...that's good enough for me.
Day 5 Post-op
I woke up and my leg was completely turned out to the side (laterally/externally rotated). This is probably why I woke up with a throbbing knee. Unfortunately I really can't control my leg from externally rotating (passed normal range), but tonight I will try a different combination of pillows.
Another thing that has been bothering me is my ankle. From the moment I woke up from surgery the front of my ankle/lower shin has been really painful. I am not 100% sure as to why this is the case but one theory is that in traction for my knee surgery, a tendon or muscle was torn. I e-mailed my surgeon and will hopefully hear back with some more ideas or even reassurance that it is nothing to worry about. However, it is more painful than my knee (for the most part) and I haven't found any position, other than keeping it flexed, that helps...and I can't hold it in a flexed position all day.
Aside from my ankle pain, my knee still hurts but is feeling better everyday. The pain is wicked bad when standing up and I am having pooling issues again with the operative leg. When I stand up I feel as if my incisions are ripping open. Yesterday was a little better than today in that department but overall I am making progress. I only take Tylenol 3 times throughout the day, and this seems to keep the pain under control.
I am happy to say that I took my first real shower today! I no longer smell. Showers after surgery are rough for me. Not for pain reasons but because after a shower my bp drops and I feel syncope(ish). This happened today and lasted awhile. Thankfully I was sitting the entire time and was able to crutch to the couch when it resolved.
My mom and I baked boston sports cookies today for Christmas. Most people probably make reindeer, snowmen, and santa cookies but I decided to change things up a bit. I had a perfect image in my head of each sports team and the cookie I was going to design. Of course, it came out nothing like the image in my head and I had to simplify my designs as I was taking too long on each individual cookie (yes, I am a perfectionist).
Here are some of the cookies...(Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots):
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| Boston Red Sox First Attempt I improved on my outlining abilities... |
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| Boston Celtics First Attempt My filling of the shamrock improved... |
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| Boston Bruins (my favorite team) Not how I had envisioned my cookie but it was too complicated to incorporate all the details... |
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| A collection of the cookies... Patriots cookies included... |
Oh and I am excited to say that I finished my first semester back at school with a 3.66 and I made Dean's List! It was a difficult semester with pain, dislocations, PT and everything that comes with a full load of courses. I feel very accomplished that I was able to push through. Despite having 2 surgeries (one forth coming) this December, I WILL be returning for the spring semester. The next semester will likely be even more difficult but I have a wonderful support system and a fantastic disabilities director at my school. I can do it!
I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season with friends and family! I still can't wait to see the rest of my family at the end of the week!
Congratulations on your continued recovery, as painful as it is, and making the dean;s list! That is huge what with all you've been through! And the cookies look awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth!
ReplyDelete