM and 30 minutes - 3 hours of taking pain meds. I am still having the severe sunburn pain - skin is still very sensitive to touch, even my clothes hurts sometimes. I am still having the muscle cramping/twitching/locking up. Sometimes I wake up from it (not that I am sleeping great anyway)...

I talked to Dr.'s office today because I still have a lot of swelling/redness/hot to the touch. I don't have a fever, night sweats or chills though. I had sent them a picture of my leg just to see if they still thought it wasn't infected because the incision and drain holes (while not fully healed) still look good. They are concerned it might be contact dermatitis. I was still a little worried that it might be cellulitis but my blood work showed nothing significant and I did have a round of antibiotics... So, tomorrow, I will be trying some hydro-cortisone cream topically and a new med for the nerve pain. Lyrica or gabapentin - we'll see how it goes.

This last week has been super busy. My lil man had his 5th birthday - he is getting so big! I can't believe it. I was up and about A LOT trying to get things ready (shopping & decorating) and then at his party when we had a bunch of people over! It was lots of fun but I was seriously hurting afterward. My feet were so swollen (both of them) that I put my TED hose back on for a couple days! It was also my mother-in-law's birthday and we (my family and brother/sister in laws family) drove out to the in-laws house with a birthday dinner. The sun came out, the food was good, the kids were playing and I fell asleep on her couch after food for about 5 hours and that was with kids and loud family members around!!!! I was so wiped that even after we drove home I was so ready for bed. I can't believe how sleepy I was. Obviously, my body needs it but it is still crazy how tired I get with so little "hard" activity.

I have been sleeping in my bed again - without the CPM machine but still using the cryo-cuff. I still haven't made it comfortably to 90 degrees on the CPM but I am noticing that I am not AS STIFF when I have been out of it for awhile. I can only sleep on my back or non-operated side. I usually start on my back with a pillow under my operated leg longways and another pillow underneath my knee. After just a couple hours I wake up super sore and stiff. I have to wake the Mr. up in order for him to help me roll sideways onto my non-op side and fold the top pillow in half underneath my knee. I do this over and over because I can't stay in the same position for more than a copule hours...

I can't help but wonder, when does it stop taking SO MUCH out of you to do things - normal things?? I was really hoping to try some camping before the summer is over. We have access to our in-laws motor home to drive south or stay at the river when the Mr. is busy with fishing. We can also use our cabins at the lake. They are pretty decked out and I have a queen size bed out there, a hammock, my camping chair, the dock and the fire pit. The only issues there are the walk down to the boat landing, getting in the boat, getting out of the bank, getting around the cabins & an outhouse.

Leg at 5 weeks (redness & swelling that got me worried and emailing the Dr.)