Spine First TKR and now Spinal Fusion

[AussieRodney]

Good pickup, Deb. It was originally set for January, until (I think) the hospital got slammed by Covid. So then it was February for the surgery (yes , 2 days after my birthday). It's now the end of March & I just had my check-up. Wow, glad I got that straight! And Deb, you are so spot on about the "narcotic brain scrambles".

Yep, love those fishes! Come to think of it, looks a lot like Puerto Galera in the Philipines.

 

[sistersinhim]

Please check your signature to see if the dates are correct.

I had a similar shower chair after my tkr. Having it there was a huge comfort. I'd get tired and sit for a few minutes and then get back up again. I also found it easy to get out of the tub while sitting on it. (I, too, love that shower curtain!).

 

[AussieRodney]

Yes, getting in and out is surprisingly easy.
- Getting in. There is just enough room between the toilet and the edge of the chair to get my "I don't feel well and I'm going to droop" left leg for me to get it in safely.
- Next step is to tuck the shower curtain adjacent to the chair into the nearest gap in the chair, so that any water will run off into the tub.
- I then stand up and make sure I have a firm balance before I capture the shower head.
- Then turn the water on and adjust the temperature
- Enjoy the experience.
- When finished, stand up again and turn off all water and sit down again.
- Relax, gather my thoughts, scoot back down the chair, fit the legs through the gap and enjoy drying off.

Wow, I have become truly cautious this time!

 

[AussieRodney]

Sigh!

After all my "being careful", I had a fall. Getting something out of the car, slipped and went down on my left butt cheek. Of course, it would have to be the same side as the "floppy foot".

I'd better explain that first. Sometimes, with all the other things going on inside a tiny space, a nerve gets damaged. In my case, it has affected my left foot, which has zero response to "lift your foot" or "lift your toes", and a rather pathetic response to "walk straight". On top of that, there are "zingers". These are intense charges of pain that start somewhere in the upper leg and shoot down through the leg and out through the foot. The good news is that an X-ray showed no significant damage.

My wonderful new PT person suggested we acquire a 2-part brace, with one part on the foot and the other part on the leg above it to gently pull the foot upwards. I can definitely feel it pulling!

 

[AussieRodney]

Update:

Now a little over 3 months out. In that time, I have had 2 falls, both my fault and some lessons learned about being silly around heavy walking chairs. Got some nice bruises too!

So apart from fall-generated pain in my lower back, my main problem is the floppy left foot. It is still unresponsive to the idea of lifting the toes, although just this morning, it moved the big toe just enough to be visible. I wasn't excited but Julie was!

The two-stage brace does work. When I am walking, it pulls the foot from about 15 degrees to almost straight.

My wonderful PT Person, who really engages with me, and is now giving me exercises focused on the pelvic area. When I visited her earlier this week, I showed off by stashing my walker near the door and using a cane to get there when she called me (cane on the right of course, balancing the foot on the left).

And on top of all this fun stuff, both legs are badly swollen, from the knee all the way to the toes. I have used the same principles as I did with the knee to elevate them, as much as I can.

And finally, to fight off the looming depression, I have booked flights to Australia for a month of hanging out with family and friends. Gotta have a target!

 

[Jaycey]

@AussieRodney Recovery from any spinal surgery is certainly not for sissies! Three months out is still very early days.

Sounds like you have some very good guidance from your PT. Very important post op! Well done.

When is your Australia trip? I'm sure seeing friends and family will be a big mood booster!

 

[AussieRodney]

Leaving on the 4th of July (so that I can remember the date!). Returning 1 month later.

 

[AussieRodney]

I went and returned. I lost my Aussie passport on the day I arrived, and it took a full two months to acquire a new one. Much of the information we were given was just not correct, and some was not even possible. When we finally received accurate pieces of information, we would slot them into our plans.

The end result was that my son and I collected the new passport on the way to the airport. And all this time, I need either the walking frame or the cane to walk everywhere.

Here's how to transport a heavy backpack and an even heavier suitcase.

The best part was that I was able to spend a lot more time with my sister and with my son and his family than I had originally planned.

 

[AussieRodney]

And some good news of another kind. I have been approved for an orthotic to be custom made by Cornerstone, at no cost to me.

And a cast of my foot and leg.

I am now looking forward to being able to walk "normally".

 

[Jaycey]

Sounds like you had quite an adventure @AussieRodney ! Well done on figuring out how to manage your luggage.

Do let us know how the new orthotic works for you! Looks very fancy!

 

[Susie-Q]

Wow! Glad you got to spend some extra time with your family but boo on the passport loss!

Good luck with your new orthotic!

 

[AussieRodney]

Thanks, ladies. The situation in Australia was not exactly improved when the whole family tested positive for Covid just after I arrived. We still don't know who brought it home! While I have finally shaken off most of the nasty cough, I still have what appears to be "brain fog". Julie can tell me the plan for the day as we walk out the door, and once we are in the car, I am highly likely to ask her again where we are going! I would do that before I went away, but it's just as bad (despite me being a little more relaxed) as it was before I left! Ah, the joys of getting older.

My wonderful PT person was pleased to see me again. We remade the cheat sheet which had been rather ravaged along the way, and I it is now firmly attached to the metal frame instead of the top platform.

I had also left this for Julie to see every time she walked past it in the kitchen. Having been living alone for nearly 2 months, she was very pleased to see me.

The new orthotic should be ready before I go back to PT next week. My back is now not quite so irritated, but it is still quite sore, particularly at the end of the day, and I still can't put any weight on the left side.

 

[AussieRodney]

After a considerable wait, my orthotic brace arrived and was fitted. The change is not miraculous, but it is significant. Combined with a cane, and when I have enough other parts not hurting, I can walk at a reasonable pace. Here it is in all its glory!

The socks came with the package, and we chose a pair of SKETCHERS shoes, which were highly recommended by the consultant. Size 9.5 Extra Wide, big clumpy things compared to what I have been wearing, but surprisingly light. The first few times putting it all together were a major battle to get everything to fit into the shoe, assisted by a 12" metal shoehorn. A day or two later, I worked out that with the amount of pushing to get it into the shoe, the heel of the shoe was rolling over inside it. With some more rather unorthodox use of the shoehorn, I finally figured that out too. It's still a battle, but at least now I know what I'm doing!

 

[Jamie]

Hi, @AussieRodney! Boy, I've missed all that's been going on with you these past months. What an "adventure" you've been having. I'm glad you were able to make the trip to Australia okay and that you're starting to get things in place back home with your new brace. It's quite fancy and looks like it may help you be more normal when walking. Take things easy, though.....no more falls, okay? Take care!

 

[AussieRodney]

Thanks @Jamie. Here’s the update.

The issue with my floppy foot will NOT go away. Ever! It appears that once a nerve is damaged like that, it does not recover, so I’m stuck with it for the duration. At age 70, it’s probably just as well that I only have a few more decades to go!

The worst part is the “zingers”. A zinger is like a 1,000 volt spike originating in the foot and blasting out via somewhere else in the foot, or even sometimes if I happen to have both feet together, it shoots from floppy left foot through the right foot. During a session with an orthopedic specialist, she told me that her husband has the same issue. They can be walking through the mall and suddenly he lets out a yelp and grabs for the nearest solid object! “Yep, that’s it!”

Combine that with the daily struggle to get the left shoe on over the brace. I just happen to have some metal shoehorns about 10” long, which provide enough leverage. It also helps that the shoe has softened a bit, but it can still be a battle leaning over to get to the shoe on the floor, while still holding the brace! I have even allocated myself a space in the living room, where the couch is lower, which makes it easier to get down to floor level.

Here's a run-through. I “own” part of the couch, which is the same couch where I was elevating my legs back when it all started. Everything I need is staged for the daily battle.

I bought a batch of socks in different colors. The small ones are used overnight so that the feet are not quite so “free” for generating zingers.

Socks are on, plus a brace for right knee so that it doesn’t ache quite so badly during the day.

Brace in position, shoes ready (wide open), let the battle begin!

Hold the brace against the leg and stuff the whole thing into the shoe.

Attack with the shoehorn.

Cover the mess with the jeans.

Ready to meet the day with the shiny new red Rollator, complete with bag of stuff & warm jacket.

 

[AussieRodney]

I also recently had a Cortisone shot into the SI joint, which is where the big plate meets the hip. The first night was total BLISS but the pain returned. At least the medial crew are doing SOMETHING!

 

[Jamie]

Wow, I'm impressed with your organization and efficiency with all this. I'm glad the brace helps you and it actually looks pretty good once it's in place. I had to wear a brace that was sort of similar back when I had plantar fasciitis. Only mine were on both feet and legs. So I understand about the difficulty getting them into shoes. Even with oversize tennis shoes, it can be a struggle. And then, when you have the larger shoes, I felt like I was "clomping" around when I walked. That eventually went away as I got used to them.

I hope those zingers settle down for you. You might speak with your doctor. Sometimes Gabapentin is prescribed and helps with that type of nerve pain.

I appreciate your photos! That is good information for the forum as an educational tool for us all and maybe some helpful ideas if someone else goes through something similar. Thank you.

 

[AussieRodney]

Thanks, Jamie. "Clomping" - spot on! As for the zingers, I figure that if an orthopedic doctor can't do anything for her husband, then there's not much in it for me.

My PT person tested me yesterday by having me walking with the cane and doing some simple math at the same time. Now that's an interesting situation! I passed with flying colours and she had finished her work with me.

 

[Jamie]

That math and walking would be a challenge for many totally normal people. That’s some therapist!

 

[AussieRodney]

Yes. Fortunately, I am good at arithmetic. And I do need to keep up the appointments. Oops.

And I'm finally back to working, at the same place as Julie (Staples), working the cash register. By far the hardest part of the job is figuring out the strange American coins! And a lot of standing, although I can sit when not assisting a customer. The most "interesting" part so far was being tutored by my wife!

The ortho brace certainly makes a big difference. Still a real pain (yes, pun intended) to get dressed, which of course includes fighting with the brace, but I can certainly move quickly using the cane.