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THR Dogchick's Hippy Recovery Adventure

Hope you have a good weekend @dogchick .
Still super early days for recovery...try not to let PT push you too much.
You have plenty of time to strengthen muscles even if your PT runs out.
Too much too soon can cause a set back.
Do take it easy and don't feel pressure to get it done before your leg is ready.
Healing hugs!:) :-) (:
 
Mojo333 said:
Hope you have a good weekend @dogchick .
Still super early days for recovery...try not to let PT push you too much.
You have plenty of time to strengthen muscles even if your PT runs out.
Too much too soon can cause a set back.
Do take it easy and don't feel pressure to get it done before your leg is ready.
Healing hugs!:) :-) (:
Click to expand...
Thank you so much @Mojo333 I was having an internal conflict. I mean, I know that muscle has to be strengthened, or I won't ever get back to my life, or walk normally. But, I wasn't sure if it would be ok to wait until a later date to strengthen them. Some of the exercises feel fine, and don't really hurt, but one of the ones she gave me was to put a stretchy band around my knees and then while laying on my back, move first my Op leg/knee out 10 times, then the right one, then both of them together. This is the one that hurt, and it did set me back for a day. I tried one more time the morning before my latest PT session, and I was not doing well at PT, I was hurting and in more pain than usual, so I'm thinking that's not something I want to do right now. It's so hard to figure these things out when you feel so conflicted. Despite knowing the Bonesmart mantra. I think I'm just going to stick with the other exercises that don't hurt, and skip that one with the band until maybe I've got some more healing under my belt. Dogdude asked me if I had been doing my exercises, and I told him no, it hurts too much. He has this idea in his head that I'm wimpy and wimping out (I am a wimp, I admit that, but I also know my body and what it can handle). He wasn't too happy when I said that. I had to glare at him and tell him, this is not a no pain, no gain situation. If it hurts, I shouldn't do it, and even my PT has said that to me. LOL! I think he understands now. It's not just me that has to have the patience. He's taken up a lot of the slack of the housework, specifically, laundry, and other things that either take to long on my feet, or cause me to break the 90º restriction. Anyway, thanks for your reassuring words, it helps.
 
Just another little update. We said goodbye to Pup Prince #1 last night. :boohoo: He left to go on a road trip (his first) by himself. He didn't really have a destination in mind, just south. We had to rein him in and tell him he needs to have a "goal" location to stay overnight at so he can book a place to stay. So, he did book a hotel in Lumberton, North Carolina. He called me this morning while he was driving. He said he was on a long straight part of the highway for about 90 minutes and thought he'd call to help him stay awake. He did stop a couple of times through the night to refresh himself. He is in North Carolina already, and loving his drive. He said he LOVES his car even more, it's getting about 46mpg. :heehee: Anyway, I was so very happy to hear from him. I'm happy he's doing something he's always wanted to do, and jealous that I couldn't go with him. :snork: He and I are a lot alike. We both LOVE road trips! Anyway, that was kind of a sad thing saying goodbye to him last night. Can't help being a mom and worrying, and it's so hard to let go like that.

Yesterday, I had PT, and that was it...I didn't do much of anything. There is a course on essential oils that I signed up for, so I did a bit of that. Checked the chickens to see if they were doing ok. I feel like there is a lot I could be doing in the house, but my energy is limited, but I got super bored yesterday, and I think it might be because I was helping Pup Prince plan out his trip, and I've been NOWHERE this summer! I might have to see if Dogdude will take me on a day trip just to get me out of here for awhile, I'm feeling cabin fever. LOL! Ok, I guess that's it. It's gloomy and rainy this morning, so I'm going to check out Netflix or Prime video and see if there's a movie I want to watch. Have a good Saturday everyone!
 
You too.:curtsey:
And think about it too.
You know how to do those exercises by now.
You can do them later by yourself!
 
Like all exercises if they hurt stop. Plenty of time to do those exercises when the time is right. Your PT should realise that and maybe give you an alternative exercise. Keep in there, your doing well and remember you'll be chasing chickens soon enough. It's good to have an objective or goal to do post recovery, helps with the recovery.
 
Oh dear dogchick, so much activity and exercise and PT at such an early date after surgery. Sorry to hear that you are having trouble with pain. Maybe one of the ODIC members could advise on healing. Hope you feel better soon. (Don't forget the meds; as they say "keep up with the pain")
 
Good Morning,
So a couple of days ago I hit my 6 week mark! Wow, the last couple of weeks has gone by super fast! Yesterday, I went to PT. She asked me if I was doing the exercise with the band around my knees. I told her I stopped doing it because everytime I do, it knocks me out for a couple of days. I told her I think my body just isn't ready for that yet. This is my PT that I really like, she's so understanding and she finds other things for me to do that doesn't hurt me like that, but still strengthens the muscle(s) that need strengthening. The other PT that I see, I love her, but she's a little tougher sometimes, she's the one that originally gave me the exercise to do. I think I see her next visit. Anyway, so PT went well. I went home for a bit afterwards.

Later, I had my 6 week check-up with my OS's PA. That went well, I think. She said my scar looks great! :) We discussed the weakness in those certain muscles, and she said she's going to prescribe more PT for that...to which I said that I already booked the appointments. :heehee: Oh! Hey, I also lost 5 lbs. since my 2 week appointment. That's always a good thing. :yes!: Let's see, what else...Oh, I asked about swimming, and she said I am allowed to go swimming now, she recommended that I take a shower as soon as possible afterward just to be safe. I don't have a pool, but I have a friend who has a built-in pool that I could use if I wanted. Unfortunately, I still have all the restrictions. I did tell her that I've been putting my own sandals on, and showed her how I do it, because there is a strap at the back. (I sit in a chair, slip the sandal on my foot then put my foot back so that it's resting on the toes, and then lean sideways to fix the strap) She was fine with that, but she said just to be careful with certain movements. Oh, and I got a doctors note from her for work, no lifting over 20lbs, which would include wheelchairs. So, if I need it, I can present it to my boss. I don't think I'll need it, but you never know what will come up.

I'm a little nervous about going back to work. I go back on August 27th. The first day will be fine I think, since it's mostly a bunch of sitting for meetings and such. The second day, there might be a little more walking around, and a little busier, but again, I think it's doable. The 3rd day, however, is the day that the freshmen come to school. I'm pretty sure I'm assigned to a freshman, so I will have to follow her to all her classes. Thankfully, we have an elevator, so if she has classes on the 2nd or 3rd floor, I'll use that, but it's at the front of the building, so if her class is at the back of the building, it will be a lot of walking. Anyway, the 4th day all the students come back to school...THAT'S when I'm going to be nervous for sure...walking in the halls with all the kids, who don't seem to like to follow road rules (stay to the right, etc), getting bumped into, or tripped is a big concern for me, so I may be talking to all the teachers and telling them I need to leave classes about 5 minutes early to get to the next class without all the traffic. I am positive I will still have to use my cane. I will walk a bit in the house without my cane, and sort of surf the walls/furniture/counters, but with a heavy limp. I told PT and my PA about that, and they didn't seem to think I should do that much, that I should be using my cane. Soo....I'm feeling conflicted, I thought it was good that I was doing that, to help strengthen the weak muscles, as long as it's not causing a lot of pain or discomfort. I'll probably still do it a bit, since I seem to keep walking away and then realize that I left my cane and have to go back to get it. :snork: It usually happens when I'm trying to get some stuff done in the house.

Well, this got longer than I intended. (So what else is new? :snork: ) Today, I will make my first trip alone to Walmart to get some food for dinner tonight and to get some school supplies that I need to get myself started. I'm hoping I can just use the cart to walk around, which didn't work very well last time I tried that, but maybe it's more doable now, since I'm now on a cane and not a crutch. I'll be back to report how it went. :flwrysmile:
 
dogchick said:
Today, I will make my first trip alone to Walmart to get some food for dinner tonight and to get some school supplies that I need to get myself started.
Click to expand...

Hope trip goes well and boosts your confidence...
Have a good day.
 
Hi! Sounds like your moving along just fine. Don't worry too much about returning to work you have another 10 days of healing before then. Look at what you've accomplished in the last 10 days, I'm sure you will have progressed by then. Your working in a school so your challenges will be totally different than mine. I am more worried about being able to focus, do accurate work and respond appropriately to stress of deadlines & sales requests. There is always healthy friction between an underwriter & the sales person, but I am not sure I'll have the patients to listen calmly and provide polite responses. I need to get 8 hours sleep to function, so really hoping it happens in the next week. I'm only getting 5 at night then nap 1-2 hours during the day. I start part time from home on 8/23, next Thursday if the Dr. clears me to return to work and. I see him tomorrow.

My husband is also a teacher's aid so I hear all the great stories of disciplining more than teaching. Most kids will be helpful and they see you are walking with a cane.
 
Six weeks already! Time and Summer are flying.
It sounds like you're checkup went well. Always reassuring.
Rest up for your return to work on the 27th.
I hope your weekend is a good one!
@dogchick
 
Hi @dogchick I “watched” your thread but unfortunately, it doesn’t come up in my alerts. Anyway, sounds like you’re doing well. Me too! Hard to believe we’re seven weeks! Your first day back to work is my TKR!
 
You never know. Your students might show a lot of respect and be supportive on corridors. An honour guard to look out for you. They might not bring an apple but they might offer to carry your bag or open doors or tell others to let you pass.
The very best of luck for your first day back.

:flwrysmile:
 
Hi @dogchick... sounds like your PT girl is going a little hard on you with the leg bands- but you got it under ontrol! I drove for the time yesterday- first for a mani/pedi appt, and then to pick up my son at school, and it felt amazing! THree weeks post today, and it was a test drive to see how things went. My biggest regret at this point is still not being able to swim, as I think that would be so helpful with the healing/ muscle strengtening. But my OS says absolutely not before 6 weeks, so I guess I better follow those orders- do NOT want an infection. I am still feeling sore first thing in the morning, and taking my oxy then, and at least two more times a day- I guess every 6 hours except overnight. How long did it take you to get completely off the meds? Did you transition with Tramadol or anything else while weening off?

How was your return to work yesterday? Hope all went well!
 
@dogchick :sleep:
Getting a bit of rest? Two days back at work now. How has it gone? Bet you won't have much time to chat to your Bonesmartie Friends now but we'd all like to know how you're doing. Take care.
 
I hope work is going okay for you. You'll have to let us know one of these days when you have a minute.
I'll bet by days end all you want to do is crash on the sofa.
Probably a good idea until you transition fully.
One long holiday weekend coming right up. Hope it's a relaxing one for you.
@dogchick
 
Hi All,
I promise I will try to update how things have been...hopefully this afternoon, since we are getting out early due to the heat and air quality here in CT. For now, I have to get ready for work. Today is the first day with my new students, so lots of walking going to all the classrooms. Thanks for checking in on me. :)
 
Hello dogchick- It's been awhile since I've been on Bsmart and thought I'd check in on some of my hippie friends. I do hope your return to school goes smoothly. I find taking my cane (which I really don't need now) when I go into crowded situations does create a buffer and people are respectful of that. It will be a good learning for students to understand mobility and disability (temporary as it is for us). I think you are doing well for only 6 or 7 weeks post! I like your idea of moving between classrooms a bit early. I hope they can accommodate that for you. I love the advice above from Mojo333 - go home and assume the ice position!
 
Small1014 said:
I am still feeling sore first thing in the morning, and taking my oxy then, and at least two more times a day- I guess every 6 hours except overnight. How long did it take you to get completely off the meds? Did you transition with Tramadol or anything else while weening off?
How was your return to work yesterday? Hope all went well!
Click to expand...
Hi @Small1014 Sorry it's taken so long to reply. I am also still feeling a bit sore and stiff in the morning, I think that will be the case for a while though. I honestly can't remember when exactly I got completely off opioids. I still occasionally will take an Aleve. I was only taking Tylenol until my 6 week visit, when I was told I can use NSAIDS, so that's when I transitioned to Aleve, but I only take it if I'm super sore. That and Ice when I get home. I don't really have a lot of pain. Most of my issue is super sore muscles.
 
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