8 weeks Post Op

(Saved up two posts for one day)

 So I am now officially through my initial recovery period from my RPAO, labral tear repair & femoral head/neck resurfacing. In my head this was my big milestone. At 8 weeks, I was supposed to be able to start doing everything again (walking, driving etc...)! A newly constructed $100k+ hip (the bills are still trickling in but we are over that amount already - details to come). Well, I made it to 8 weeks but not quite there yet. I have one more week of restrictions based on my last meeting with Dr. P on the 7/31/12 (actually a couple more days at this point). Last week I couldn't imagine being here. It felt like I would never get here. This last week was a long and hard one. I was very busy - doing more than I have at any point during recovery and paying for it. I have definitely felt more pain directly increased with my activity level. Some of the same pain - some new.

For the last couple days I have had a new pain that is rather annoying. It stems from the bottom (literally) of my pelvis, I think. The best way to describe it... if you think about when a kiddo hops on your lap and you say "you have a bony butt" when their little bones dig into your thighs... that, on me, hurts.

My bony butt... aches like heck, on both sides. I can't sit, I can't lay, can't walk, can't ride in a car well because of this pain. Sleeping is hilarious. The only thing that doesn't HURT it - is standing... but I have hardwood floors and my feet are not okay with this arrangement. It is a deep achy bone pain. I have tried muscle relaxers. I have tried laying flat. I have tried laying on my stomach. I have also tried rolling a ball along the back to "rub it out." UGH. This is really interfering with my attitude and my sleep. It isn't super intense but it is definitely enough to wake me up and not let me get a good night's sleep. I have a new prescription for sleeping pills to see if that helps...

Walking - I am still using both crutches but I can tell that I am putting more weight on my op leg. In our  kitchen, I have been using the counters to get around - cruising, the way babies do around furniture when the first learn to balance. I did accidentally take one step the other night (exactly 8 weeks post -op) when I was cleaning up a bit in the living room. It hurt like hell but my leg didn't buckle and I didn't fall. I don't know if it was more than just angry muscle pain but I will wait a couple more days just in case. I also don't see my crutches going too far in the immediate future.

Pain meds - I am still taking them. I was taking a lot again while my sister was here but if was definitely 'as needed.' Since my activities have calmed down a bit I am not taking as many. I have also stopped taking them when I wake in the middle of the night unless I really can't fall back asleep cause of the pain keeping me awake. Sometimes I can get away with tylenol but it is still pretty annoying to not feel rested. I miss my sleep. I miss sleeping on my right side. I really miss it. I don't like my back or left side with a thousand pillows between and around my legs.

Overall - I still have the hospital bed in the living room - it is still more comfortable than my couch for sitting and resting. I have finally branched out from my yoga pants. I wore my fat jeans for the first time since surgery. They fit (yay and boo) and didn't bother my hip too much. My left hip has been bothering me and I am hoping it is just from the overload. Lefty doesn't have the same dysplasia as my right did so it isn't likely to need to the PAO surgery but it had more arthritis and looked worse off on both the MRI and the x-rays. We'll see if a lighter load helps. I still like ice. My nifty cryo-cuff couldn't handle the work and has started leaking. I am going to buy the actual hip attachment for it and see if that helps. I know I will likely still want/need it when I start PT.

I start PT next week. I also go back to work. I am a little worried about this. The first couple days are without students so it will be nice to see how it goes but we also have to jump back into the work routine after having been out of it for a while...

My little girl starts third grade and a new school. My little guy is staying back for another year and trying preschool out. He has only ever been at an at-home daycare and just doesn't seem ready for kindergarten (from a professional view, not just the "mom-and-he-is-my-baby" view). I am really hoping for a great year for everyone.

I have been doing a lot of thinking (again) about Ehler's Danlos Syndrome (EDS). I have suspected for a little while now that I might have this (my little girl too). When I met with Dr. Mayo for my pre-op appt, he brought up my hypermobility again. He stated that he suspected a unknown connective tissue disorder but knew we didn't have a diagnosis of Marfan's syndrome or anything. I have done research on this and if I were a gambling woman - I would almost bet my house on this... I think that with my deductible and out of pocket expenses met - now might be the time to seek out a genetic specialist who might be able to shed some light on this. You can read about it here

Incision - 8 weeks Post-Op (you can still see my drain holes)
Bruising/Redness/Swelling @ 8 weeks - looks a lot better but still there
My "fat" jeans -that fit now & the top of my incision that peaks out

Fun with the Family

So my sister, her husband and my lil stinker of a nephew were here for a week. It was the shortest and longest week of the last couple months. I had a lot of hang out time and it was great. It was short cause, well - a week with my sister... a month would still feel too short. I really wish they would give up and move here because I know they had a good time.

I know this in part because of how freaking sore I was when they left. It took me 4 days to get around to posting about it! I saw the Dr. the day they got here and was given some pain meds. I didn't realize how much we did and/or how bad I was actually hurting until I took note of how many I went through while they were here.  Quite a few - I must have been back on a 4 hour schedule.

We went to our island and stayed a couple nights, we bbq'd, we ate yummy food. I did a lot more with them here than I have done since I saw them in Denver earlier this summer. As much as it hurt (still does - haven't recovered yet) I wish they were still here.

Some of our shenanigans...


Lil Guy actually letting me hold him at dinner
Kiddos on the trampoline
Heading out to the cabin
In the water

My little girl & little guy kneeboarding (with a loon popping up to say hi)

Being silly

6 & 7 week Post - Op

6 Weeks The day before 6 weeks, I decided I was completely sick of my house. The Mr. had been out of the house for several days: one with the kids playing, 4-wheeling by himself and running our summer fishing business. The kids and I were stir crazy with cabin fever. So I decided that we could continue to get on each others' nerves in our house or we could go to the valley with my in-laws and either stay at their house (where we wouldn't be alone) or in the motor home in their yard one night (to see how well I could stand sleeping in the motor home seconds from a real bed).

The Mr. was already out at the river fishing by the time we woke up to get ready. I was crutching along, helping the kids get packed up and showered, when I slipped in the bathroom on the wet floor (darn those kiddos for getting in and out of the shower, splashing in play). I stepped hard - not actually falling, but definitely breaking my weight bearing restrictions (44 lbs). Pain shot up and down my body from my chest to my toes but I was determined to get out of the house so I continued. We finally got out of the house (with the great help of my mother-in-law). We stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a refill of my pain medication before going out of town. I had been on the phone of with my AK Dr.'s office getting a refill when the "sub" medical assistant (MA) who was filling in for my DR told me that that I was taking "WAY TOO MUCH PAIN MEDICATION" for being over a month post-op and that I needed to "cut back quite a bit." We talked for a few minutes regarding the dose I was taking and how Dr. P had said I would be on that dose for 6 weeks before taking 6 weeks to wean me down (only 3 weeks earlier). I was completely confused but out of pills and knew I would see him the next week for my follow-up appt - plus she didn't really sound willing to negotiate anything. So I took it. So, in less than a day, I went from taking 15-20mg of Norco every 4-6 hours to 10mg every 12 hours. I knew this was drastic when I picked up the meds but again, knew I would see the Dr. the next week to straighten it out. That on top of the slip/fall in the bathroom took me over the edge.

I had a ton of swelling that night and was really concerned. I was also in a lot of pain which I wasn't sure was in response to the fall or the drastic reduction in meds. I couldn't handle the med switch and called the Dr.'s office the next day and told them that. The sub MA told me basically to suck it up and deal with "a couple hard days" even though I told her I couldn't go 6 hours. I also had a lot of bruising and swelling. My great friends on my Hip Chicks website suggested that it was a hematoma that maybe had ruptured in the slip, especially since I had been dealing with increased redness, swelling and bruising for weeks. I agreed but when I called the Dr., the same nasty MA told me "I could go into the walk-in clinic if I was worried but the Dr. wouldn't be in until the next week," well I had an appt the next week, so I didn't go. I went ahead with a family trip in the motor home to camp at the river the hubs fishes at. Here are a couple pictures!!!

6 weeks - After slip in bathroom Laying on Boat with my leg up On the boat Me and the Kiddos Camping Day 3 Cankles after being "out & about" for 3 days

7 weeks Post-op 7 weeks since my RPAO, labral repair, and femoral head/neck resurfacing with Dr. Mayo. Yesterday, I had a follow-up appt with my OS here in AK yesterday Dr. P... He thinks the swelling/redness/bruising is either the result of a torn muscle or a ruptured hematoma either of which was a result of my fall. He was pretty impressed with my amount of bruising and gave me a look for not coming in but I said I didn't have a ride, which was only partially true and I left out the camping excursion.

He did x-rays to make sure my anchor screws were still in place - which would indicate tearing off one of the muscles that was moved and anchored during the PAO. They were still in place which he said was good and meant that if it was a tear - it was partial or a completely different muscle. He said that it was also very likely that it was a hematoma, which would help explain some more of the symptoms as well - especially the bruising - which was significant even when I was there. At this point, neither issue would be something they would do A LOT about right now. The torn muscle would have to be addressed slowly when going into PT and the hematoma would likely resolve on its own, with the blood dissolving back into the body. Both of which will be cause for more pain - the hematoma would have been causing more pain all along so that is what it likely is/was.

With regards to the pain meds... It was a misunderstanding and it was because of the sub MA (that was not so nice). A couple weeks ago when I was still trying to get all pain & meds under control - he had authorized more Oxycontin ER (extended release, every 12 hours). I told his assistant I didn't want it - I had weaned myself down to the Norco and didn't want to go back so it was never even called into the pharmacy and never picked up. Well THAT doesn't show up in their computer and he his fill-in MA (who was very judgmental and condescending) informed him that I was taking 20mg of oxycontin and 20mg of Norco for going on 3 weeks now, which is why he wanted me to drastically reduce the Norco. I would have definitely been very "drugged up" if that were true. When I explained that I never took those - he apologized over and over because I was in needless pain. And authorized enough pills that he *would like* to last 6 weeks but if I don't quite make it - then I needed to call him. I also gave him a pain log for the last week and he said thank you and apologized again.

Well the bones aren't quite healed though - almost. The bottom cut was more blurry and almost healed but there was still a distint cut in the top - he said 2 more weeks before I can start weight bearing as tolerated. Same post op restriction for 2 more weeks. This is quite ok with me because I wasn't quite ready - pain wise for sure, mentally either after the last week.

My sister, her husband and my nephew got here the night before last at 4am. We got up to go to my appt at 7am so it was a long day. It was also a nice day and we decided to pack up and head out to our cabin. Between that, fighting with the pharmacy and my insurance deciding that the whole medication dosing change was confusing, and having to go 8 hours without meds - I was in serious pain by the time we got here. I like to describe it as giving birth naturally while being strapped into a medieval horse pulling torture device. I took meds and slept. Hanging out today - perfect!

All in all - I am still feeling okay with recovery at this point. The hematoma explanation makes me feel a little less like a baby. Being on the same page as my OS with regards to starting PT and weaning off meds over the next 6 weeks is relieving. So I was able to enjoy some time out at our cabin/lake with my family before the rain came in and we came home...

Next, I will start PT and work at the same time in about 2 more weeks. EEP, maybe I should have picked up the oxycontin... My nephew and I First boat to the cabin!

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.)
Incision @ 5 weeks
Atrophy @ 5 weeks
Little girl with all her braces off!
Little man at his birthday dinner - Red Robin "yummm"

4 weeks Post op

I hit two pretty decent milestones this week!!! July 8th marked my 10th wedding anniversary to Mr. Broken Hip. We met 12 years ago and have been together since!

And..... I am HALFWAY THERE!!! Well almost... halfway to the BEGINNING of my real recovery. I will be able to put weight on that leg (assuming my x-rays show good things), drive, and THINK about getting rid of these crutches. They told me it would take another month or two to get off of crutches completely. I have to be able to walk without a limp. I hope I am able to do that well. Even now, using crutches, I try to use a rolling heel-toe motion on my right leg - just without putting a lot of weight on it. I was told that should help.

I am starting to get a little anxious about it. Cabin fever is starting to settle in. I have done quite a bit more this last week. I have paid for it afterward with pain but that is expected to some degree right? I will recap my activities, not necessarily because I think you all will care so much - I just need to see it written out so I actually feel like this recovery is moving along.

Took a short road trip out to my in-laws house. They live about an hour away in Wasilla. My awesome husband hooked my Cryo-cuff up to an inverter in the car so I could keep the hip iced and wrapped on the drive there and back. He also loaded up my CPM machine to use on the couch once I got there. *note - totally missed my raised toilet seat. The drive, a lot like my plane ride, was okay - not too uncomfortable - until I had to get out of the car. I am super super stiff and sore and I wasn't even sitting completely at a 90 degree angle - had the seat reclined back pretty far.

Then I had a day full of outings - my little girl got her braces off (well the top half) and I wanted to be there with her. So loaded up the Cryo-Cuff again. Then we had to stop at the store to get little man soccer gear since he has soccer camp this week. THEN, I had to go have an ultrasound done on my leg. The Dr.'s office was a little concerned because my hip is still pretty swollen, red and hot - also, the muscles are still cramping up and locking often. I have finished the antibiotics and Flexiril doesn't help at all. The ultrasound was negative, so that is good! Then I hung out at my Dad's house while the girl had her golf lessons. By the time I got home - I was hurting and really needed the CPM machine to help the muscles in my leg calm down.

It took a lot out of me. I slept/napped on/off the entire next day. But then I followed that up the next day with grocery shopping. I rocked those little motorized carts at Costco and Fred Meyer to get the ingredients for two copy cat recipes for some food that sounded good. I nailed a pretty good homemade version of White Chocolate Cherry Bread and an Italian Chicken Sandwich! Yay for a little bit of an appetite. I am still not back to normal but food is at least tasting good and sounding alright now - and my scale is jumping back up to confirm it.

I was also able to sit through two of my lil man's soccer camp practices! It was so awesome to watch him. I am glad he likes doing it! I brought my nice reclining camping chair and a blanket. 1.5 hours/day for two days. Not too bad but definitely hurting by the time I got home.

Feels like a lot - even though it isn't. Getting better at showering by myself and dressing. My yoga pants, while comfy, are still difficult since I can't bend completely to reach my foot if the material gets stuck. Unfortunately, I had to go back to sleeping on the hospital bed. My bed is just not okay by morning - with or without the CPM and ice. I am still hurting when I wake up in the hospital bed but it is not the same bone-crushing, overwhelming, makes you wanna scratch your own eyes out pain that I have when I wake up in my bed. I hope that changes soon - it is lonely sleeping out here by myself.

Pain is finally starting to feel manageable as long as I stay on my meds - which has been a little tricky between two surgeons in two cities who are out of their office more than they are in it. I just need to be a better advocate for myself I guess.

I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet... but I know it's there! This weekend it lil man's 5th birthday. I can't believe how big he is!!! We are having his party here and I hope I survive it!

More pics!

Incision 4 weeks post op
Quad atrophy - 4 weeks
Circulation issues???
Soccer Fun

3 weeks Post Op

Another week into recovery, which felt like a really long week. I started having some increased swelling and a tingly burning pain along with some redness. After talking to the Dr.'s offices (both Dr. Mayo & Dr. Prevost) I went into the walk-in clinic. I saw my Dr's PA and he said that everything looked good but decided to do some bloodwork anyway. He also started me on some antibiotics just in case... just in case. Allthat earned me an early follow-up visit and a chance to see my x-rays.

My bloodwork looked good. The incision looks good and I got to see my x-rays! There are 7 screws in there! Wow! Crazy!!!!

We talked about pain. I was concerned with the amount of pain I still had - the burning throbbing pain, the muscle cramps and how awful I feel in the morning. Unfortunately, he said that none of it was out of the ordinary but that most people don't have ALL these symptoms afterward but they are all fairly common. But he said I was "perfectly textbook" in regards to post-op and results. According to his measurements I went from center edge angles of 15/16 - 30 on the front and from 19/20 - 35 on the side. He seemed pretty happy with it. He explained all the screws too - which I never knew the specifics.

The longer screws hold specifically bone and the smaller ones are where they cut around a muscle (don't remember the names) and move the small bone piece and the muscle to the correct location! crazy! He gave me a muscle relaxer which makes very little difference. I have my 8 week post-op appt on 7/31/12. He also told me to not worry or feel bad about pain medication. He re-assured me and my husband that this was a pretty big surgery and I would likely be taking pain medication 6 weeks post-op and they wouldn't worry about weaning me off until then and they would still do it slowly. So I felt a little better about that. He told me to try getting through a couple more days and if it still wasn't getting better to call back. so we'll see.

I am still using my CPM machine and ice. My husband has had two knees surgeries and each one left us with a cryocuff machine with a knee attachment. Since my insurance doesn't cover cryo therapy and it runs about $300 for 2 weeks... I couldn't do it. So we rigged up the knee wrap so it covers as much of my thigh as possible. "The red-neck solution!" I am supposed to return the CPM on July 10th but am worried that I will still need it. I am supposed to make it to 90 degrees of flexion and be able to stay out of the machine for 24 hours without getting stiff. I think Dr. Mayo said it could take up to 6 weeks. I am stuck at 80-85 degrees. It feels so close but I can not up the degrees yet and struggle with extended time at 85 degrees. But otherwise I am in the ice and CPM a majority of the day and all of the night.

I haven't made a whole lot of progress. I did the dishes yesterday but then realized that proving I could do only meant the my husband would happily pass that on to me. I backed off on some of my laps but am still walking around the house a bit every hour or so and trying to stay up for longer when I am up.

#backfire!

I am able to shower by myself (not shaving) and given enough time and the help of my grabber - I can get my pants on by myself! I managed two outing this week - well one really. The first was the Dr.'s office. That was a 3 hour appt (unexpectedly). The other outing was to to my girlfriend's house - she is having a scope done tomorrow and had her GameReady wrap (which is way better than my makeshift rigged up knee cryo cuff wrap from my husband's knee surgery) and CPM machine delivered already so I got to try her stuff out!!! ha ha so that doesn't really count as an outing since I was doing the exact same thing I would be at home but it was nice to be out of my house! This week I will tackler a store shopping trip! My goal!

Pain is still about 4-8 depending on how soon it was to a dose of painkillers or the morning. Mornings are still super hard even though I have started sleeping in the hospital bed. It's lonely but hurts a little less than waking up in my bed but I still have to have the Mr. help me out to get up and go to the bathroom.

3 Weeks Post Op - still has some glue on it.

X-rays - Front view

X-rays - Side view

Muscle atrophy at 3 weeks

My "hip" (knee wrap)

2 weeks Post Op

Wow. I totally meant to do a weekly update after surgery in case this helps anyone out there... but... I was on an airplane! Yes, I booked my return flight home exactly 7 days after the surgery. They said it was a 5-7 day hospital stay and I was hoping to make that and didn't want to miss a flight if I booked too early. Then after my first night post-op... I was worried I wouldn't even make my 7 day flight. I did. Things got better so I will break down the first week by days and then summarize the last week I've had at home.

June 14 - Post Op Day 1
I was still on an epidural, catheter, IV and hemovac drain. I was still pretty numb from the night before and doing fairly well. I could still feel it hurting fairly good every couple hours and would get a dose of dilaudid to help with the break through pain. I was in the CPM machine which was bending my hip to 25 degrees (they were supposed to start at 30 but it hurt too much). It did feel good to move it though. P/T came and had me sit up on the bed. I was pretty excited that it felt better than I thought but I was still pretty exhausted. I could feel the muscles in my thigh spasm-ing and I was also pretty itchy. They gave me Vistaril - which was supposed to help with the itching and relaxing the muscles. I also had issues with my IV. The first line they put in... hurt so bad every time they put anything new in it. Also, I had an emergency line put in the night before when I was crashing. Well today they came in and put another line in. They wanted one good main line and then another emergency line.

(IV #4 - the one that finally worked) (Hip CPM machine - side view) (Incision & Drain gauze/tubing)
June 15 Post Op Day 2
Still on the epi, cath, IV and drain. This day was very similar. P/T came and had me stand up next to the bed with the use of a walker. I was unsure how that would go since I was still hooked up to the epidural and had only partial feeling in my legs. It went ok but I got pretty dizzy and it took it out of me. Turns out that my blood levels were very low - on the verge of transfusion. The nurses said as long as I was alert and hadn't passed out that they wouldn't probably transfuse but that was a reason I was so weak and dizzy. I also had no appetite. I didn't quite expect this. I had figured that after not eating before surgery and the excitement of the first night - understandable. But even on day 1 I didn't really feel like eating. Well Day 2... I still couldn't finish anything and this wasn't helping my blood levels but I was trying. Before bed I took my first does of long acting oral pain meds.

 June 16 Post Op Day 3
Everything came out. I was finally able to see the incision without the bandages. The epidural was removed and the IV line removed but not taken off. The drain bag was also removed and about 8 hours later, the catheter. I couldn't believe how long the drain wires were that came out of me (eek) and my scar was super long but looked pretty good! Dr. Mayo uses internal dissolving stitches and a glue to seal the incision. I had to get my first shot of blood thinners (Fragmen). I will have to inject myself for 21 days after I leave the hospital. I also took my first short acting pain meds. I was feeling pretty good most of the day - thought I HAD THIS. I was able to get up, take a few steps and go to the bathroom with a walker and a bit of assistance. I even walked 50 ft out in the hall - I thought I was ROCKIN IT.

(3 days) (Hip CPM)
 Well about 3am... I didn't "have it" anymore. The epidural was continuing to wear off and I was an in an increasing amount of pain. The nurse came in and came me another dose of dilaudid which helped initially but not for long.

June 17 Post Op Day 4
My surgeon's nurse came in to check in on me and I was still in an significant amount of pain. She adjusted the dose of my short acting oral pain meds and sometime in the middle of the day I FINALLY started to NOT HURT. It was a long day and I was exhausted but eager to continue with recovery. P/T offered to let me start using my crutches and I was nervous and anxious but tried it anyway. I knew I could walk with the walker but only had my crutches to go home with. I felt a little shaky - sometimes a lot... and dizzy but I was sitting upright for longer periods at a time and was able to was able to walk the same 50 ft with my crutches. Blood levels were still low and I still had a very limited appetite.

June 18 Post Op Day 5
Steps! We tried walking steps in P/T. I was able to do 1, up & down! It seems so simple and even as the therapist was raving about how well I was doing - it felt small even though my hip and body ached and I knew that it was really was a good accomplishment. Even if I still got dizzy and needed a wheelchair to get back to my room (I walked all the way down and around the hall to get to the stair). Blood pressure still lower but good and stable. Blood levels still low. Appetite still MIA. Drs and Nurses were happy with my progress and were suggesting that I might be ready for discharge the next day. They were a little concerned with my toileting habits. I was up and using it independently just fine but I hadn't had a BM yet. (Great to talk about, I know... TMI but they get super worked up about it). I am not a very "regular" person so to add anesthesia, narcotics and low activity level... I wasn't worried.

June 19 Post Op Day 6
I walked up/down a flight of steps with my crutches and P/T said I was doing AMAZING and they weren't worried at all about how I would do when I got out. I just needed to take it slow and mind my restrictions (no weight bearing, well only 40 lbs, no straight leg lifts and no abductions for 8 weeks). Miralax, stool softeners, Milk of Magnesia... still nothing. In order to calm everyone down and make sure that I would make my plane ride home the next day I finally gave in... yuck. a suppository. It worked and everything was fine and everyone happy. Dr. Mayo said that I could have probably been released that day but since I was flying out in the morning - they kept me just to make sure and to make my med schedule line up the best way for the flight.

(6 days)
June 20 Post Op Day 7 - Flying home on AK Air 3.5 hour plane ride!!!!
I flew with my husband and kids. We had seats C, D, E  & F. I had tried to get a first class ticket or bulkhead but it didn't work. I debated quite a bit about taking the aisle seat so that I would have the aisle to stretch my op leg out into the aisle for relief but I was so scared about someone hitting it. So I ended up taking the window seat (op leg next to window) but I had my littlest son sit next to me, my husband in the aisle by me and my 8 year old in the aisle across from her dad. I took 3 little travel pillows. I angled myself into the corner of the row with two pillows behind me and extended my leg/hip out under the middle seat next to me. I was "V'd" into the window seat basically and I had the room because I was sitting next to a 4 year old who was sleeping on my lap. I was able to easily flex my foot to pump blood and bend/straighten my leg throughout the flight so overall I felt WAY better just sitting than I anticipated which was HUGE. So my advice...
request a wheelchair - do not walk and don't wait until you are there to decide you need it, make sure you have quite a bit extra time - that last thing you want is to be rushed or stressed when in pain,
get a seat with extra legroom if you can (buy an extra seat if you can afford it, travel with someone who will let you encroach on their room and keep you operated side protected from others and carts),
have your meds with you - take them as close to boarding as possible to maximize the effects as you settle into the flight and make sure the flight attendants know you just had surgery - mine were very helpful and brought me ice and helped hold the bathroom door.

Post Op - Week 2
I didn't realize how "unfriendly" my house was going to be until I got home. We definitely need the toilet eat riser, grab bars and the hospital bed with a trapeze. I also needed to set up a little "recovery area" with a table for drinks, phones, remotes, etc... It took a day or so but I am now in a bit of a groove with it. I am sleeping in my bed. My sweet husband carries my pillows and CPM machine from my bed to the hospital bed every morning. He also moves my water, pills & ice. I have coffee and breakfast. I get up and walk around the living room and go to the bathroom every hour or so. I have gone down our stairs and sat in a reclining camp chair several days for a couple hours. I have also started walking outside in the yard - taking laps around the house to get used to more walking on uneven ground.

My days go up/down, physically and emotionally. 6 more weeks of this. Wow. But I am here. Today I think we will try an outing. I will see how I do going to a store and operating an electronic cart for an hour or so... Wish me luck!

(14 days post op)