Post-Op Day #15 - Welcome To The Wheel World

Well today was much better then yesterday, the sun came out and I could go for a wee-chair adventure! YAHOO!

Earlier this morning I gave my foot a bath(will shower again later LOL), boy that felt good but it was tricky not to get the incision area wet.
After that I put the bandage on and the KAM boot so I could go outside for a wee-chair ride over to the pharmacy to get my Neurontin refill.

Thankfully we live a block away from the shopping center so there was no problem going by myself.
Off I went down the sideway till I got to the crosswalk --it was so frustrating, people would drive right by me while I waited at the crosswalk! ACK, hello, its not like I can just whip across the street in a second, it takes time to do it and I'm not about to do it without having the cars stop!

Finally someone clued in (rolls eyes) that I wanted to get across the road --THANK YOU! I went into the parking lot, wow people drive too fast in there, I felt like I was at a tennis match --turning my head back n forth so fast to make sure noone was coming.

I went in, told them which prescription I needed and waited the 10mins for it to be filled. I just wheeled up and down the aisles bored out of my mind. haha!

I got the Rx and head home, this time people actually stopped right away so I could cross! Wow, how nice of them! HA HA!
I went to the garage to drop off the wee-chair, parked it and grabbed my crutches to make my way over to the car. *evil grin*
I opened the door and sat in the drivers seat, I wanted to see if I could push the clutch in with my left foot(esp with the KAM boot on).

At first I was totally PO'd because I couldn't do it when I put the seat where I normally have it to drive but then a light bulb came on ---DUH, I need to move the chair back another hole to compensate for my KAM boot and that made the angle better for my ankle(no pain at all! YAY).

I tried to push the clutch in and YAHOO, no problemo! haha! *evil grin* Of course I couldn't help myself and started the car then put 'er into reverse and pulled out into our driveway. haha!
I practiced going forward to the garage and backing away -- I'm sure if anyone was watching, they thought I was having a mental breakdown or something! ROFMLAO
After a few minutes I decided I was good and head out of the parking lot, turned left and went to the round-about in front of the club house(managers office) -- I did that circle 2 times then head back to our parking lot.

My ankle felt great, no pain at all so then I figured I'd venture down 4 blocks to the Elementary School and back. haha! Ah yes, success! It felt awesome to be able to drive, even if it wasn't very far. Got to do this very slowly, there's a HUGE difference driving 10-20mph and going down the highway at 70mph and through busy sections of town(like North Bend).

At least now I know I can drive a little bit and will do a bit each day, go a bit further and see how it goes. I think by mid-late next week I could drive to North Bend, most definitely could get myself safely to the RANCH and back! WOOHOO!

Getting back behind the wheel will really help me, I feel so couped up sometimes but that's ok, it's necessary to allow my ankle time to heal properly.

Adams Grandma Keith passed away on Tuesday night and he will have to go to Fresno soon for the funeral. It's important that I'm able to look after myself(esp drive) by the time he has to go. Sounds like he'll be going on May 6th but we're waiting to hear back from his Dad.


Oh and I forgot to say, my calf is feeling a lot better today, it's not as tender so that is good news. I'll have to see how it feels tonight when I go to bed.

Well that's it for tonight, I'm going to elevate my ankle for a bit and hang out with Adam for the rest of the evening.

Thanks for checking in on me :-)

Post-Op Day # 13 - Post Op Appointment

Well today was my Post-Op appointment with Dr Chi -- I was excited to see what he found during surgery and if everything was healing up properly. He said my ankle looked really good, right on track for 1 day short of 2 weeks post-op.

He did find some compression/narrowing on the tibial nerve so he released the tendons which run over the nerve. Now it's basically a waiting game, everything needs to heal and nerves can take a while to recover from the trauma(TTS & surgery).

The stitches were removed by his medical assistant, it was quick and painless, just the way I LIKE IT! What a relief, I was a bit worried about going today, I'm a bit of a wuss and faint with things like this. haha! But no fainting due to the fact I was talking to Dr Chi while it was going on.

He cleaned up the area and put some more surgical tape over the incision area(will last a few days) then a bandage over it.
I put my KAM boot back on, ugh I hate that thing. Can't you just feel the love I have for the stupid thing. haha!

I should be able to wash over the incision site very soon, YAHOO! I'm really looking forward to it. The skin on my foot is starting to really peel, EWWWWWW!
Nothing a good soak, soap and pomace can't fix.

Dr Chi said I can bear as much weight on it as I feel comfortable with and to use the KAM walking boot and crutches for support(will wear the boot 4 weeks, maybe a bit longer) but as time goes by I should be able to use the crutches less.

I'll stick to what I've been doing up to this point because the ankle is a bit tender. Soon I should be able to do more but I have to keep reminding myself it's only been 13 days since my surgery -- it's a healing process that takes time..........taking it easy and patience, lots of patience needed!

I'm really looking forward to being able to drive again, one downside of having a standard is being to push the clutch in and my foot isn't strong enough yet(KEY WORD......YET! haha)
I'm not quite ready to try but it shouldn't be too much longer.

And yes, don't worry I will have Adam with me and will practice right out front our building to make sure I'm good before venturing out. It's not worth risking the safety of those on the road or myself if my body isn't ready yet.
It's funny how dependent we become on vehicles, they really do give us a lot of freedom! We tend to take it for granted till it's taken away for a while.


I go back to Dr. Chi in a 4 weeks unless something comes up before that time. :-)

OH and I'm such an idiot, grrrrrrrrrr I totally forgot to mention my calf muscle aches to Dr Chi but was able to let his assistant know.
He said to call to set up an appointment if it doesn't go away in the next few days.

For the rest of the day I'm going to enjoy the lovely sun and breeze while sitting on the patio! Today is a day to relax and let my ankle recover from having the stitches taken out.

I took some new pictures of my ankle, you can see it's starting to bruise up but overall it looks grrrrrreat.

Thanks for checking up on me :-)

Post-Op Day # 12 - Charley Horse

Ugh, forgot to update this last night, oh well.

Yesterday was interesting, my left calf was still bothering me(I mentioned it in my last entry) --quite painful actually. Felt like a combination of a Charlie Horse and a bruised calf muscle.

I'm wondering if its from the weight of the KAM boot or from all the weight my left calf bears when I rest it on my right leg to change the dressing/bandage etc...
Though thinking about it, I probably aggravated it on Sunday during our lovely walk in Issaquah. An hour is a long time to have to hold my leg up and rest it on the right leg(my left calf muscle would have been on my right shin bone). The wee-chair doesn't have the leg supports on it, so anytime I want to go for a ride I have to lift the leg up.
I don't know but I hope it goes away, it's annoying because every time I move it aches a bit. I'll have to mention it to Dr. Chi at my appointment.

The weather was very warm yesterday, I'm not complaining but it's such a big change from the long cold winter LOL

My friend Helene had mentioned she might go to the ranch for a bit and asked if I'd like to go........HECK YA! :-)
She's so super , she picked me up at home so I could go down to watch her ride plus I was able to give Karma a good groom!

I had fun grooming Karma, she was very patient with me(haha), though she was being a bit of a wiggle worm in the crossties so that didn't help. At least she's not afraid of my crutches so I could move around her no problem. I thought I did a pretty good job grooming her, all things considered but I had to laugh at how tired I was afterward.
I just don't have the stamina right now for much of anything.

I finished up and thought about taking her out for some hand grazing but opted not to--that might be pushing it a bit! I mean what happens if she decides to pull on the leadrope, I don't need to fall nor do I need her running around loose around the ranch! LOL

Helene helped me put her back in the stall, I said "let me try to lead her back there", so I clipped the leadrope on and started down the alleyway.
Karma's stall was the 2nd on the right, I stopped in front of it and directed her towards the opening but she decided to go around the backside of me instead so she could continue down the alleyway! HA HA! Cheeky pony!

Helene grabbed her and redirected her to the stall and then I flung the leadrope over her back just as she went in.
Helene laughed and went into the stall to take off the halter for me.
Karma was definitely acting a bit more cheeky then normal, I think that she's missing the exercise, eating too well(haha, OINK OINK) and in heat -- oh the fun of having mares, her brain wasn't thinking about work, she's dreaming of romantic rendez-vous's with sporty stallions. ROFLMAO!

Julie(the barn manager) came back to the ranch to ride for a bit(she was there earlier) so that was nice to see her. I hadn't seen her since my first visit to the ranch after surgery.

Anyways, we finished up and head home.........I was very tired by the time I got home but still it was great to go to the ranch.

My ankle felt great all day.........again, the calf muscle was more painful and frustrating! I hope it feels better soon.

I head to bed pretty early, I was whipped plus I knew I had my Dr's appointment in the morning.

Well that's it for yesterday, thanks for checking up on me :-)

Post-Op Day #9 - An Outting To Lift Spirits

I forgot to post about yesterday so I'll do that now.

Yesterday my friend Helene was going to the ranch to ride Godiva, she had texted me to see if I was going to go but I felt too tired(well at that exact moment, about 11am LOL).

I looked outside and saw the sun shining which made me feel like I better get my arse out of the house for a bit! HA HA! I asked Adam to give me a ride to RRR so I could go visit for a bit and he did. :-)

I had a nice visit with Helene, watched her ride Godiva for a bit then helped her tidy up before we left(she gave me a ride home :-) )

My ankle was feeling pretty good yesterday, I was just tired in general but the good weather and visiting with Helene helped make me feel a bit better. :-) The fresh air and laughter does wonders.

Later in the evening I gave my foot a bit of a bath, it was a bit tricky because I cant get the incision/stitches wet so thankfully the handheld showerhead made things a bit easier. It felt soooooooo good to wash my foot, OMG ---there's nothing worse then stinky feet! HA HA HA HA! Seriously though, its so common to have a not so nice smell happening when you have any type of bandage/cast anywhere on your body-- GAG!

I noticed that the skin on my foot is starting to peel from the swelling ---ew, I have a feeling my whole foot is going to "shed" --just like my hand did when I had surgery on it. Not looking forward to it, thats for sure.

I don't consider what i have with my ankle "pain" anymore, its just a tenderness -- only time I feel any real discomfort is if I go to put my Kam walking boot on and push my weight into my foot too much. Or of course am clumsy and hit my toes or foot on something! YOUUUUUUUUCH!


Well that's it for yesterday, other then the general tiredness I'm doing really well. I'm anxious for my Dr's appointment on Tuesday.

Thanks for checking up on me

Post-Op Day #6 - Highs And Lows

Well today was interesting, I woke up and felt not too bad but as time went on I started to feel sick.
I started sweating and feeling very weak so I laid in bed for a bit to see if that would help.

The feeling wouldn't go away, no matter what I did(eat, sleep, shower etc..)........ugh, it was awful!

Finally I figured it out, it was my body having with drawls from the Percocet! UGH! Today I didn't take ANY(YAY FOR NO PAIN but oh man, my body was PO'D!) because there was no need to :-)

Thank goodness I've been reducing the amount of Percocet I've been taking over the last day or so -- I think if I had just stopped and not started to do 1/2 doses the last 2 days I would have been in really bad shape today. Not that it didnt feel horrible! HA HA!

I managed to get through the day and not take anything so I'm thrilled.......I think if I do have any type of pain I will just take an advil.

I hope that I don't feel like this again tomorrow but if I do, I won't be surprised, Percocet is strong stuff.

On a better note, I got to use the wheelchair and go for a nice ride around the block with Adam. It was great, the air felt soooooooooo good and the sun was trying to come out(BONUS! seeing how it SNOWED this morning! UGH!).

Later on I decided to take off the bandage and see if I could change out the dressing on my ankle and I DID IT! WOOHOO! Yay me, no getting queesy or passing out! HA HA HA!

My ankle looks really good, still a bit swollen, bruised and some dried blood around the stitches --as you can see, the incision is quite long(3.5 - 4inches). It hasnt even been a week(tomorrow will be), I cleaned up some of the area with a damp cloth but not by the stitches.

I will add a few pictures of my ankle, I will try to put the least gross ones on here. ha ha!


Thanks for checking up on me :-)