Ankle…Same Song, Different Verse

Today I had surgery again on my ankle.  This time it was to remove the hardware put in to support the broken outside leg bone just above the bend in the ankle.  You can read about my fall and resulting injury I had last June here.  My ankle has healed but I have had pain/discomfort for months off and on and it does not bend forward very much so walking can be slow and uncomfortable.  My Dr. is hoping that taking out the plate and 8 screws plus a little scar tissue will help all of the above..so am I.  I had the surgery in an outpatient clinic and didn’t have to be there until 10:30 am and it being an hour away from where I live it was nice not to have to get up before dawn to get there.  Usually I have had surgeries very early in the morning.  I was home by 4:00 pm and on the couch with my foot elevated and iced right away so the surgery time was just right.

I did get to bring the sanitized plate and screws home with me…the grandchildren will be fascinated as they have felt it through my skin and have had lots of questions about it over the months.  The plate is about 5 inches long and about 3/8” wide with the 8 holes where the screws were.  What I find interesting is that the screws are 3 different lengths.  The longest being about 3/4” and the smallest about 1/2” long.  Hmmm…I wonder if I can use them as embellishments on a quilt, any ideas?

The colored area on my toes and above the elastic wrap is the Betadine antiseptic they used to sanitize my leg and ankle.  Eventually it will get washed off when I can take a shower, but not for 4 days though. It is pretty ugly though.

I am to use crutches with just a little pressure on my toes while wearing my black boot for a week then some more pressure on the whole foot with the boot on the next week...building up to putting my whole weight on it.  I will use the crutches for 2 weeks and maybe be able to get rid of the boot after I see the Dr. at that time.  This is the same boot I had to wear for 2+  weeks after I had my cast off last summer.  I can take it off when I am sitting or laying down though…am grateful for that as it is quite heavy and very stiff and gets very annoying in a big hurry.  It is for my protection when I am up as my holey leg bone is quite fragile now until some bone grows in the holes.  The Dr. doesn’t want me to accidentally put my foot down or bobble on the crutches and put it down and break the bone so I will follow my Dr. instructions as sometimes I am a bit of a klutz.

The humorous part of the morning was when I had to sign my initials on the ankle/leg to be operated on.  (The nurse and the Dr. had to initial that leg too…you can see the purple Dr. initials above the elastic bandage on that first photo.)  This to avoid any goof on the part of the surgery team…I sure wouldn’t want an incision on my good leg.  Anyway back to my initialing.  My nurse burst out laughing when she saw my initials….LEG.  She said that was the funniest one she had seen in a long time.  I thought it was very appropriate too since it was a leg I was signing.

Don’t feel too bad for me just laying on the couch…..I have my little nest of media around me, plus snacks, drink and pain meds.  Take a look at this photo and you will see the boot, crutches, computer, case that holds my external hard drive of photo storage, house phone, cell phone, Ipod with music and audio books, pain medication, antibiotics, insulated cup of water, newspapers, and lip balm all with in reach.

I also have borrowed the wheel chair again from my friend that I plan to use these first few days anyway.  Our house is quite long and the bedroom is at the far end opposite the family room and with my shoulder not quite back to 100% I need to not injure it or strain it too much.  You can see I am watching a movie right now on the TV too.  I am wondering if I am in media overload.  At least I shouldn’t get bored should I?

I used the three days after I got home from my trip to Paducah to get ready for this surgery so have not had time to post too much about it yet…hope to do that the next few days to catch you up.  I did get my house pretty clean and the lawn mowed and a little flower garden work done though.  We have food in the freezer that I have been packaging and freezing for the last month so we will be well fed with little work.  I could have had this surgery a month ago but didn’t want to take a chance that I would not be healed enough to enjoy my trip to Paducah…I know what I had and how to deal with the swelling, pain and stiffness but didn’t know how I would heal so opted to have the surgery as soon as I could after I was home.  I want to be healed for summer gardening and family events so hope it all works out.

Time for another pain pill then off to bed I go….”talk” to you all later.

Lynn

Purple Dishcloth

 A little over half of a purple dishcloth knitted on the new knitting needles.  Again, Sugar N Cream yarn purchased at Wallmart.

Ta Da, the dishcloth is done.  The final corner (upper right corner) always looks a little funny.  Any ideas out there on how how to make it look like the starting corner on the lower left?  I know it is a dish cloth but but wouldn't mind improving my skills.  I do need to work on keeping my tension the same throughout as some rows are a little farther apart because I am knitting looser.  Maybe if I keep knitting and knitting these skills will come.

On another note - Physical Therapy is helping little by little to increase my range of motion on my right shoulder.  It does get time consuming to do the exercises several times a day but can see the results starting to happen.

Lynn

Physical Therapy

I am now doing Physical Therapy for my shoulder and additional therapy for my ankle.  I had my first appointment  and therapy session and after this first session I got a printout of the different exercises I need to do here at home to increase my mobility and strength between PT visits. 

I was so exhausted from the 1 1/2 hour session I dozed on the way home…don’t worry John was driving!  I took an hour nap after getting home too.  I don’t remember being that tired in a long time and worried the nap would make it hard to get to sleep that night but must have needed that sleep as I slept all night long.

I did do the series of exercises again before I went to bed a couple of times and started out the next day with them.  If I am to get my range of motion back I have to be diligent about doing them several times a day.  Let me clue you in….they are not fun and are uncomfortable and take time I would rather be doing something else.  I am not saying I have pain, just discomfort but if I don’t stretch a little more each time I won’t get better.

I do have some special equipment I am using – the pulley system is one I had from when I had the left shoulder fixed 7 years ago.  I have a couple of different exercises I do with this apparatus.  It very conveniently hangs from a closed door and I can do the exercises a few times every time I walk by.

I use towels, belts, walls and corners of the walls for some of the other exercises.  I use this foam slant piece to help stretch my foot and ankle.  Actually this area of my house sort of looks like the Physical Therapy gym.  It does make it handy though to have it all out where I can see it as well as reminds me to do them frequently during the day.

Guess it is time to go do the series of exercises again as sitting here with the laptop sure isn’t stretching the shoulder and ankle. 

Happy Exercising to Me,
Lynn

I'm Home

Well I am home from having surgery this morning.  Ihad to be there by 7 thid morning but by the time you check you in and do all the stuff they need to do before surgery I would guess it was 8:30 by the time it started.

It was what I had hoped where the Dr. didn't have to repair the rotator cuff muscle.  He removed the arthritic flex joint at the end of the collar bone, cleaned out the arthritis from the ball and socket,then had to break loose some frozen shoulder bits.  This was all done with 3 tiny half inch incisions.

I guess the surgery took about an hour and a half,was awake by 10 and they sent me home aroun noon.

I am typing this on my "smart phone" since my right arm can't reach the keyboard on either computer.

Since I had no stitches in the muscle I am todo some moving of that arm already today.  Dr. F wants me to hang the arm down,bend over at the waist and rorate it.

My thumbs are tired of typing..."talk" to you later.
Lynn

Countdown….tick tock!

Well, tomorrow morning is is the day when I am going to have the surgery on my right shoulder.  I have my house clean (well…mostly clean), the laundry done, food in the freezer, hair cut today so guess I am ready to be out of commission for a bit.

For the last few weeks, when ever I cooked an entree I made a double batch and divided it up into meal sized portions for the two of us and then froze them.  Last summer when I broke my ankle, friends brought in lots of food and we ended up freezing portions that we heated up later.  It was so handy and  I wanted to do that this time too since I probably won’t feel like cooking for a while.  I do think I will do that in the future even when I feel good as it really is convenient and saves doing a lot of cooking when I want to be doing something else.  I made a list of the foods in the freezer so we will know what is there…after all, things get buried and I sometimes forget too.!

I have a couple of things I want to share with you so may type up those blogs tonight yet and post them at a later date.  Not sure when I will be able to type again as it depends on how the surgery and recovery goes.

I didn’t get my basket miniature done though….it will wait and be ready for me when I can sew again.

Until Later,
Lynn

Ankle Update

I have been going to physical therapy twice a week and have been making a little progress until this week.  For some reason I am having a lot of achy pain in my ankle.  I am trying to do the exercises several times a week here at home but of course I don't have all the machines, and apparatus they have but do what I can.  My therapy sessions usually last 1 1/2 to 2 hours so am really exhausted by the time I get home each time.

Took this photo of my scar this afternoon. I think it doesn't look too bad but the photo really makes my leg look blue. I have very transparent skin so I can always see the shallow veins and guess the camera picked it up.  As you can see I don't have much swelling left now.

I am waiting for the day when I can walk normally and maybe even run a little.

Lynn

New Foot and Leg Wear

It has been two weeks since I had surgery to fix my broken ankle and today it was time to have a cast put on instead of the plaster splint. (Actually I am not sure what it was made up of - maybe fiberglass like the cast?)

I was ready to move onto this next stage of healing but was a little apprehensive about the procedure.  First the nurse took off the splint and removed all the staples.  The Dr. used staples instead of stitches and I do believe he must have gone crazy with the stapler.

My incision is about 6" long and it must have had staples every 1/16".  Some were ok when she removed them but most were just pretty uncomfortable!  When that was done I did get my leg cleaned up a bit, which by the way was pretty shrunk up.  I have always had large calves that I inherited from my father, plus a little added weight over the years and they are definitely beefy!  I wouldn't mind keeping the slimmed down version but then I would really look odd wouldn't I?  I have been assured that after I get to walking after the cast and compression boot (the next step after the cast) are off I will get my muscle back.

I got x-rays then waiting, waiting, waiting for the Dr.  I just wanted it to all be over so was just a tad bit nervous and got more so the more I waited.  Tried to distract myself by chatting with John who wasn't nervous in the least - he of course was not having to look forward to the Dr. manipulating his newly fixed ankle!

Well, I can say I sure don't want to have to have another cast put on.  It was hard to preserve my dignity and not jerk my leg away from the Dr. or cry like a baby but I managed it barely.  Tonight I am laying on the couch again with my leg up and ankle iced down.  Feeling not too bad but the area where the incision was made is a little sore.  I have taken pain pills at regular intervals today so think that has helped some.  Hopefully I won't have to take them too long as I had been with out any medication for pain for several days, having cut the high powered stuff down to just bedtime a week ago then stopped taking everything.

The cast stays on for 4 weeks but after just another 2 weeks I am to start putting weight on it wearing a special cast shoe.  Another fashion accessory in my future!  The Dr. says to start by putting 25 pounds weight on at first....my question was how do you know what 25 pounds is?  He said to have a bathroom scale available and to press down with my foot until it reads 25 pounds so I will know what that feels like.  Not sure how one manages to walk/hop with only 25 pounds pressure on one foot but guess I will find out.

OK, enough of this technical medical stuff - ha, ha.  Oh, did you notice the color of my cast?  I got to choose a color for the outside layers from many different colors.  I opted for the light blue and right now it looks pretty good but I wonder what it will look like after 4 weeks?

I have not done much hand quilting, just a little here and there.  My fingers don't have the callouses needed for lots of hand quilting so can be very tender and for some reason I just can't stick with it very long to get them built up.  I used to love hand quilting but anymore I like doing the machine quilting more so don't know if that is my problem or the fact that I am quilting through some of the seams on this project and that is hard to do. 

Chatted on way to long but John is gone this evening, TV is boring so this blog got my undivided attention tonight.

Lynn

10,000 Visitors

Just checked my blog counter and the 10,000th visitor just arrived - wooo hooo!  I never expected that many people to find my blog in March of 2008 when I started it.  I have discussed many quilt related things here but also shared some of my life on a Nebraska farm.  Hope you all like the mix of topics.

Yesterday I was so bored and antsy.  I spent the entire day on the couch with my foot elevated and iced down.  The TV and computer were boring after a while and I was reading a good book but that too got old after so many hours.  For some reason my ankle was painful all day but today was much better.  Less pain and today I had the joy of having two friends stop by for a visit.  One came this morning and the other this afternoon.

There is nothing better to take your mind off your troubles than a chat with friends.  I had thought I might try sewing at my machine a little today but can do that tomorrow.  Thankfully today just breezed along.

I would like to celebrate the 10,000th visitor some way .... will have to think of something I can do.  Maybe some sort of give away.

Until Later...Thanks for Reading!
Lynn

Ankle Surgery

The surgery went well yesterday on my ankle and I made it home by 8 pm.  It felt good to sleep in my own bed.  Didn't get into surgery until 1:30 for the two hour procedure so the morning really dragged.  I was getting a little nervous waiting but kept it in check and John helped by keeping me busy talking about all kinds of things as we waited.

The Dr. fixed the bones and only had to make one incision on the outside of my ankle instead of the two he thought he might have to make.  The displaced broken leg bone on the inside of my leg slipped back into place so he didn't have to make an incision.  I do have a plate and 8 screws in my ankle now though.  These will have to come out in 12 weeks.

I was worried about nausea from the anesthetic and a long wake up time like I usually have from being anesthetized.  I was given 3-4 kinds of anti-nausea meds before surgery and that must have done the trick as I didn't have any nausea and what ever kind of anesthetic they gave me worked good and I woke up in a normal amt. of time instead of the 4-5 hours it usually takes me to not be groggy.

I am to spend the first 2 days with my foot elevated with ice then will be able to put it down to do a few things.  I will still have to elevate is some every day for a while though.

The Dr. came in to visit with me before the surgery and I asked him about going to our state quilt convention (QuiltNebraska or QNE) coming up the 22 of July.  I wanted his advice on how I should be feeling in 3 1/2 weeks and if I should even consider it.  I was thrilled to hear that he thought I would be up and around on my knee walker and could sure plan on going.  I was thrilled to hear that as I had been worried I would not be able to go this year.

I had not signed up for any sewing machine classes so that is in my favor too - no sewing machine to lug around.  The gals I normally room with at QuiltNebraska have a room reserved on the 2nd floor and I know I won't be able to go up and down those long flights of stairs so contacted a gal I knew had a room on the 1st floor.  She hasn't any other roommates and graciously is letting me bunk with her.  A local friend that is going out to convention has volunteered to pick me up and another friend shopping today called and is getting the supplies I need for my classes.  I feel really blessed by such good friends.

Next thing I will have to decide is what I can take to wear that will be able to fit over my cast.  I do have a couple of skirts but prefer crop pants if I have any that the legs are wide enough to go over the cast.  

Feel another nap coming on so will close now.  Maybe I can find that small quilt and get to quilting on it.

Lynn