Don't skateboard in the house. I wish I had followed that rule more closely!
On April Fools Day, I decided that it would be great to buy my teenage children a skateboard and show them how Dad did it 30 years ago... I looked great for about 15 seconds, and then it all went - quite literally - upside down. Wham, thud, ouch. Many of you can relate.
Did I mention that my wife was more than 1,000 miles away taking care of her mother, a cancer patient? Let's just say that when you call family on April Fools Day and let them know you fell off a skateboard in the living room and hurt yourself, it takes more than one try to convince them you're not joking.
So, somehow I manage to get on my wife's crutches from an old injury (she's almost a foot shorter than me!), get down a flight of stairs, into my car (excruciating!), and to the corner clinic. They tell me that they've never seen a hip fracture that can ambulate on crutches - I probably have a groin strain, but just in case, go get an X-ray the next day.
So I do... stairs, drive to get X-ray, (and stop to get gas, as one does), come home, and at 3pm in the afternoon, they call and say I have a complete fracture (well, that explains the pain!), and get to the ER right away. Call my wife, she books an airline ticket and goes straight to the airport; wonderful friends come and take our kids and dog, and me to the ER. After 9 hours in the ER (thank you, COVID) I'm admitted - at 3am. See the surgeon, who tells me I'm going to have surgery at noon. Then I start into Dante's circles of Hell, from fretting about the injury, to surgery prep/NPO, to the pre-op room, to the OR (where there is truly a monstrous contraption waiting for me). I have to say, though, that the hospital team here in MD (Suburban Hospital, Bethesda) was tremendous. Out of this world good. From the ER staff, to the ward staff, to the physicians, to the OS and OR team, they were really great. I'm very fortunate.
Also, when you're the youngest guy in the ortho ward, you get a nickname. I was "skateboard guy." Apparently it was in my notes... every time there was a shift change at the hospital, the new crew would come in and say, "ohhhh, you're skateboard guy!" I'll have to get a T-shirt made.
Surgery goes great - three cannulated screws, now I have FrankenHip - and the recovery begins. Out of the bed, on crutches, and over to the chair for a few hours that night; three-course meal; and one of the least restful nights in recent memory.
Went home the next day (Easter Sunday!) on orders for 50% weight bearing, take 2-3 short walks a day, etc.
For those just starting... the first few days are really tough. The leg lifter was essential to get in and out of the car, bed, etc. I was only on Tylenol (I declined the "good stuff" - I'm glad in retrospect, but I suspect that the "good stuff" would have made the first few days much easier.)
If you've read this far, and you're facing the beginning of your recovery, here's a short list of things to consider buying to help ease the first weeks - order these while you're still in the hospital:
1. Sock "putter-on-er" and remover. That was frustrating. I got this, and it was great: 2. A seat for the shower. I'm almost five weeks out and still can't stand in the shower. Worth every penny.
3. Soap on a rope. Or liquid soap. The first time I dropped the soap in the shower, I almost cried...
4. A raised toilet seat with grab bars. Trust me on this one. It looks bad, but it's not forever... and will save you a lot of pain. I learned that the hard way.
5. A fanny pack. Yes, it's silly, but being able to carry things whilst on crutches is huge. Especially a water bottle.
6. Bicycling gloves - the kind with pads on the palms. After a while, the crutches can really tear up your palms; I learned that one too late.
So, how's it been so far? It's been... sore. But making lots of great progress!
I went back to work the Monday after Easter - but with COVID, that just meant that I was sitting in the office rather than the living room. Since I was only taking Tylenol, I was fine to work. Not necessarily comfortable - but work helped take the mind off the other stuff. (Funnily enough, I had a 5:30P work call on the Friday before Easter; finished that call and went to the ER; back at work 8:30a Monday morning... how's that for timing?)
Moving around the first week was rough. Still a twinge of muscle pain here and there. Was taking 1000mg of Tylenol every 6 hours - I would wake up at night when it was getting close to time. Who needs a clock? Had to sleep on my back - couldn't sleep on my side (and I'm a side sleeper; that made things fun).
By week 2, all the twinges and muscle spasms stopped, and the pain was subsiding. Still sore, but better. Started walking outside a little - around the block outside. Had the first appointment with the OS after getting out of the hospital; got two X-rays, had staples out, etc. Everything looked fine.
By week 3, I was tackling stairs in the house (and sleeping in my bed again - hooray!). Longer walks outside - 15-25 minutes at a time, 2-3x per day. Had a big bruise come up on my inner thigh; by the yellow color, was an old deep bruise working its way out. Still a lot of soreness. A long tendon from my thigh down to my ankle was really sore; when I would wake up at night and move my leg for the first time, the inner thigh down to my ankle would be pins and needles for a few seconds. Not pleasant! Still couldn't sleep on my side. Would try, but pain in the thigh was too much.
Week 4 was a breakthrough week - at 3.5 weeks in, I had a day where everything just seemed to get a little easier. I'm still sore, still have some issues getting around, but really took a leap forward. I realized it that day, too, that it was a GREAT day.
In week 5 now - had my second pandemic birthday, and first on crutches! - and it's getting better. I'm ALMOST able to sleep on my side again; tylenol is down to 500mg before bed and another 500mg if I wake up at night. Meeting with the OS again next week; he expects - assuming the x-rays look good - that I will be fully weight bearing as tolerated next week. I have a long way to go, no doubt - but hopefully that will at least arrest the atrophy that I see in my legs. My affected leg is already 1.5" less in circumference than my unaffected leg.
All in all, I feel lucky - great surgeon, good recovery so far, no complications. And perhaps weight bearing again next week, too. Hooray!
I wish I had found this resource sooner - it's really, really great. Thank you!
On April Fools Day, I decided that it would be great to buy my teenage children a skateboard and show them how Dad did it 30 years ago... I looked great for about 15 seconds, and then it all went - quite literally - upside down. Wham, thud, ouch. Many of you can relate.
Did I mention that my wife was more than 1,000 miles away taking care of her mother, a cancer patient? Let's just say that when you call family on April Fools Day and let them know you fell off a skateboard in the living room and hurt yourself, it takes more than one try to convince them you're not joking.
So, somehow I manage to get on my wife's crutches from an old injury (she's almost a foot shorter than me!), get down a flight of stairs, into my car (excruciating!), and to the corner clinic. They tell me that they've never seen a hip fracture that can ambulate on crutches - I probably have a groin strain, but just in case, go get an X-ray the next day.
So I do... stairs, drive to get X-ray, (and stop to get gas, as one does), come home, and at 3pm in the afternoon, they call and say I have a complete fracture (well, that explains the pain!), and get to the ER right away. Call my wife, she books an airline ticket and goes straight to the airport; wonderful friends come and take our kids and dog, and me to the ER. After 9 hours in the ER (thank you, COVID) I'm admitted - at 3am. See the surgeon, who tells me I'm going to have surgery at noon. Then I start into Dante's circles of Hell, from fretting about the injury, to surgery prep/NPO, to the pre-op room, to the OR (where there is truly a monstrous contraption waiting for me). I have to say, though, that the hospital team here in MD (Suburban Hospital, Bethesda) was tremendous. Out of this world good. From the ER staff, to the ward staff, to the physicians, to the OS and OR team, they were really great. I'm very fortunate.
Also, when you're the youngest guy in the ortho ward, you get a nickname. I was "skateboard guy." Apparently it was in my notes... every time there was a shift change at the hospital, the new crew would come in and say, "ohhhh, you're skateboard guy!" I'll have to get a T-shirt made.
Surgery goes great - three cannulated screws, now I have FrankenHip - and the recovery begins. Out of the bed, on crutches, and over to the chair for a few hours that night; three-course meal; and one of the least restful nights in recent memory.
Went home the next day (Easter Sunday!) on orders for 50% weight bearing, take 2-3 short walks a day, etc.
For those just starting... the first few days are really tough. The leg lifter was essential to get in and out of the car, bed, etc. I was only on Tylenol (I declined the "good stuff" - I'm glad in retrospect, but I suspect that the "good stuff" would have made the first few days much easier.)
If you've read this far, and you're facing the beginning of your recovery, here's a short list of things to consider buying to help ease the first weeks - order these while you're still in the hospital:
1. Sock "putter-on-er" and remover. That was frustrating. I got this, and it was great: 2. A seat for the shower. I'm almost five weeks out and still can't stand in the shower. Worth every penny.
3. Soap on a rope. Or liquid soap. The first time I dropped the soap in the shower, I almost cried...
4. A raised toilet seat with grab bars. Trust me on this one. It looks bad, but it's not forever... and will save you a lot of pain. I learned that the hard way.
5. A fanny pack. Yes, it's silly, but being able to carry things whilst on crutches is huge. Especially a water bottle.
6. Bicycling gloves - the kind with pads on the palms. After a while, the crutches can really tear up your palms; I learned that one too late.
So, how's it been so far? It's been... sore. But making lots of great progress!
I went back to work the Monday after Easter - but with COVID, that just meant that I was sitting in the office rather than the living room. Since I was only taking Tylenol, I was fine to work. Not necessarily comfortable - but work helped take the mind off the other stuff. (Funnily enough, I had a 5:30P work call on the Friday before Easter; finished that call and went to the ER; back at work 8:30a Monday morning... how's that for timing?)
Moving around the first week was rough. Still a twinge of muscle pain here and there. Was taking 1000mg of Tylenol every 6 hours - I would wake up at night when it was getting close to time. Who needs a clock? Had to sleep on my back - couldn't sleep on my side (and I'm a side sleeper; that made things fun).
By week 2, all the twinges and muscle spasms stopped, and the pain was subsiding. Still sore, but better. Started walking outside a little - around the block outside. Had the first appointment with the OS after getting out of the hospital; got two X-rays, had staples out, etc. Everything looked fine.
By week 3, I was tackling stairs in the house (and sleeping in my bed again - hooray!). Longer walks outside - 15-25 minutes at a time, 2-3x per day. Had a big bruise come up on my inner thigh; by the yellow color, was an old deep bruise working its way out. Still a lot of soreness. A long tendon from my thigh down to my ankle was really sore; when I would wake up at night and move my leg for the first time, the inner thigh down to my ankle would be pins and needles for a few seconds. Not pleasant! Still couldn't sleep on my side. Would try, but pain in the thigh was too much.
Week 4 was a breakthrough week - at 3.5 weeks in, I had a day where everything just seemed to get a little easier. I'm still sore, still have some issues getting around, but really took a leap forward. I realized it that day, too, that it was a GREAT day.
In week 5 now - had my second pandemic birthday, and first on crutches! - and it's getting better. I'm ALMOST able to sleep on my side again; tylenol is down to 500mg before bed and another 500mg if I wake up at night. Meeting with the OS again next week; he expects - assuming the x-rays look good - that I will be fully weight bearing as tolerated next week. I have a long way to go, no doubt - but hopefully that will at least arrest the atrophy that I see in my legs. My affected leg is already 1.5" less in circumference than my unaffected leg.
All in all, I feel lucky - great surgeon, good recovery so far, no complications. And perhaps weight bearing again next week, too. Hooray!
I wish I had found this resource sooner - it's really, really great. Thank you!