Days 4 and 5

Still crippled.  I am so happy I have such wonderful family and friends - so many of you have sent wonderful texts and messages, made me deliciously healthy meals, and spent wonderful quality time with me, and just overall...made me feel very special and loved.

Yesterday my wonderful boyfriend, Bob, came over to spend time with me-we watched some more Orange is the New Black, went to the bathroom a few times, and just chitchatted and ate some yummy black bean burgers Stephanie made for us.  

Waking up and going to bed (in my actual bed) seem to be the most painful things for me right now.  I am taking all my meds at the right time, I'm only taking half Percocets every once in a while throughout the day, rather than constantly, bc I don't like the way I feel on it.  But everyone agrees I need to take it at some point throughout the day to calm me down.  

Still spending all my time in the recliner or my bed, or going to the bathroom.  Getting up and going to the bathroom hurts a lot, but I seem to be getting better at balancing on one leg and letting my bad leg at on the floor every once in a while.  Haven't taken a shower yet, but we changed the incision site bandages last night (I think that scared Bob the most-I was screaming and crying and told him to put a pillow in my mouth to muffle the noise)...fun times! Thanks Dad and Bob for suffering through that with me!

Today was my first day back at work....luckily I can telework so we just moved my desk and crap to the recliner and put the keyboard and mouse in my lap.  Aunt Margie babysat me today, so she sat in the next room over reading her kindle with the walkie talkie for when I needed help going to the bathroom.  My friend Sarah brought lunch over for us, and my cousins Jenny and Jeffrey came over to see me and then use the guest pass for the beach :P

Each day seems to be getting better, but it's still a struggle every minute of the day, bc I can't do anything for myself yet-not even get out of a chair/bed or on and off of the toilet.  I have developed nasty heartburn (I have never had that...holy crap) and my back feels like it's ripping in two.  It will be worth it...have to keep telling myself that :)

My smile is STILL cracking me up after all these hours since this morning.

Super awesome biking gloves Bob got me to take the edge off the hand bruising from my walker! Woohoo!

My Bob :) I missed him so much!

Day 3: First Full Day Home from Hospital

Well, I am very very thankful for my family and friends for putting up with me through this recovery so far.  I realize it's only Day 3 - Bob has to keep reminding me of that - so it's only going to get better.

My lifelong friend Carol (since birth) was a trooper yesterday - she showed up in the morning while I was still in the hospital and went to "first" physical therapy - where I learned how to properly walk with the walker, do steps and curbs with the crutches, and get in and out of a car.  They had a prop car - pretty cool.  She stayed with us until around 6pm.  My brother, Aunt, cousin, and Mom and Dad all helped throughout the day.  Thank you so much!

Had my "second" physical therapy appointment after I was discharged yesterday - very basic - some internal rotation (my favorite), "circumduction", and some other passive range of motion tests.  Pretty painful at this time - but it also provided some nice stretching and relief to the joint.  

The carride home was pretty painful, because I couldn't seem to find a position for my left leg to sit comfortably without dangling and adding pressure - and unfortunately any time the car stopped, pressure went into my leg...something I'm supposed to be avoiding. :D  After some painful maneuvering and screeching (my pain meds were wearing off), I made it out of my wheelchair and onto my crutches, then walkered myself into the bedroom.

My main positions now, since I've been home, are sitting in the recliner in my living room or sitting in my bed with a wedge pillow behind my back.  I am not allowed to sit at 90 degrees (like straight up and down while seated) because that will put too much pressure on the hip.  So when I start working Monday/Tuesday - I'll have to find a way to wheel my computer in front of me. 

I am definitely very glad Bob and I installed the toilet seat riser - the handrails and extra 5 inches of height definitely make it easier to hoist myself up onto it.  Mom and Dad are looking at getting one of those bedside commodes for when I'm able to get myself out of bed alone (my walker isn't very stable yet...needs some rubber feet, the plastic is kiiiind of gliding along the cement and freaking me out).

Today, my main activities have been moving from recliner to the bed, then back.  And going to the bathroom.  Oh, and catching up on Orange is the New Black - great TV show.

Here are a few pictures of my leg/etc.  Trying to remember to ice my hip and do my calf pumps, butt squeezes, and have someone do my "log rolls" to not...clot?  :D

Till tomorrow - toodles.

A "selfie" for shits and giggles I took for Bob

Day 2

Was admitted overnight for observation and physical therapy issues, since going to the bathroom and crutches/walker weren't quite working with all of the pain. Doctor Petre said that I had a cam legion on one of my bones that caused the labrum to tear. He also said the clicking/snapping motion I was feeling in my upper hamstring/lower glute region was most likely from the labrum tear since it goes from groin to butt. 

Got to Skype with my #1 boyfriend Bob for a bit, which was wonderful :) 

I had a pretty rough night last night with the pain and trying to use the restroom, since any bending of the knee pulled a lot of pressure on the hip area, but eventually after a lot of whining and convincing, my wonderful nurse (who doesn't normally work on this floor, and is an orthopedic and joint nurse (yay! So lucky!) gave me a few tips and forced me to "go for a walk" down the hallway with my walker, which I'm finding a lot easier balance-wise than the crutches. Crutches are what will help me up and down steps, but the walker is just more stable it seems.  I sort of slept between 1-515ish, but woke up about every hour/two because of my positioning in the bed probably. 

Overall, I feel WAYYY better this morning than I did last night, way more emotionally stable and have not decided to take a Percocet today-she gave me an IV anti-inflammatory that is supposed to last 6 hours and isn't narcotic I believe. 

For people who are wondering what the brace and stuff looks like, here ya go. 

Surgery complete

Alright, this is around 11am, all hooked up to IVs and ready for surgery! Now just the waiting game.

Cool compression hose for clot deterrents,

Right now, sitting in recovery room around 5:30pm, took me into OR around noon ish.

Gonna get admitted tonight, too much pain and wanted me to do PT first thing in the AM, also bc want to be looked after for first day or so.

IV pain meds are interesting....moving from one bed to another was super painful and I cried a bit. 

Toilet Seat Riser Purchased

This should be fun! Also, a friend suggested I get one of those hiking girls-can-pee-standing-up devices if it's too painful to get to the actual toilet. Checking out amazon right now!

Pre-Op Hip Brace Fitting and Physical Therapy

This week I was fitted for my post-surgery hip brace, which will keep my hip from being overextended/moving in directions Dr. Petre does not want it moving.  I also had an appointment with a physical therapist to learn how to properly use crutches for getting around with almost non-weight bearing on left hip - and the proper method to hop up and down the stairs in and out of my basement.  Surgery is 25 July - not sure what time yet.  This week I also purchased a raised toilet seat and a bath tub chair so that I will experience less pain with these self-care issues.  I also purchased new pyrex glass containers so that I can prepare food ahead of time for my basement-dwelling.

This weekend I'm going out of town and will only have a few days to get some last-minute mega walking and working out in, then create a grocery list!  The recovery to "full athleticism" is 4-5 months...I'm hoping to be able to go for short short walks after about 6 weeks.  I'll be out of the office for about 6 weeks due to the issues with mobility, my inability to drive, and chair/desk angle issues.  I'll have to go to physical therapy three times a week for the entire first month until my follow up appointment.  Even 24 hours after my surgery!

For a link on what exactly I'm having done - here's Dr. Petre's website

http://drpetre.com/injuries/common-hip-injuries/hip-labral-repair/