Dear Bluebellies,
There are three reasons to celebrate. Yes, three!!
1. The defeat of the Miami Heat tonight. Commence the feelings of schadenfreude.
2. Reaching 200 followers. I'm not sure why 200 people want to follow me, but I'm not going to complain :P
3. I reached full flexion today! YES! FULL RANGE OF MOTIONNNN. Thursday I was at 60 degrees, and now I'm at 130ish. This is the most spectacular news, and slightly distressing as well. My surgeon was very clear when he told me NOT to achieve full flexion in three days. Well I did it - albeit not on purpose. I'm going in to my physical therapy tomorrow for an official measurement and perhaps a bit of chastising. Maybe they can explain how I got full flexion without even trying.
Hope you all had a great weekend! Any stories? Did you watch the NBA finals?
~m.m.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Sad Day
Hey, Flapjacks!
Which facebook status sounds less desperate and depressing?
1. The one in which I complain about the party song playing because it reminds me of a) how much I can't dance with my gimpy leg and b) how much I miss college already and the parties and clubs that played that same song. Don't forget the hashtag to my raging cabin fever.
2. The one in which I casually ask if any of my friends are in town tomorrow night and want to come to my graduation party, because as of right now nobody is attending.
Hahah, sorry. Trick question.
The desperately depressing part is that I'm asking all my blogger friends to weigh in on this inane topic.
.........
Carry on, folks, nothing to see here. Emokid will sort this out and be in regular form tomorrow.
~m.m.
Which facebook status sounds less desperate and depressing?
1. The one in which I complain about the party song playing because it reminds me of a) how much I can't dance with my gimpy leg and b) how much I miss college already and the parties and clubs that played that same song. Don't forget the hashtag to my raging cabin fever.
2. The one in which I casually ask if any of my friends are in town tomorrow night and want to come to my graduation party, because as of right now nobody is attending.
Hahah, sorry. Trick question.
The desperately depressing part is that I'm asking all my blogger friends to weigh in on this inane topic.
.........
Carry on, folks, nothing to see here. Emokid will sort this out and be in regular form tomorrow.
~m.m.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Hello Calling Cards,
Today I had a post-op followup with my surgeon. I was in bad shape when I visited last week - my knee was swollen, red, hot, and aggravated. The antibiotics helped it calm down a lot, and today it looked great. My range of motion is a little past ninety degrees, which my surgeon assures me is just fanstastic, though I would prefer to have a little more flexion at this point. I'm getting antsy and I want to bend my leg!
The physician's assistant tidied up my incisions by scraping off the skin glue and snipping some suture ends. She used to work in plastic surgery and did an extraordinary job with my sutures in the operating room. I'm looking forward to a really nice 6.5" scar. You jelly?? :P
I've been given permission to bear 50% of my weight on my left leg, which is a huge relief and will surely be needed tonight when I go to my little brother's high school graduation.
Do you have graduations to attend for family/friends/yourself? It's a happy time of year :)
~m.m.
Today I had a post-op followup with my surgeon. I was in bad shape when I visited last week - my knee was swollen, red, hot, and aggravated. The antibiotics helped it calm down a lot, and today it looked great. My range of motion is a little past ninety degrees, which my surgeon assures me is just fanstastic, though I would prefer to have a little more flexion at this point. I'm getting antsy and I want to bend my leg!
The physician's assistant tidied up my incisions by scraping off the skin glue and snipping some suture ends. She used to work in plastic surgery and did an extraordinary job with my sutures in the operating room. I'm looking forward to a really nice 6.5" scar. You jelly?? :P
I've been given permission to bear 50% of my weight on my left leg, which is a huge relief and will surely be needed tonight when I go to my little brother's high school graduation.
Do you have graduations to attend for family/friends/yourself? It's a happy time of year :)
~m.m.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Bad Luck, Good Times
Hello Blossoms,
I'm in a great mood. I'm alone in bed, eating a piece of fried chicken with macaroni, burping aloud and giggling to myself. Attractive and mature, I know. I'm keeping myself occupied with a Russian spy novel, and it's fantastic so far. I haven't had time for pleasure reading in a long while, and it feels good to lose myself in the pages.
Earlier this week I took a trip to the doctor's, because I was worried about a spider bite that wouldn't stop growing and turning increasingly darker shades of purple. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a brown recluse spider bite just two inches away from my nasty surgical incision. What luck. The good news is that I'm on antibiotics and my bite hasn't gotten much worse (yet). The bad news is that my left leg absolutely hates me.
Anyway, I'll be done with this book in the next day or so. Do you have any recommendations for me when I'm done? I've read most of the classics so some modern bestsellers would be much appreciated!
~m.m.
I'm in a great mood. I'm alone in bed, eating a piece of fried chicken with macaroni, burping aloud and giggling to myself. Attractive and mature, I know. I'm keeping myself occupied with a Russian spy novel, and it's fantastic so far. I haven't had time for pleasure reading in a long while, and it feels good to lose myself in the pages.
Earlier this week I took a trip to the doctor's, because I was worried about a spider bite that wouldn't stop growing and turning increasingly darker shades of purple. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with a brown recluse spider bite just two inches away from my nasty surgical incision. What luck. The good news is that I'm on antibiotics and my bite hasn't gotten much worse (yet). The bad news is that my left leg absolutely hates me.
Anyway, I'll be done with this book in the next day or so. Do you have any recommendations for me when I'm done? I've read most of the classics so some modern bestsellers would be much appreciated!
~m.m.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
I'm Screwed
Dear Maniacs,
Knee is feeling better, I think. It's hard to tell because I take so many narcotics, else I suffer from stabbing pain. Tonight I've got a heat reaction going on, and my left knee feels like a little furnace. I think it's all the blood in there conducting the healing process.
I don't think I've shown you, but here is a picture of the screws they removed from my right knee. Cool, huh?
On an unrelated note, it turns out my bunny is actually a "he." I was wiping away some poo and I discovered some balls dropping. They weren't there before! Good thing Knuffles can be a boy's name too.
Today was hump day! My bunny definitely helped me get through it. What got you through your hump day?
~m.m.
Knee is feeling better, I think. It's hard to tell because I take so many narcotics, else I suffer from stabbing pain. Tonight I've got a heat reaction going on, and my left knee feels like a little furnace. I think it's all the blood in there conducting the healing process.
I don't think I've shown you, but here is a picture of the screws they removed from my right knee. Cool, huh?
On an unrelated note, it turns out my bunny is actually a "he." I was wiping away some poo and I discovered some balls dropping. They weren't there before! Good thing Knuffles can be a boy's name too.
Today was hump day! My bunny definitely helped me get through it. What got you through your hump day?
~m.m.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Beach Day
Dear Tootsies,
I spent my Memorial Day at the beach on a Naval Base. It was nice to spend time close to those who serve our country, and to also reflect on those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Here is a picture update on my knees. You can tell that my knees are pretty swollen at this point. The purple lines are drawn on my leg before surgery, so that when my knee is stitched back together, the skin aligns properly. My stitching was done by a plastic surgeon so hopefully the scar will look nicer than the last one! I've got dissolving stitches inside the skin, glue to hold it together, and steri-strips on top.
Now that it's been a week, there's quite a bit of bruising that's showing. It will probably get worse and take a few months to clear up.
My flexion is at 60 degrees. I could probably go further but my surgeon wants me to take it easy. The recovery this time around is a breeze because I didn't get the lateral release done. The pain is also well managed as long as I remember to take my meds.
Thanks for all the well wishes!
How did you spend your long weekend?
~m.m.
I spent my Memorial Day at the beach on a Naval Base. It was nice to spend time close to those who serve our country, and to also reflect on those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
Here is a picture update on my knees. You can tell that my knees are pretty swollen at this point. The purple lines are drawn on my leg before surgery, so that when my knee is stitched back together, the skin aligns properly. My stitching was done by a plastic surgeon so hopefully the scar will look nicer than the last one! I've got dissolving stitches inside the skin, glue to hold it together, and steri-strips on top.
My flexion is at 60 degrees. I could probably go further but my surgeon wants me to take it easy. The recovery this time around is a breeze because I didn't get the lateral release done. The pain is also well managed as long as I remember to take my meds.
Thanks for all the well wishes!
How did you spend your long weekend?
~m.m.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Road to Recovery
Hello Grumpalumps,
I'm finally discharged. I was sent home last night so I can continue my recovery. It took a long time because the doctors had to be sure that my digestive system was working, and that I could control my pain without the IV meds.
My At-Home-Necessities:
- Cryo-Pak: A pressurized cooler that delivers compression and ice to my surgical site.
- Continual Passive Motion device: Bends my knee back and forth all day to prevent stiffness
- Two kinds of Oxycontin
- Crutches: I'm non-weight bearing for at least 6 weeks.
- Ensure: Because I can't stomach full meals with real food :(
I'm finally discharged. I was sent home last night so I can continue my recovery. It took a long time because the doctors had to be sure that my digestive system was working, and that I could control my pain without the IV meds.
My At-Home-Necessities:
- Cryo-Pak: A pressurized cooler that delivers compression and ice to my surgical site.
- Continual Passive Motion device: Bends my knee back and forth all day to prevent stiffness
- Two kinds of Oxycontin
- Crutches: I'm non-weight bearing for at least 6 weeks.
- Ensure: Because I can't stomach full meals with real food :(
Two incisions on my shins. Left one is the major surgery, right one is the screw removal.
New IV site. I was stuck six times for IV placement during my stay because I have really small veins.
This is a nerve catheter on my hip. It's not for urination - It's for numbing the nerves in my leg so I don't feel pain.
Thanks for sticking with me, everybody!
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
Do you have any plans for this Memorial Day Weekend?
~m.m.
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