I heard back from Dr. Kim's physicians assistant today (Erin). She told me that I can progress from 1/6th weight bearing to 30%. This won't be a problem for my hip but it will cause a major problem for my knee at this point! Hmm-this could be interesting!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
1 Month Post-Op
Today marks exactly 1 month since my LPAO surgery. Despite a setback due to knee pain and instability my hip feels great! I have been relatively independent since I returned from the hospital-which is unsual for a PAO patient. I am also excited to say that I have not experienced any groin pain.
Recap on recovery: I am able to...
-Sleep on my right side
-Crutch for longer distances before getting too tired-my right hip doesn't appreciate this and neither does my knee
-Shower by myself-although in a chair
-Manage stairs without any problems
-Lift my operative leg into bed with little assistance
-Take the puppies outside to play
Today was also my appointment with Dr. Shiple to evaluate my knee. There are about 15 different names to describe what I have but I'll stick to the most commonly used diagnosis and the one Dr. Shiple used. I have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome with patellar tilt and subluxation. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), often called runner's knee, refers to pain under and around the knee cap. The pain of PFPS may occur in one or both knees, and it tends to worsen with activity, while descending stairs and after long periods of inactivity. The way the patella tracks along the groove of the femur can lead to irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the patella. The patella can move up and down, side to side in the groove, as well as tilt and rotate. In my case the patella has tilted due to a muscular imbalance and weakness of the quad, IT band, and lateral ligaments. My ligamentous laxity issues also contribute to the instability of my knee, as well as the structural differences in my pelvis after surgery. The instability causes the subluxation of my patella and if not treated or stabilized could result in recurrent dislocations. Dr. Shiple wants me to try electrical stimulation at physical therapy to activate the muscles as well as wear a brace to stabilize the patella to prevent any further subluxations. In regards to my hip, Dr. Shiple said my scar/incision is looking great. I had x-rays taken to see how the bones are healing and I am waiting to hear back from Dr. Kim's physicians assistant. According to Dr. Shiple there hasn't been any shift in position from the last x-ray, which is good news.
I have PT with Cam on Thursday and will then continue twice a week for several weeks. If PT doesn't work I will then try a serious of 8 injections to see if that can reduce some of the pain.
Recap on recovery: I am able to...
-Sleep on my right side
-Crutch for longer distances before getting too tired-my right hip doesn't appreciate this and neither does my knee
-Shower by myself-although in a chair
-Manage stairs without any problems
-Lift my operative leg into bed with little assistance
-Take the puppies outside to play
Today was also my appointment with Dr. Shiple to evaluate my knee. There are about 15 different names to describe what I have but I'll stick to the most commonly used diagnosis and the one Dr. Shiple used. I have Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome with patellar tilt and subluxation. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), often called runner's knee, refers to pain under and around the knee cap. The pain of PFPS may occur in one or both knees, and it tends to worsen with activity, while descending stairs and after long periods of inactivity. The way the patella tracks along the groove of the femur can lead to irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the patella. The patella can move up and down, side to side in the groove, as well as tilt and rotate. In my case the patella has tilted due to a muscular imbalance and weakness of the quad, IT band, and lateral ligaments. My ligamentous laxity issues also contribute to the instability of my knee, as well as the structural differences in my pelvis after surgery. The instability causes the subluxation of my patella and if not treated or stabilized could result in recurrent dislocations. Dr. Shiple wants me to try electrical stimulation at physical therapy to activate the muscles as well as wear a brace to stabilize the patella to prevent any further subluxations. In regards to my hip, Dr. Shiple said my scar/incision is looking great. I had x-rays taken to see how the bones are healing and I am waiting to hear back from Dr. Kim's physicians assistant. According to Dr. Shiple there hasn't been any shift in position from the last x-ray, which is good news.
I have PT with Cam on Thursday and will then continue twice a week for several weeks. If PT doesn't work I will then try a serious of 8 injections to see if that can reduce some of the pain.
Monday, June 28, 2010
PT
I just got back from PT! Once again I am in more pain than when I walked in to Excel. My kneecap is still tilted and twisted- due to the extreme tightness of the outside lateral (side of knee) muscles and ligaments and weakness on the inside of my knee. Once again Cam taped my knee to try and stabilize it until I see Dr. Shiple tomorrow. My knee is becoming increasingly more unstable and it has subluxed several times. If this continues I am setting myself up for cartilage damage which is something I could really do without!
This picture displays the various positions of the patella-(from left to right)
Figure 1- normal tracking and positioning
Figure 2- tilted patella-possible subluxation **ME**
Figure 3- patella dislocation
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
USA
I thought I'd post this video for everyone to see-The World's Reaction to Donovan's Game Winning Goal (against Algeria) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbn3rOPmR9w&feature=youtube
This video brought tears to my eyes and I must have watched it 10 times already! It makes me very proud to be an American!
2014 HERE WE COME!
This video brought tears to my eyes and I must have watched it 10 times already! It makes me very proud to be an American!
2014 HERE WE COME!
That's Upsetting!
Bummer! The USA lost to Ghana 1-2 in overtime to be eliminated from the World Cup! Watching the USA games has been my weekly highlight! I guess I will have to find another team to support!
My knee pain is getting worse! My kneecap subluxed twice in the last 2 days which indicates instability. I really don't need another unstable joint as I am already loose jointed to begin with! I talked to Cam on the phone yesterday to see if there was anything I could do. I was unable to fully straighten my knee-not so much because of pain but it just wouldn't straighten! I see Dr. Shiple on Tuesday and I really hope he has a plan as to how we can handle this! I am very limited at this point (hip wise) and I don't want to damage the cartilage because I can't do formal PT. I also won't be able to progress in weight-bearing if my knee pain isn't controlled.
I am still waiting for the light to turn on at the end of the tunnel!
My knee pain is getting worse! My kneecap subluxed twice in the last 2 days which indicates instability. I really don't need another unstable joint as I am already loose jointed to begin with! I talked to Cam on the phone yesterday to see if there was anything I could do. I was unable to fully straighten my knee-not so much because of pain but it just wouldn't straighten! I see Dr. Shiple on Tuesday and I really hope he has a plan as to how we can handle this! I am very limited at this point (hip wise) and I don't want to damage the cartilage because I can't do formal PT. I also won't be able to progress in weight-bearing if my knee pain isn't controlled.
I am still waiting for the light to turn on at the end of the tunnel!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tilted!
I had PT with Cam this morning for my knee pain! He did some myofascial release of the IT band and surrounding tendons and muscles-very painful. One of the major reasons for my pain is the current position of my kneecap. My patella is tilted due to the extreme tightness of my muscles and tendons. When I activate these muscles they pull my kneecap towards the outside. Cam put a pen on both kneecaps to test this. With normal alignment the pen should appear as if it is lying flat (as if on a table). With my left knee the pen tilts up. He also drew some lines on my knee to show me-although it was pretty obvious when seeing the pen. He taped the kneecap for now to see if we can alleviate some of the pain but this isn't a permanent fix. It won't be easy to realign my kneecap-especially given the current situation with my hip. I see Dr. Shiple on Tuesday and Cam will explain everything to him as well. Hopefully we can come up with a plan as to how to get my kneecap back to where it's supposed to be!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
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Monday, June 21, 2010
Knee Appointment
I made an appointment today to see Dr. Shiple next Tuesday for an evaluation of my knee-it's possible I see him earlier if there is a cancellation. I will also have x-rays taken of my hip next week and I will send them to Boston to see how my pelvis is healing. If the bones have begun to fuse and heal I will be given more weight-bearing privileges. Of course who knows if I will even be able to given the amount of pain my knee causes at this point! I am interested to see the difference between my x-rays taken at 8 days post-op (while I was in the hospital) and those taken at 1 month. I hope the bones are healing well and I can at least feel as if I have made progress in this recovery!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
5 months old!
Here are some pictures of the puppies-Roo and Mick! They are almost 5 months old and growing up fast! (sorry for the poor picture quality-cell phone camera)
Mick
Roo
My Goal!
Many of you know that it has been my ambition to become a Sports Medicine Physician-more specifically to become a D.O. much like Dr. Shiple. I have also been considering Orthopedic Surgery as a possible career and would like to keep that option open as well. The fact that I will enter the world of Orthopedics as a professional at some point is a very clear goal of mine. Given my personal experience with both sports injuries and orthopedic surgery it seems only fitting.
What hasn't been clear-until now-is what major or undergraduate path is right for me. Pre-med is always an obvious option but I have never been fully satisfied with the curriculum of pre-med. A simple major in Biology is another popular choice by those planning on attending medical school-but again not the major for me. One of the major reasons I decided to transfer to St. Joseph's University was that it gave me more options in regards to healthcare-more specifically it offers a program called Interdisciplinary Health Services. IHS allows me to customize my own curriculum based on my goals and interests. Another option I have always considered is Nursing. The possibility of nursing was another reason for transferring. A BSN would allow me to be more hands-on and would provide me with a fallback if necessary. However, it wasn't until my recent hospitilization at the Children's Hospital of Boston that everything became very clear to me.
Although, in the long run, I still plan on attending medical school and pursuing a career in orthopedics- I first want to become a pediatric nurse and I want to live in Boston. My goal is to work as a pediatric nurse-specifically within the field of orthopedic surgery-and I want to work at the Children's Hospital of Boston. The experience I had at Children's has had a significant impact on me. Every nurse at Boston Children's was nicer than the next and it was obvious that they were all extremely passionate about their jobs and helping their patients. How will I accomplish this goal? I will most likely be majoring in Interdisciplinary Health Services and will complete a 2 year accelerated Nursing program. I will then graduate with a dual degree- a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Health Services and a BSN (nursing).
One of my fellow Hip Chicks inspired me to write this post! It may be a dream right now but I can make it a reality!
What hasn't been clear-until now-is what major or undergraduate path is right for me. Pre-med is always an obvious option but I have never been fully satisfied with the curriculum of pre-med. A simple major in Biology is another popular choice by those planning on attending medical school-but again not the major for me. One of the major reasons I decided to transfer to St. Joseph's University was that it gave me more options in regards to healthcare-more specifically it offers a program called Interdisciplinary Health Services. IHS allows me to customize my own curriculum based on my goals and interests. Another option I have always considered is Nursing. The possibility of nursing was another reason for transferring. A BSN would allow me to be more hands-on and would provide me with a fallback if necessary. However, it wasn't until my recent hospitilization at the Children's Hospital of Boston that everything became very clear to me.
Although, in the long run, I still plan on attending medical school and pursuing a career in orthopedics- I first want to become a pediatric nurse and I want to live in Boston. My goal is to work as a pediatric nurse-specifically within the field of orthopedic surgery-and I want to work at the Children's Hospital of Boston. The experience I had at Children's has had a significant impact on me. Every nurse at Boston Children's was nicer than the next and it was obvious that they were all extremely passionate about their jobs and helping their patients. How will I accomplish this goal? I will most likely be majoring in Interdisciplinary Health Services and will complete a 2 year accelerated Nursing program. I will then graduate with a dual degree- a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Health Services and a BSN (nursing).
One of my fellow Hip Chicks inspired me to write this post! It may be a dream right now but I can make it a reality!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Shopping Adventure
I woke up this morning and decided that I needed to get out of the house. I don't care how badly my hip and knee hurt I need a change of scenary and something to do. My mom and I are going shopping this afternoon and I am so excited! If I last 5 minutes it'll be an accomplishment-although I am pretty sure I can last longer than that! This trip will most likely be my "outing" for the week but it's better than lying around all day watching the referees at the FIFA World Cup make ridiculous calls. I am still very angry about the disallowed goal for the USA in yesterdays match against Slovenia. I probably screamed at the TV for 10 straight minutes! At least we know my lungs are working well!
Friday, June 18, 2010
Knee Pain
Unfortunately my knee problems continue to get worse. While doing my daily muscle strengthening exercises that I was given while in the hospital I started to have an uncomfortable feeling in my left knee (operative side). I was doing simple quad squeezes when I felt like my kneecap was out of alignment. Everytime I tightened my quad my kneecap would shift. I felt as if it was grinding against something and it seemed to "catch". It wasn't horribly painful during the exercises just very uncomfortable. However for the rest of the night I had severe knee pain and throbbing. I iced for awhile and had very little relief. I have contacted my therapist and Dr. Shiple to see what can be done given my current hip restrictions. I will have to wait until Monday to hear back from Dr. Shiple. Cam gave me some patellar mobilizations that I can try but without a proper exam there is not much more he can do! I will continue to ice and hopefully have some relief. I will be contacting Dr. Kim as well to see if he has any suggestions. Given my hip abnormalities it is not uncommon for knee problems to arise.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Yay!
I just got back from my ultrasound! I do NOT have any blood clots which is great news! The pain is probably just bad muscle spasms-that I can't seem to control with valium. Regardless it is reassuring to know that I don't have any complications!
My right hip has been very painful lately-which is annoying because I am barely mobile. I lay in bed most of the time with the occasional trip downstairs to get food! I am also starting to experience post-op pain in my left hip which until now has been pretty close to non-existent. I guess I shouldn't have expected a completely pain free recovery. My hip feels very heavy and it's uncomfortable. I also feel a click/pop with every step of my 1/6th weight-bearing (which is close to nothing). The clicking, I am told, is completely normal and may never fully go away but should improve over time! I still have a pre-surgery pain symptom (pinching pain in butt) that is extremely annoying and painful-especially when standing up from sitting and more recently when swinging my leg through while crutching. I hope this pain disappears soon as it was probably one of my biggest complaints before surgery! I'd love to not need another scope surgery on my left hip but it is too soon to tell right now what will come of it!
My right hip has been very painful lately-which is annoying because I am barely mobile. I lay in bed most of the time with the occasional trip downstairs to get food! I am also starting to experience post-op pain in my left hip which until now has been pretty close to non-existent. I guess I shouldn't have expected a completely pain free recovery. My hip feels very heavy and it's uncomfortable. I also feel a click/pop with every step of my 1/6th weight-bearing (which is close to nothing). The clicking, I am told, is completely normal and may never fully go away but should improve over time! I still have a pre-surgery pain symptom (pinching pain in butt) that is extremely annoying and painful-especially when standing up from sitting and more recently when swinging my leg through while crutching. I hope this pain disappears soon as it was probably one of my biggest complaints before surgery! I'd love to not need another scope surgery on my left hip but it is too soon to tell right now what will come of it!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Ultra Sound
I have an ultra sound scheduled for tomorrow! Last night I started to have sharp, throbbing pains in one spot on my calf. Dr. Shiple wrote me a script and said that it would be beneficial to make sure I don't have a clot. Seeing as I am only 15 days post-LPAO it's still possible for blood clots-especially with the majority of my day being in bed. Hopefully it's not but can't hurt to check!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Post-Op Appointment 1
I just got back from my 2 week post-op appointment with my Sports Medicine physician-Dr. Shiple. The incision looks great and he was amazed at the difference in coverage of my left hip! Next appointment is in Boston with Dr. Kim in July! At that appointment I will get x-rays to see if the bones have fused and we will discuss a possible increase in weight-bearing. Typically 8 weeks is when 50% weight-bearing is permitted. At that point I will also be able to start physical therapy with Cam!
It was nice to see Dr. Shiple and everyone at Excel! For once I went into Excel smiling and apparently it was shocking because I heard about it for the hour that I was there.
My pain has been pretty minimal at this point! I take a valium at night to help with muscle spasms but I don't take anything during the day. It's not typical for a PAO patient (2 weeks out) to have very little pain but according to Dr. Shiple I am "wired" differently. I tend to wake up from major surgeries with very little pain-which is great but strange! However, I'd have to say that the nights are tough! I slept well in the hospital and could easily find comfortable positions but haven't had the same luck at home! The valium only works for a short amount of time and I have a difficult time sleeping! I guess I can't really complain as most people feel like this all day for weeks!
It was nice to see Dr. Shiple and everyone at Excel! For once I went into Excel smiling and apparently it was shocking because I heard about it for the hour that I was there.
My pain has been pretty minimal at this point! I take a valium at night to help with muscle spasms but I don't take anything during the day. It's not typical for a PAO patient (2 weeks out) to have very little pain but according to Dr. Shiple I am "wired" differently. I tend to wake up from major surgeries with very little pain-which is great but strange! However, I'd have to say that the nights are tough! I slept well in the hospital and could easily find comfortable positions but haven't had the same luck at home! The valium only works for a short amount of time and I have a difficult time sleeping! I guess I can't really complain as most people feel like this all day for weeks!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Good News!
Great news! Two letters came today from our insurance company. Looks like they are covering all 11 days of my stay which is awesome!
From what we understand each letter was a review of a different "procedure"-each procedure has a standard amount of days in the hospital. The first letter was a review of the PAO procedure and standard is 4 days-however the PAO procedure review did not include the epidural. The second letter was a review of the epidural which added 2 more days. With the complication and the follow up procedure (blood patch) they gave us several more days! Basically, in the end everything turned out to be fine!
From what we understand each letter was a review of a different "procedure"-each procedure has a standard amount of days in the hospital. The first letter was a review of the PAO procedure and standard is 4 days-however the PAO procedure review did not include the epidural. The second letter was a review of the epidural which added 2 more days. With the complication and the follow up procedure (blood patch) they gave us several more days! Basically, in the end everything turned out to be fine!
Seriously?
We arrived home to a letter from our insurance company stating that they would only cover 4 nights in the hospital-I was there for 10 nights. It would have been nice to have known about this before we left the hospital.
Obviously we are going to fight this because standard protocol for PAO patients is a 5-7 day hospital stay (majority of patients are discharged on day 7). Even if I didn't have a complication to extend my stay I would at least expect coverage for what is considered standard and necessary. I was also on an epidural for the first 3 days. It was taken out on day 4. What do they expect me to do-get out of bed with very little sensation from the waist down and crutch my way home with 3 displaced fractures and 3+screws in my pelvis? Yeah, I don't think so!
For those of you preparing for PAO surgery- check with the hospital and your insurance on what will be covered and make sure that the appropriate amount of days are accounted for. I have read a lot of blogs of women who have had problems with their insurance coverage for this surgery! Apparently the people who review the cases are oblivious to the concept of a PAO procedure and the fact that some patients are on an epidural for longer than 3 days.
Obviously we are going to fight this because standard protocol for PAO patients is a 5-7 day hospital stay (majority of patients are discharged on day 7). Even if I didn't have a complication to extend my stay I would at least expect coverage for what is considered standard and necessary. I was also on an epidural for the first 3 days. It was taken out on day 4. What do they expect me to do-get out of bed with very little sensation from the waist down and crutch my way home with 3 displaced fractures and 3+screws in my pelvis? Yeah, I don't think so!
For those of you preparing for PAO surgery- check with the hospital and your insurance on what will be covered and make sure that the appropriate amount of days are accounted for. I have read a lot of blogs of women who have had problems with their insurance coverage for this surgery! Apparently the people who review the cases are oblivious to the concept of a PAO procedure and the fact that some patients are on an epidural for longer than 3 days.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Incision Pictures
Dressing after the drain was removed!
Here is a picture of my incision before I changed the dressing at 13 days post-op!
Welcome Home!
I came home today to balloons from my dad, brother and puppies :) I love them! There are 2 dolphins (my favorite animal) although you can only see one in this picture!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Thank You!
Chocolate Covered Strawberries from Mimi Pat and Poppy John! Mmm..
(not the actual picture-sorry we didn't start taking pictures until after)
My balloon from my favorite nurse- Chris : )
Flowers from Chris!
Gorgeous basket of flowers from Mimi Mary with Get Well balloon (below)! They smelt amazing :)
Beautiful flowers from my Uncle Kevin! Thank you so much!!
Thanks to everyone for the amazing get well gifts and support! I love you!
Before and After
Here is a picture of the before and after shots of my left hip following the surgery! What a dramatic difference! There are 3 visible screws-(I was told there are about 5) and there are 3 visible fractures to the pelvis!
Helpful Tips for Hospital
Things that were helpful in the hospital-
-Favorite pillows/blankets
-Comfort item
-Sweats that are 1 size larger (there will be A LOT of swelling)
-Jolly Ranchers or some kind of candy to suck on! (I have the ability to taste the "flush" through an IV and it makes me gag everytime! Having another flavor to distract me was probably one of the most helpful things..also waking up from surgery I had a sore throat from being intebated)
-DVDs or TV Series- (you probably won't feel like doing anything for the first couple of days but once you start feeling better the days are very long and boring and it's great to have something to watch)
-BACK SCRATCHER- If I could give any advice at all it would be to have a back scratcher or some sort of device to help reach the unreachable! A very common side effect of epidurals is itching! Every 2 seconds I had an itch and once I was able to get to the itch by myself things went a lot smoother! You don't want to have to page your nurse every 2 seconds or make your parents stand at your bed all day!
-Shampoo/Conditioner- depending on the hospital your at you may only have access to baby shampoo!
-Spray bottle- I filled a small spray bottle with water and would occasionally spray my face! It was refreshing and easy!
-Slippers with non-slip bottoms
-Baby wipes--easy wash down!
-Favorite pillows/blankets
-Comfort item
-Sweats that are 1 size larger (there will be A LOT of swelling)
-Jolly Ranchers or some kind of candy to suck on! (I have the ability to taste the "flush" through an IV and it makes me gag everytime! Having another flavor to distract me was probably one of the most helpful things..also waking up from surgery I had a sore throat from being intebated)
-DVDs or TV Series- (you probably won't feel like doing anything for the first couple of days but once you start feeling better the days are very long and boring and it's great to have something to watch)
-BACK SCRATCHER- If I could give any advice at all it would be to have a back scratcher or some sort of device to help reach the unreachable! A very common side effect of epidurals is itching! Every 2 seconds I had an itch and once I was able to get to the itch by myself things went a lot smoother! You don't want to have to page your nurse every 2 seconds or make your parents stand at your bed all day!
-Shampoo/Conditioner- depending on the hospital your at you may only have access to baby shampoo!
-Spray bottle- I filled a small spray bottle with water and would occasionally spray my face! It was refreshing and easy!
-Slippers with non-slip bottoms
-Baby wipes--easy wash down!
Home At Last!
I arrived home today from my 11 day stay in the hospital! I am relieved to be home! Due to the incapacitated state I was in for several days I was unable to update as often as I would have liked so I will take the time to recount on my experience! I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post!
I left off with the expectation of a blood patch the following day (Wednesday)! There was a change of plans! I decided that I wasn't sold on the idea of the patch and because I already had another IV in I decided to take the last conservative measure available-a caffeine drip! Definitely not one of my finer decisions but at least I knew that I had done everything possible to avoid a blood patch! The caffeine drip consisted of 500mg of caffeine given over 1 hour! Imagine drinking 10 large red bulls in that time frame! Of course with that amount of caffeine going directly into my blood stream I was hooked up to the monitors. For the first time in 6 days my monitor beeped constantly. By this time my mom and I had become so accustomed to the beeping from the monitors that it didn't alarm me! However, for the first part of my drip my nurse Chris was back in my room every other minute. My heart rate jumped to 298 at one point and then stayed consistently at 170! I was apparently talking non-stop and my whole body was shaking. Chris commented on how I hadn't talked that much the whole week that I had been there! During the drip I felt a difference in my headache however the effect didn't last long! Towards the end of the drip I was sick and the headache came back! The after effects of having that much caffeine in such a short amount of time were crazy and I felt horrible for the rest of the day. Caffeine drip was a failure. Later that day I had an x-ray (standard before discharge)! Up until the x-ray I was surviving on 2 Tylenol every 4 hours for pain! This is pretty unusual with PAO patients as most are on heavy narcotics for weeks after they leave the hospital. During the x-ray the tech pulled my toes inward too quickly! It definitely fired up some muscles. My pain got worse for the next couple of days but has settled down again!
Because the caffeine drip failed it was now clear that my only option was a blood patch-I went ahead with it on Thursday. They use a sedative so that I am able to tell the doctors how I feel during the procedure. I am very sensitive to anesthesia and felt sick for the remainder of the day. A lot of people feel immediate relief from a blood patch however it can take up to 2 days for the full effects! Due to my sensitivity it was hard to determine if the blood patch had worked. I woke up on Friday with a pretty severe headache but a noticeable difference. During the days leading up if I sat up past 15 degrees I would have a migraine x10 and the room would spin instantly. Friday I was able to sit up despite the headache! Because I hadn't been out of bed in 11 days I was very eager to get to PT and graduate! Originally I was to be discharged on Saturday but instead I graduated PT in 10 minutes and left on Friday! We drove to CT to stay with my grandma for the night to break up the trip!
I woke up this morning and reached up for the trapeze to readjust my position! Apparently my mind is still in the hospital because there was no trapeze. I also could have sworn someone came
in to check my vitals at 4am! Hopefully soon I readjust to life at home!
I have my post-op appointment in 4.5 weeks! It's strange that my appointment is so soon! The first post-op is scheduled for 6 weeks. Because I was in the hospital for close to 2 weeks my awareness of time is a bit off. I will make a trip up to 10 Northwest to visit my nurse! Hopefully he is working that day!
For those of you considering/preparing for PAO surgery:
Despite my setback with the epidural headache (less than 1% chance) I can honestly say that I already feel good about my decision to have the surgery! It is hard and painful at times! It is stressful. However, I already notice an improvement in my hip and have no regrets! The right hip still needs to be done and I now have a better understanding of what to expect. I will be better prepared and am looking forward to living a life free of hip pain!
*I will write a post later with helpful tips!
I cannot begin to express how amazing Children's Hospital of Boston is and the team of surgeons and nurses that take care of you! They truly go out of their way to make you comfortable even during the difficult times. My surgeon visited me everyday he was there and on the days he was out of town my other surgeon stopped by for a visit! I was also visited by one of the fellowship surgeons 2-3 times a day and he was very supportive and comforting through my complications. The nursing staff is incredible with great personalities-each is nicer than the next! I was fortunate to have one nurse for the majority of my stay-Chris! He was helpful in so many ways and I am so happy that he will be there to help me through my RPAO as well!
If you are still in search of a PAO surgeon I highly recommend the PAO surgeons at Children's (Dr. Millis and Dr. Kim) I can't say enough positive things about the hospital and it's staff!
To everyone who has called, sent flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, and cards over the past 2 weeks:
Thank you so much! I can't even begin to express how much I appreciated everything! There were a lot of stressful times during the last 11 days and it was very uplifiting to be in a room filled with beautiful flowers and to know that I have a lot of people who love and care about me! I arrived home today to balloons from my dad, brother and puppies! That definitely put a smile on my face! It's great to know that I have the most fabulous support system!
A special thanks to my amazing mom! I couldn't have gotten through the past 11 days without you! I can't even begin to express my appreciation for everything you have done! From running around Boston getting me food to sleeping on a cardboard pullout for 8 nights! I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to have to put up with me 24 hours a day during my emotional breakdowns and negative spirits! Not to mention what it feels like to be on the sideline now that I am 20 and make my own medical decisions! I am sorry for the stress that I have caused you during our hospital stay! I am so thankful that I had you there with me the whole time! I love you so much! At least we only have 1 more PAO to go ; )
*I was a little shocked when I saw the size of the 2 fluff balls I left 3 weeks ago! Mick and Roo are considerably bigger now but are absolutely gorgeous dogs!
I will now begin on the very long road to recovery-of course I will be doing it in style with my pink custom designer crutches!!
I also want to thank my Hip Chicks! Your support leading up to and during my recovery has been so helpful!
I left off with the expectation of a blood patch the following day (Wednesday)! There was a change of plans! I decided that I wasn't sold on the idea of the patch and because I already had another IV in I decided to take the last conservative measure available-a caffeine drip! Definitely not one of my finer decisions but at least I knew that I had done everything possible to avoid a blood patch! The caffeine drip consisted of 500mg of caffeine given over 1 hour! Imagine drinking 10 large red bulls in that time frame! Of course with that amount of caffeine going directly into my blood stream I was hooked up to the monitors. For the first time in 6 days my monitor beeped constantly. By this time my mom and I had become so accustomed to the beeping from the monitors that it didn't alarm me! However, for the first part of my drip my nurse Chris was back in my room every other minute. My heart rate jumped to 298 at one point and then stayed consistently at 170! I was apparently talking non-stop and my whole body was shaking. Chris commented on how I hadn't talked that much the whole week that I had been there! During the drip I felt a difference in my headache however the effect didn't last long! Towards the end of the drip I was sick and the headache came back! The after effects of having that much caffeine in such a short amount of time were crazy and I felt horrible for the rest of the day. Caffeine drip was a failure. Later that day I had an x-ray (standard before discharge)! Up until the x-ray I was surviving on 2 Tylenol every 4 hours for pain! This is pretty unusual with PAO patients as most are on heavy narcotics for weeks after they leave the hospital. During the x-ray the tech pulled my toes inward too quickly! It definitely fired up some muscles. My pain got worse for the next couple of days but has settled down again!
Because the caffeine drip failed it was now clear that my only option was a blood patch-I went ahead with it on Thursday. They use a sedative so that I am able to tell the doctors how I feel during the procedure. I am very sensitive to anesthesia and felt sick for the remainder of the day. A lot of people feel immediate relief from a blood patch however it can take up to 2 days for the full effects! Due to my sensitivity it was hard to determine if the blood patch had worked. I woke up on Friday with a pretty severe headache but a noticeable difference. During the days leading up if I sat up past 15 degrees I would have a migraine x10 and the room would spin instantly. Friday I was able to sit up despite the headache! Because I hadn't been out of bed in 11 days I was very eager to get to PT and graduate! Originally I was to be discharged on Saturday but instead I graduated PT in 10 minutes and left on Friday! We drove to CT to stay with my grandma for the night to break up the trip!
I woke up this morning and reached up for the trapeze to readjust my position! Apparently my mind is still in the hospital because there was no trapeze. I also could have sworn someone came
in to check my vitals at 4am! Hopefully soon I readjust to life at home!
I have my post-op appointment in 4.5 weeks! It's strange that my appointment is so soon! The first post-op is scheduled for 6 weeks. Because I was in the hospital for close to 2 weeks my awareness of time is a bit off. I will make a trip up to 10 Northwest to visit my nurse! Hopefully he is working that day!
For those of you considering/preparing for PAO surgery:
Despite my setback with the epidural headache (less than 1% chance) I can honestly say that I already feel good about my decision to have the surgery! It is hard and painful at times! It is stressful. However, I already notice an improvement in my hip and have no regrets! The right hip still needs to be done and I now have a better understanding of what to expect. I will be better prepared and am looking forward to living a life free of hip pain!
*I will write a post later with helpful tips!
I cannot begin to express how amazing Children's Hospital of Boston is and the team of surgeons and nurses that take care of you! They truly go out of their way to make you comfortable even during the difficult times. My surgeon visited me everyday he was there and on the days he was out of town my other surgeon stopped by for a visit! I was also visited by one of the fellowship surgeons 2-3 times a day and he was very supportive and comforting through my complications. The nursing staff is incredible with great personalities-each is nicer than the next! I was fortunate to have one nurse for the majority of my stay-Chris! He was helpful in so many ways and I am so happy that he will be there to help me through my RPAO as well!
If you are still in search of a PAO surgeon I highly recommend the PAO surgeons at Children's (Dr. Millis and Dr. Kim) I can't say enough positive things about the hospital and it's staff!
To everyone who has called, sent flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, and cards over the past 2 weeks:
Thank you so much! I can't even begin to express how much I appreciated everything! There were a lot of stressful times during the last 11 days and it was very uplifiting to be in a room filled with beautiful flowers and to know that I have a lot of people who love and care about me! I arrived home today to balloons from my dad, brother and puppies! That definitely put a smile on my face! It's great to know that I have the most fabulous support system!
A special thanks to my amazing mom! I couldn't have gotten through the past 11 days without you! I can't even begin to express my appreciation for everything you have done! From running around Boston getting me food to sleeping on a cardboard pullout for 8 nights! I can't imagine what it must have been like for you to have to put up with me 24 hours a day during my emotional breakdowns and negative spirits! Not to mention what it feels like to be on the sideline now that I am 20 and make my own medical decisions! I am sorry for the stress that I have caused you during our hospital stay! I am so thankful that I had you there with me the whole time! I love you so much! At least we only have 1 more PAO to go ; )
*I was a little shocked when I saw the size of the 2 fluff balls I left 3 weeks ago! Mick and Roo are considerably bigger now but are absolutely gorgeous dogs!
I will now begin on the very long road to recovery-of course I will be doing it in style with my pink custom designer crutches!!
I also want to thank my Hip Chicks! Your support leading up to and during my recovery has been so helpful!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
1% Chance
Post-op Day 6 and 7- I am still in the hospital. My hip is doing fairly well! I am able to do the exercises with PT with very little pain! Unfortunately those exercsies are all done lying down as I am unable to get out of bed. I am restricted to bed rest (lying flat) because I have epidural headaches! Epidural/spinal/postural headaches are when there is a small tear in the spinal column that causes spinal fluid to leak. The amounts of spinal fluid needs to be precise and an imbalance causes excruciating headaches when sitting upright or standing! Sitting up in bed causes dizziness and a migraine! Sometimes they can go away within a couple of days and other times more measures need to be taken. Conservative treatments include an increase in caffeine, fluids, and ibprofen. I cannot take ibprofen because it slows bone healing and my hip is still healing! I have tried increasing my caffeine and fluids and have had little improvement. If conserervative treatments fail a blood patch is usually done. Tomorrow (day 8) I will be having a blood patch! With a blood patch they will draw blood and put it in the spot where the epidural was. Hopefully it provides relief and I can leave here either Thursday or Friday!
If I might add- there is a 1% chance of this type of complication from an epidural. I think I'd have to disagree with this statistic because in the last day my mom and I have come across or heard of 6+ cases of people who have had this!
If I might add- there is a 1% chance of this type of complication from an epidural. I think I'd have to disagree with this statistic because in the last day my mom and I have come across or heard of 6+ cases of people who have had this!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Post-Op days 2-4
Post Op Day 2- I tried to eat chicken noodle soup! That failed! Both of my legs were completely numb except for my hips-don't quite understand that! I was sick a couple of times and PT came to torture me! My nurse Chris gave me a balloon which was nice! It is attached to my bed! I also got yummy chocolate covered strawberries from my mimi and poppy..mmm. My other mimi sent me a very nice card as well..
Post Op Day 3-No lie, probably one of the most painful days I have ever had-all because I took half of a pain med. This wasn't necessarily due to the surgery hip pain, but I was getting the worst migraines ever and felt so sick but everytime I got close I couldn't because I had excruciating pain! I felt like I was ripping through my incision! I felt like this the entire day! I must have had the pain team visit me 5 times in a matter of a couple of hours. My mom bought me a pink shirt an polka dot pjs from the gift shop..i am wearing them now
Post Op Day 4- Today was a little more comfortable until PT came to get me out of bed. That was a horrible experience. The second I sat up I had a migraine, thought I was going to collapse, and felt sick. I was supposed to sit in the chair for at least an hour..but I sat in it for 2 minutes. My nurse Chris (he's my favorite) helped put me back in bed where he had my lie completely flat with a wet towel over my eyes and all the lights off. I felt relief almost immediately. I hope my migraines go away soon or my visit could be longer! Aunt Carol and Kristina came to visit which was super exciting..Thankfully they came at a good part of the day!
Post Op Day 3-No lie, probably one of the most painful days I have ever had-all because I took half of a pain med. This wasn't necessarily due to the surgery hip pain, but I was getting the worst migraines ever and felt so sick but everytime I got close I couldn't because I had excruciating pain! I felt like I was ripping through my incision! I felt like this the entire day! I must have had the pain team visit me 5 times in a matter of a couple of hours. My mom bought me a pink shirt an polka dot pjs from the gift shop..i am wearing them now
Post Op Day 4- Today was a little more comfortable until PT came to get me out of bed. That was a horrible experience. The second I sat up I had a migraine, thought I was going to collapse, and felt sick. I was supposed to sit in the chair for at least an hour..but I sat in it for 2 minutes. My nurse Chris (he's my favorite) helped put me back in bed where he had my lie completely flat with a wet towel over my eyes and all the lights off. I felt relief almost immediately. I hope my migraines go away soon or my visit could be longer! Aunt Carol and Kristina came to visit which was super exciting..Thankfully they came at a good part of the day!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Quote of the Day
I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.
~Oprah
~Oprah
Day 1 Post LPAO
Hey!
I am 1 day post LPAO. My surgeon said my surgery went really well! My scope surgeon was also there. Unfortunately my PAO surgeon left yesterday for a presentation so my scope surgeon will be checking up on me!
I woke up from surgery in extreme pain as the epidural wasn't providing any relief. After readjusting it started to work for a short amount of time! The pain specialist team has visited me around 6 times to try and get the epidural to work properly.
I haven't eaten anything because I have been feeling sick since I woke up yesterday-even with the 5 different medicines for nausea. I will try some chicken noodle soup and see how that settles.I had a fever yesterday and today which I really hope goes away
I hope tomorrow is easier and I am able to eat somthing! I have also been sleeping whenever I can.
My PAO surgeon's PA took out my drain today! I had noticed earlier that it was leaking through the gauze pads. It was gross when the drain came out but at the same time I was glad to get rid of it.
PT came today to work on 4 very basic exercises. Of course the exercises were hard me- all I can do is wiggle my toes.
I am 1 day post LPAO. My surgeon said my surgery went really well! My scope surgeon was also there. Unfortunately my PAO surgeon left yesterday for a presentation so my scope surgeon will be checking up on me!
I woke up from surgery in extreme pain as the epidural wasn't providing any relief. After readjusting it started to work for a short amount of time! The pain specialist team has visited me around 6 times to try and get the epidural to work properly.
I haven't eaten anything because I have been feeling sick since I woke up yesterday-even with the 5 different medicines for nausea. I will try some chicken noodle soup and see how that settles.I had a fever yesterday and today which I really hope goes away
I hope tomorrow is easier and I am able to eat somthing! I have also been sleeping whenever I can.
My PAO surgeon's PA took out my drain today! I had noticed earlier that it was leaking through the gauze pads. It was gross when the drain came out but at the same time I was glad to get rid of it.
PT came today to work on 4 very basic exercises. Of course the exercises were hard me- all I can do is wiggle my toes.
