Here is a summary of the results of my visit:
- Continue toe-touch weight bearing for another 6 weeks when I see him again.
- I can shower (sitting on my bench in the tub) again in 48 hours.
- I can discontinue home PT and progress to off-site therapy which can include bike therapy, with the goal to progress to a straight right leg lift unassisted over the next 6 weeks.
- Continue pain meds as currently prescribed
- Keep our eyes on the middle of my incision which is not healing properly, and hope it heals soon like the rest of the incision.
- At my next checkup in 6 weeks, we will discuss the plan for the rest of my recovery. With any luck, at that point I will be closer to getting clearance to DRIVE!!
- Got release to begin doing work from home (heck, if I'm just sitting on the couch playing on Facebook then why not do some "real" work?) in a week. Stipulation - max 5 hours per day right now.
- Swelling - this is the biggest concern right now. The swelling has progressed to my "good" leg, and is still pretty severe on the right. I am scheduled for a Doppler ultrasound on my lower extremities tomorrow afternoon to see if I have any blood clots. My dear husband is giving me Lovinox injections in my stomach every day (blood thinner), however there is still a chance I guess that there may be a clot that is causing all this swelling. I hope and pray it's not a clot ...
Here is the "before" picture (sorry, I don't have a digital version so this is a picture of a piece of paper) of my hip. You will notice on the left side of the picture (i.e. my right hip) that the femoral head is sticking outside of the socket. The goal of this Peri-Acetabular Osteotomy (PAO) is to use my hip bones to create more coverage on that ball, so that it evenly carries the weight that the upper body creates.
Here is a picture of my post-PAO hip, at 2 1/2 weeks. There's not much change since the picture taken in the OR immediately following surgery, which in my opinion is a good thing. You will notice however that the femoral head on my right hip (
left side of picture) now has very nice coverage by the socket!I'm still trying to figure out what the big black hole is inside my pelvis.
When I got home from my appointment, my Physical Therapist came by for probably my last appointment at home. It went well, and we added some other exercises as well. Yes, I am sore as all get out today! Getting out of the house 2 days in a row, plus PT ... I'm hoping to sleep real well tonight!
It was good to hear that I can double up on my pain meds before I go to bed at night. With my increased desire to drink fluids lately, it of course means I have to go to the bathroom often, and when you really have to "go" in the middle of the night ... I've found I'm extremely stiff and sore when trying to get up out of bed at night. Hopefully a double dose of meds before bed will make it easier, and will also give me some relief when I wake up in the mornings.
Other than that, still dealing with the recovery process pretty well I think. I will admit I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with toys and such lying in the floor that suddenly get caught in the wheels of my wheelchair, and I'm frustrated that I can't help out more around the house and have to carry around my grabber and walker with me at all times while I'm in the wheelchair. Life right now for me is just a big production. I have to plan every move I make, to each room of the downstairs, to make sure I have everything I need and don't have to make multiple trips. Both of the kids now have felt the pain of having their toes squished by a wheel, making me feel absolutely horrible. They just get too close sometimes and I don't see them (or their toes) when I'm wheeling around in the kitchen or den.
I hope and pray there is no news from the ultrasounds tomorrow! Until then ...
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