Post-Op Day # 96 - Time To Celebrate!

Well I slept in, boy I was soooooooo tired from Friday haha! I hung around the house in my Pj's for quite a while....haha, think I finally got dressed at 1pm! LOL

I had some lunch with my mom and her friend Jill. We stayed inside because it was so dang hot out again.

I had some time to fart around checking email etc.... before having to get showered and dolled up for the wedding. I bought a really cute black N white dress here in WA, State so wore that, plus some very cute shoes with an inch heel. Yup, I wore both shoes ---though I did take my walking boot with me in the car just incase! :-)

The ceremony was at 3pm and I needed to leave earlier to go pick up my friend Angela, she was my DATE since Adam couldn't go to the island this time.

I pick her up and we head over to the Merridale Cidery where the ceremony was, they didn't have very good signage for the wedding(not my friends fault). Finally we figure it out and start walking down the hill to where the tent was and I nearly died.....it was steep but worse part was everyone was SITTING and waiting for the bride n groom.

Angela and I get to our seats and then we hear the music start.......oh man talk about CLOSE CALL! HA HA! OH well, we made it and it was a fabulous ceremony. Tessa looked phenomenal in her dress and Brendon looked sharp in his tux.

I took a bunch of pictures so I'll have to put a couple up for you to see :-)

The ceremony finished, we got to walk up and congratulate them before everyone started to head back up the hill to where they were going to do their wedding photos.

We didn't know that we had about an hour or so before the reception started so we decided to head out and go get a cold drink/quick snack at Timmy Hortons in Mill Bay.

After that we head down to the CFB Wardroom which is part of the Naval base in Esquimalt. Wow, that place was beautiful! They had appetizers and a bar for the guest to get some bevies etc.... before moving into the dinning/dancing hall. Neither of us had anything to drink or eat at that point becuase we had Timmy's instead! HA HA!

We all moved to the hall and then the evenings festivities began. Lots of toasts, speeches etc.... and then we had a wonderful buffet dinner! mmmmmmm hmmmm fabulous food!
Oh and we had 4 other people sitting at the table with us and they were SUPER COOL! We had so much fun with them.....haha, we all kept saying that our table (#6 )was the best table there. haha!

I took my 10mg of warfarin @ 8pm! YAY ME FOR REMEMBERING! haha!

We watched Tess & Brendon have their first dance etc.... it was so awesome. After a short bit everyone got up and started to dance the night away! WOOT WOOT! Even Angela and I got up and danced for a while, though neither of us were in great shape with bad ankles! HA HA! Oh well, we did pretty good all things considered.

We stayed till midnight then head back up island home -- I dropped Angela off then made my way back to Duncan to my moms to sleeeeeeeeeeeeep! YAY! Phew, what a wonderful day but wow tiring too!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 95 - Off to VI!

Well we got up super early.........EWWWWWWWWWww! I had to be downtown Seattle for 6:30am check in so that was no fun. haha!

I didn't sleep well ofcourse as I worried about oversleeping and missing my boat. haha!

We left the house at 5:45am and got there so I had plenty of time to check in and be on my way to the island for Tessa's wedding! Said bye to Adam, told him to behave......haha, na, he's a good guy, I don't have to worry about him. :-)

The ride over was smooth and I read for a bit but was too tired to do that long, my eyes didn't want to cooperate! YAWN! I didn't nap or anything, I was tired but not tired enough to risk getting a kink in my neck.

I had a yogurt basket on the way over............lets see it had a granola bar, a blueberry yogurt, an apple juice, an apple sauce -- I didn't eat it all, too much for that early. I even had a tiny bit of coffee, boy I was alert after that.

I arrived in Victoria at 10:45am and my mom was there waiting for me :-) I drove home as she gets so tired from all the driving ---just doing it on the way to get me was enough for her.

We got back to her place and I helped her do a few things around the house for a bit. I just relaxed most of the day, though I did go to the barn later on in the afternoon for a bit. It was nice to give Frosty a good groom and hang out.

I went back to my moms and chilled for the rest of the evening because I knew Saturday would be a tiring but fun day.

I had to go pick up her friend from the bus stop around 6pm, she was in Victoria shopping for the day so it was nice to chit chat with her for a bit at the house.

We had a yummy dinner, I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin and watched some TV in the evening -- I think I crashed out around 10:30pm. I couldnt believe I lasted that long without a nap since being up so early in the morning.

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 94 - Better Pack My Bags!

Well it's been almost a week since I updated this......opps, oh well I was away for 4 days!


Anyways, just a quick recap of last Thursday.

I went to the barn to visit, did some grocery shopping to make sure Adam had some stuff for while I was away in Canada and ofcourse I packed my bags for the trip to VI.

I did my ankle stretches/exercises, stayed inside as much as possible as it was hot out!

Took my 10mg of warfarin @8pm and hung out for a bit with Adam before leaving bright n early Friday morning on the Clipper to Victoria.


Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 75 - TGIF

Well its FRIDAY.........yeah, thank goodness I know Adam is very happy the weekend is almost here!

I have physio today at 2pm so I'm anxious to get there and see how it goes again. I know Chris will be happy that I did all my exercises and that I was able to walk without the boot/crutches for a short distance. :-)

I'm going to take the 2 dresses back to Ross today and see what they have for shoes....I have a couple pair here but I'll just take a peak while I'm there anyways. haha! GOod way to get exercise and kill some time.

I'll come back later to update how my physio went but hope everyone has a wonderful FRIDAY


Ok, so yesterday after I took the dresses back I had my physio and it was AWESOME! My foot was really moving well and I was able to walk with my runners without my crutches. Chris was so impressed! haha! He did a massage on the incision to help break up the scar tissue a bit, that hurt a little bit but nothing too bad. I have a few new exercises to practice, like doing sort of a lunge stretch and then standing on one foot at a time. I could actually stand on my bad foot with all my weight for quite a while -- even Chris was surpised that I could hold it that long.
Though that exercise definitely makes the nerves act up a bit and send some weird sensations through the foot.

He wants me to use one crutch now just to help with balance while I'm walking but I'm allowed to practice walking without it as long as I'm on level ground and not overdoing it. :-)

I left there feeling so good and decided to go to the ranch for a visit. I even walked without my crutch while I was there. Everyone was so happy to see me walking around haha!

I decided to halter, lead and groom Karma all by myself --after I gave her a good groom I took her for a short walk to the car for treats. It was so amazing to be able to actually walk and lead a horse! :-)

I don't think it will be too much longer till I CAN RIDE AGAIN! YAAAAAHOOOOOOOOO!

Ah yes, yesterday was a VERY VERY VERY GOOD DAY :-)

I left the barn and came back home to show Adam my new walking skills haha! We stayed here for a bit then head out to Chiptole for dinner.

I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin @ 8pm


I watched a few episodes of House and called it a night. I was pretty darn tired but felt so happy about my foot. :-)

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 74 - Walk This Way

Well yesterday was pretty awesome, I was able to WALK with my running shoes without MY CRUTCHES! Hallelujah haha!

I did all my exercises 3x's yesterday and that really help get the ankle moving and loosened up. I decided to drive to town to check out the thrift store because they always have a ton of purses and neat stuff in there.
I went and looked around for about 20 minutes, saw a couple items but I didn't have any cash on me or my check book so I had to pass on them. I figured if they're still there when I go back then it's meant to be! HA HA!

I left there and drove over to the outlet mall to look for some shoes -- I need new runners because the ones I have are "barn shoes" now. I have a brand new runner(just one) from my mom because she needed the other one but because at that time I was wearing my walking boot I only needed one! Now I need a pair so I can use them all the time and for physio.

I parked the car and took just ONE crutch with me so I could practice walking and I did really GOOD! I got tired quick and took sitting breaks but I did it, I walked around the one store and didn't see anything so moved on to the next store(Nike!).
I went in and tried on a bunch of shoes, it was fun and the guy was really helpful/patient with me.........haha, I tried on a LOT of shoes to find the right ones.
I finally found a pair and they were on sale(like $25 , so cheap) so I bought them. :-)

I walked back to the car with the bag--that was sort of entertaining because I forgot that I'd have to carry them back. haha! It wasn't pretty but I made it and put them in the trunk.

I thought about what other stores I wanted to check out while I was there and decided to go to the Dress Barn -- I love that store!
Plus, Im still on the fence about a dress for Tessa's wedding so I figured Id go see what they had in there.
oh man, they had so many nice dresses and the ladies were awesome, gosh I think I tried on like 25 dresses! HA HA HA! It was very fun and some of them were stunning!!!!!!

we narrowed it down to about 3 that I really liked, I had about 6 ladies there helping me decide. haha!
In the end it was the blue or the black n white dress -- I decided on the black n white one which is ironic because the other 2 that I bought at Ross are black n white. I like this dress better then those 2 so they're going back today to Ross! haha! Great thing was, the dress I got at the Dress Barn was on sale so it was the same price as the other ones--about $25, so really I couldn't go wrong!

I think I was there for 1.5hrs......haha, those ladies were so funny -- Id say "I guess I can't find the right one so I'll just go" and ofcourse they'd go looking for something else in the store and bring it back and I'd change my mind about leaving and start trying more dresses. haha!

So finally I pay for the dress, head to the car and sit there in a daze for a minute because I'm EXHAUSTED! oh my GOD I was zonked from all the moving around. I waited a few minutes and then head back home to REST --but ofcourse had to put the dress on so Adam could see. haha!

I had a nice nap to recharge......phew, boy I needed that! I got up, tidied up some stuff then made fajitas for dinner. MmmmmmmmmHmmmm!

I took my 10mg of Warfarin @ 8pm then watched a couple episodes of House while Adam went skating in Bellevue.

I was very happy to get to bed last night but wow, what a day! I couldn't believe it that I could walk without my boot and crutches like a NORMAL PERSON AGAIN!


Well thats it for yesterday, thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 73 - Move It Move It

Well Wednesday I had my first physio session and it was AMAZINNNNNNNNG!
When I got there Chris(my PT) was very concerned about the ROM in my ankle, it was very poor and would need a fair amount of work to gain a normal range back.

He used a special measuring device to chart where the ROM was in my ankle --- the up and down ROM was horrible, it measured in at -15! He said that was really bad and needed to get that improving asap! Most of the other directions we checked seemed not too bad, definitely nothing that wouldnt come back after a little bit of time.

He showed me some stretches to do, as well he stretched my ankle in a bunch of ways to see if it would help and boy did it EVER! It was kind of gross at first though because my ankle popped quite a few times and that was a big part of my stiffness in ROM. I guess my ankle bone had locked up because of all the time in my walking boot. After the jointed released it was a totally different foot, it would MOVE quite a bit! YAHOO! We were both shocked how much better it moved after that happened.

We did some exercises with me walking on the floor barefoot with my crutches --taking baby steps to make sure I was using my left foot correctly. Basically a rolling motion from heel to toe and same with the other foot---it has compensated for the bad one so it wasn't even walking properly.

I was still experiencing some odd nerve sensations in the foot, esp the heel but nothing I couldn't handle. As the session when on the foot got used to holding more weight on it and the nerves seemed to get used to it.

the hour session whizzed by and we rechecked the measurements for ROM and well, we were amazed by the up and down improvement! It went from - 15 to + 2 , I was so happy I could cry! haha!

I will go 2x's a week for about 6weeks-- I know I will be in very good shape by then!

I left with a HUGE smile on my face and my foot felt so much better. I got home and showed Adam, he was really surprised to see that I could almost walk on my own again(without the stupid BOOT).

Oh and I DROVE WITH just my regular shoe on my foot too...........heck ya, it felt great to be able to push the clutch pedal like normal people do! HA HA!


I was in such a great mood I had to go to the ranch to visit for a bit and show off my new walking skills. haha! I had a nice visit, watch a few people ride then head to town to pick up a few items for dinner.

I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin and took an tylenol as well because my foot was a bit sore from physio but a good sore. :-)

I just hung out for the rest of the evening but I tell you, I felt really optimistic about the ankle recovery which was so nice! Finally some light at the end of the TUnnel(haha TARSAL TUNNEL).

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 49 - Hiding Out

Well as I said I get up early when looking at the clients dogs because it's what they're used to.

I was up at 5am and let them out for 30mins or so, I watched some TV then brought them back in and went to lay down for a bit. Back up around 9:30am for the day and let the dogs outside again for another hour or so. In the morning, it's so tiring going up and down the stairs, my body is still in sleepy mode! HA HA!

I hung out till about 1pm and then went home to see Adam --it was soooooooooo hot out so we stayed indoors for most of the day. It's hard to be out in the sun for any length of time, esp for me I get so tired and hot trying to hobble about on my crutches.

Adam and I went to Issaquah to Chiptole for dinner and it was yuuuuuuummmmmmmmy! It felt good not to cook(I made a super tasty Tilapia, stirfry and rice dinner on Friday), I was so tired from doing the dogs and not getting a great sleep.

We came back home and lounged in the house for a bit then I had to head back to the dogs.
Adam dropped me off because he was going to go skating in Bellevue and needed the car.

I just let him keep the car so he could do whatever he needed and then he could just pick me up Sunday morning.

It felt like such a waste of a day but the weather is too hot to be outside mid-day so either early morning or evening time is best for any type of activities where you're going to break a sweat. haha!

I took my 10mg of Warfarin @ 8pm. I'm curious to know what my INR will be on Thursday, I'm sure it's gone down with all the extra exercise I'm getting doing the dog sitting.

I watched some awesome shows on crime investigation, autopsy's etc... haha, yes, I love that kind of stuff, its so fascinating!
Oh and I also watched this super cool show called Ice Road Truckers, wow talk about scary stuff. These guys drive big big rigs on ice roads that are over huge lakes. it's so scary to think that they're driving on about 36" of ice but you think about how heavy those big rigs are and that doesn't give you a lot of peace of mind. haha! You could hear the ice cracking as they drove over it, I'm sure I'd crap my pants if I was in one of those trucks. haha! Of course they get paid well because it is such an important but dangerous job. Most of the runs were to the De Beers Diamond mines, huge pieces of equipment that they need to do the work up there.
Anyways, check it out if you get it on your digital TV.

I went to bed around 10:30pm I was soooooooo zonked and needed to get a decent sleep. The bed and pillows there suck so that doesn't help matters!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day # 47 - Four Week Ultrasound

Well the foot feels pretty good again today, it was a tiny bit tender this morning but that worked itself out so that was nice.

This afternoon I had my 4 week ultrasound and they said the clot has reduced a fair amount in size, esp on the one side. Its pretty cool how you can see the blood moving in the veins on the machine. The guy showed me the one vein that is clotted up pretty good still but you could see a tiny bit of blood getting through -- YAY!

He said by the time I go back, I should be much more mobile and that will help the clot breakdown quicker as there will be a better blood supply.

I go back in 2months for the 3months follow-up so that is good.........unless I have any weird cramping in my calf or anywhere else before that time(KNOCK ON WOOD!).


Its pretty darn warm out today so I'm seeking refuge in the house where its nice and cool with the fans going. I may go out later for a ride around the block in the wee-chair.

We might go to a movie tonight but not sure, depends on what Adam wants to do.

I have to take 10mg of Warfarin tonight

Well that's about it, Im happy with the results from today --phew, we're slowly making process! :-)

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day #42 - Out For A Drive

Well this morning my foot felt pretty darn good, I think the compression stocking is a good thing after all! I still think it's hideous, hmmm maybe I should draw some horses on it! :-) haha!

I noticed a bunch of bruises on my arm and leg that weren't there before, I think I did it at the barn yesterday(scratches head). I'll keep an eye on that especially with my INR being at 3.4(higher then we want) on Thursday.

I went and checked the mail(took the car keys with me) and then decided to see how the foot felt driving again.

I drove around the block and it felt good so I decided to venture off to North Bend(this time no stopping at the barn).
I went to Blockbuster to get a movie, stopped at Safeway to pick up some creamer, then had a Chai Latte at Starbucks and finally back home. haha!
I was sort of surprised how the traffic wasn't too bad considering its the May long weekend here.

I got home, hobbled back up the stairs and have been chillin out in the house since.
It's beautiful out today, I might go for a wee-chair ride later but we'll see how I feel.

I haven't noticed any extra swelling or pain so that is good(knock on wood) -- test will be later on and in the morning.

For some reason I've been feeling anxious though, it started last night --don't know what that is about.
Maybe things are catching up to me finally? I don't know but I'll keep an eye on it. If I feel weird or anything I will call the Dr and worse case scenario 911 if I feel weak/chest pains/shortness of breath etc...

I've definitely felt more on edge since Adam left Tuesday and that is fair, I mean I'm dealing with so much right now and having him with me gives me a sense of safety and comfort.
This DVT isn't something to take lightly and even though they say the chances of any part breaking off now is pretty slim, there's STILL A CHANCE and that makes me nervous as heck -- I don't need a pulmonary embolism or stroke!!!

Hopefully this feeling will pass and I also have to remember that the new BC pills I started with the progestin only can often make people depressed. Hopefully this isn't that, I don't feel depressed, just anxious.

I'm very happy that Adam will be home in the morning and that we can spend Sunday and Monday(YAY for Memorial day) together :-)

Well about 2hrs till I take my 7.5mg of Warfarin. I'm going to watch my movie and just relax!

Thanks for checking in and check it out, I've had over 1000 views now! YAY!

Post-Op Day #40 - Sock It To Me

Well this morning my friend Helene was nice enough to take me to my ACC appointment and my INR was 3.4 -- on the high side so tonight I don't take my Warfarin and continue as normal tomorrow.
The nurse figures it was the progestin pills that made it high because it takes a bit for the system to get used to it. Hopefully by the time next Thursday comes it will be around 2.9-3.0. I have to keep an eye on bruising, any nose bleeds etc... if that happens, let them know asap!

After that we decided to go to the local feed/tack store -- hehe, fun lookng at all the goodies. We both bought a couple small items before heading out so she could show me her adorable farm house. We made a quick pit stop to a coffee shack(lol drive thru) and got a yummy Chai Latte --best one Ive tasted!

We went to her house for a little while and it was very nice and ofcourse we let the dogs out for a potty break. haha!

After chit chatting for a bit it was time to go so I can get to my ankle specialist appointment at 11:45am.

My appointment went well, Dr Chi thought the incision looked great and removed the last 2 steri strips(tape) from the lower part. I think it looks pretty darn good, I'll take some pictures and post them.
We talked about the DVT's and he even showed me the printouts that he got from Washington Vascular -- it was so cool, it showed grey shaded area on the places it was clotted.
There were 2 printouts, one from the inital ultrasound and the follow up one which showed a SMALLER CLOTTED AREA! YAY!

We spoke about recovery time, possible physio therapy(we'll see how it is in 4wks), getting more movement in the foot when its comfortable to do with/without the KAM walking boot and about wearing a compression stocking.
I told him I had a Rx for one but hadn't got it yet due to the ankle still being a bit tender.
He thought I was ok to get one and they had them at his office so I got fitted for one! YUK, I HATE IT! HA HA!
I call it the Ol Lady Stocking! HA HA! I guess I should be relieved that it's white and not ugly beige or black. hehe!
I have to wear it as much as possible because it will help with swelling and circulation as well so that is good.
It felt so bizarre to pull it one, my poor foot hasn't had anything tight on it since the morning of surgery.
It feels SOOOOOO TIGHT right now but I think once my foot swelling goes down a bit it won't feel so weird.
I asked about getting back to regular activities and how long that would be, esp RIDING --- I said 6 weeks and he thought possibly, could be less or more, just depends on how my ankle heals and how quickly the clots dissolve. Fingers crossed I could be riding by July, though that seems like FOREVER for me. Oh well, I'm not willing to risk it, I will ride when I'm 100% ready to.

Anyways, I go back to see him in 4 weeks unless I have any pain issues in my ankle/foot. Any other issues related to the clots I contact the vascular specialist/ACC.


Next week I have my one month ultrasound so fingers crossed it shows the clots are even smaller then last time. :-)

I'm just hanging out in the house, though the weather is amazing today but my foot needs to rest up a bit. It's adjusting to having the compression hose on it.

Thanks for checking the blog

Post-Op Day # 39 - Still Swollen

Well today was basically a sit on the couch with the foot elevated day. My poor foot is so swollen, you can hardly see my ankle bone, the skin feels so tight too! I'm so glad I'm going to the Dr's tomorrow, I want them to check this out. Ack, fingers crossed its nothing serious.

I got outside once to get the mail and it was actually quite nice outside --kind of a surprise because this morning was very overcast and cold but it burned off for the afternoon. :-)

I had some salad(small one, cant eat too much green due to the Vit K) and Pizza for dinner while watching Pirates of the Caribbean! HA H!

I talked to Adam on the phone for a bit so that was nice, I miss him!

My friend Helene called to check on the time to pick me up for my appointment in the morning -8am pick up, 8:30am appt! LOL After that one we have a bit of time before my ankle specialist so we might go to the TACK STORE! muahahahah! Oh ya!


Took my 7.5mg of Warfarin at 8pm -- will be interesting to see what my INR is tomorrow. It was 2.6 on Monday so we'll see if we went up a few more points.

Well I'm really tired tonight plus my darn foot is annoying me!

Thanks for checking my blog

Post-Op Day # 37 - Sigh Of Relief

Well this morning I had my ACC appointment to check my INR and it was at 2.6! YAY! Very good news, the lady said that was pretty much an ideal number. I'm so relieved, I was worried it might drop over the weekend again but it went up 3 more points! :-)

As my activity level increases my INR may drop a bit so we'll keep any eye on it and adjust the Warfarin accordingly.

Today the pharmacists at the ACC clinic put me on;
Monday 7.5mg Tuesday 10mg Wednesday 7.5mg Thursday 10mg Friday 7.5mg Saturday 10mg and Sunday 7.5mg.
It's pretty close to what I've been taking anyways, with the exception of the weekends, Ive been taking 10mg each day.

I don't think I have any plans for today, might get outside in the wee-chair for a bit to check the mail, zip around the block but other then that nothing exciting. :-)

I'm hoping to get back to the ranch a few times this week while Adam is away, it'll help make the days go quicker till he gets back on Sunday. And I always enjoy seeing my riding friends, the horses and enjoying the beautiful ranch.

Anyways my next appointments are on Thursday so it's nice to have a few days off of the Dr's offices! haha!

I might take some pictures of the neighborhood today, it's such a lovely day and everything is so pretty right now(I LOVE the blossoms)


Thanks for checking my blog

Post-Op Day # 36 - Sunny Saturday!

ll it's absolutely BEAUTIFUL out! Sunshine, a tiny breeze --ah yes, makes for a perfect Spring day outside.

My foot is a bit swollen still from yesterday's crash N burn -- I see lots of bruises on my arm and legs! haha! OPPPPPPS! Not going to do that one again, I've got to SLOWWWWWWWW DOWN to turtle speed if needed. :-)

Not sure what the plan is for today but I know we'll be outside for most of it. hehe! I want to stop by the ranch for a bit to visit, I hear they're having a BBQ later on. mmmm hmm!

I will come back later to finish this post. I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend!

Updated - Ok so we got organized and went for a quick walk around the block in the wee-chair before deciding on what to do for lunch.

By the time we got home we decided to go to North Bend and get some Chinese food at Safeway and sit outside at the tables. It was great, the weather was divine and the food was very tasty- yup, I know not the most healthy choice but oh well we haven't had it for a while.

We head back to Sno-Ridge and went out for another walk, we spent quite a bit of time outside which was great!

We came back to the house and I had to put my foot up because it was getting very purple.
We never did stop at the ranch, just got too involved in the walking outside plus I was getting too HOT -- yes, I know I'm complaining about the heat! haha! I will try to go tomorrow for a short visit!

I zonked right out while I had my foot up and when I did wake up I felt so hot and kind of sick. I think I did get too much sun yesterday so I will be very careful about that if the weather stays this way for a few more days. I think the warfarin can make people more sensitive to the heat, I'll have to check on that.
I need to drink more H20!!!!!

I took my 10mg of Warfarin at 8pm -- only one more day of 10mg and back to get the INR tested, hopefully it'll be high enough and we can cut back the Warfarin to 7.5mg or 5mg.

Adam wanted me to go to watch a band at the local pub around 11pm but I didn't go, I felt like horse manure! HA HA!

I had a quick shower then was off to bed, hoping I would feel better in the morning.




Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day #35 - Crash N Burn

Well today wasn't too bad -- the sun was shining(YAHOO) and I had a few things to do today.

My ankle felt pretty good this morning so that was nice! I had to go get a Rx from the pharmacy so I took the wee-chair out for a cruise. :-)
I checked the mail first then head out to Mt Si's pizza to order Adam a sandwich then head to the pharmacy.
There was an issue with the insurance company not wanting to cover my warfarin because they said it was being filled to early but the thing is, the first Rx I had was for 30 (5mg) pills. Well Ive been on atleast 7.5mg - 10mg per day so you can see how 30 pills isnt going to last a month! Anyways the pharmacist was super and called Blue Shield and got it worked out so I could get 60 pills(enough for 10mg/day for a month if needed).

After that I head home for a bit to rest up. I didn't realize how late it was getting and I needed to fax off some info to the Blue Shield in regards to a billing issue for a surgery related issue. I was rushing around here like a chicken with my head cut off because I had 10mins to hobble a block and get it faxed.

I had all my stuff ready and I was reaching for the house keys and totally whipped out! YOUCH! Dang that hurt. Some how I managed to get my leg out of the way so I didn't hit it on anything(PHEW) but I wacked my knee , elbow and arm pretty good. Poor Adam was in the bedroom having a rest and came whizzing out because he heard the big thud and me yelp! HAHA!
I got up, made sure nothing was bleeding(haha) and head out to do the faxing.......such a trooper aren't I(or maybe STUPID, I dont know ---likely BOTH). I got there at 5:59pm, 1 minute till closing! wow, talk about getting down to the wire.

I was exhausted, sore and PO'd at myself for the fall but I hobbled back home and made my way up the stairs to the door. For some reason the stairs felt like they were never going to end -- funny how that happens when you're tired and PO'D! HA HA!


Ive been home for almost 2hrs now and I see bruises coming up(have to be careful on Warfarin), I feel a bit stiff/sore and I noticed my foot has swelled up a bit. It probably got jarred a bit when I fell earlier. Oh well, time to elevate it again and relax!

Oh and its almost time to take my 7.5mg of Warfarin tonight --- Sat/Sun are 10mg. I don't know how they figure this stuff out but I guess there's some sort of formula they're following.


Anyways, thats about it for today. I'm hoping the weather stays decent so I can go visit the ranch plus it'd be great to take the wee-chair out this weekend to one of the parks we like to walk at.


I thought I'd add a couple pictures to show you how purple my foot gets due to the circulation issues from the clots. It looks almost fake!

Thanks for checking up on me

Post-Op Day #34 - It's All About The Results

Well today I had my ACC appointment to check my INR --last time it was at 1.7 but I'm happy to report it went up to 2.3! YAHOO! Hopefully it will stabilize or rise over the weekend as I go on Monday morning for my next test.

They kept my Warfarin at 10mg till Monday so that will most likely get it to raise again ---after all I was on 10mg for 3 days and it raise my INR 6 points!


Unfortunately yesterday/last night I had some sharp pain in my leg in the clot sites so I have to go for an ultrasound at 3:45pm to check to make sure the clots aren't any bigger. With my INR dropping to 1.7 over the weekend that raises some concern because that is not in the therapeutic range for DVT treatment and I wasn't on Lovenox.

The potential for clotting is higher without the INR being 2.0 or higher and not being backed up by the Lovenox injections(Low Molecular weight Heparin) -- esp with the pain being there and it wasn't before except when I first knew something was wrong(the week of April 30th).

I'm not going to get worked up over it, I'll go see what they find with the ultrasound today and deal with it. I'm hoping I don't have to go on the Lovenox again!!

I'll come back later and let you know what they find.

Updated: Ok so I had the ultrasound and they found no new clots so that is a relief! PHEW! The lady said it actually looked like there was more movement in the blocked areas so that is good too!

I'm supposed to call them if I feel any more pain but other then that things look good. I could have been the driving that made my leg get sore and have light spasms/cramps. Anyways, not going to be driving for a bit.


Thanks for checking up on me

Post-Op Day #32 - Destination North Bend

Well I felt much better this morning then I thought I would after yesterdays cleaning frenzy. LOL

My ankle was good too, I was sort of surprised actually as I figured it'd be super swollen and sore.

I took my second progestrin pill and was fine --no sweating or feeling ill so that was good.

I decided that today I would venture out in the car, hopefully to North Bend(12min drive) to the bank and back.
I got organized and head out, half way down the Snoqualmie Parkway I thought Id better check my phone to make sure it had enough charge in case of an emergency or if I needed to call Adam.

I noticed a text message was there so I checked and it was Jen(a trainer at the ranch) and she said she would be at the ranch till 4pm. I decided I would go the back way to town and stop in at RRR for a bit.
I made it there no problem and stayed for about an hour to chit chat with the girls --it was nice to be out --esp since I DROVE MYSELF THERE! YAY!

After my visit I continued to North Bend the back way and made it to the bank(drive thru ATM) no problem. I deposited some money then head on my way home, of course by this time its so busy and that made me a bit nervous because I had to use the clutch so much more from all the stop and go's! Ack!

I could feel my left hip and foot getting a bit fatigued so I got out of there as quickly as I could and made it home in one piece! YAY!

All things considered it went really well, not bad for my first time going that far! :-) I'm going to do a bit each day, that way by the time Adam leaves for Fresno next week I should be fine.

I'm not going to drive him to and from the airport though, that is way too far for me right now -- I think we've got a ride for him one way so just have to work out the other.
Atleast he'll know I can get out to the ranch, to the store and most importantly my appointments while he's gone.

Anyways, not a bad day and now of course I'll rest my foot and see how it does till the morning. I'll take my Warfarin in 1.5hrs and be good till tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in on me

Post-Op Day # 31 - Sweating To The Oldies

Well this morning I had my INR testing in Issaquah and my INR was at 1.7 --ack, it went down a bit from Friday's 2.0! Oh well, the lady said that it's normal for it to fluctuate a bit.
She wants me to take 10mg(2 - 5mg pills) tonight, tomorrow and Wednesday night, hopefully that will get my INR up into the 2.0 + range.

I picked up my progrestin BC pills and started those -- boy, I had an upset stomach for a bit and the sweats but thankfully that went away after 30mins. I think it was the hormones, my body was trying to figure out what I was putting into it! HA HA! My poor body has had so my stuff done to it lately!

I was pretty tired when I got home from my appointment and the pharmacy so I crashed out in bed.................zonked, woke up around 12noon and felt like crap but it went away pretty quickly.

For some stupid reason I got into a cleaning mode and had 5 different things on the go ---ugh, I hate that because I was trying to juggle it all. I would stop and go OH BOY, I need to get this done before the end of the day.

I had the laundry going, turned the bathroom upside down cleaning it, cleaned the cats litter box out, vacuumed with the dust buster in there(damn litter flicking cats ROFLMAO), tidied up the living room, re-arranged the bedroom funiture a bit(hmm yes, I'm a freak! LOL), made dinner(tilapia, stir-fry, rice) and cleaned up that mess! OH MAN I'M WHIPPED. I was sweating up a storm, drinking a ton of H20 and driving the cats batty by keeping them out of the bedroom while I was busy moving stuff around. That drives them crazy, they can hear me in there and want in to see what's going on(plus they love flopping/kneading on the bed & watching snakes in tanks).

I'm so mad at myself for doing too much but it was one of those things, once it was started it had to be finished.

My left foot was fine but wow, my good foot was aching like crazy from all the moving about. Yes, I know I don't need to mess up the good one too. :-)

Anyways, don't worry I won't be doing that again, it was way toooooooo much!

Oh and no worries, I did take all my medications on time! I managed to pop them in between cleaning! ROFLMAO!

I'm heading to bed now, it's way later then I hoped to be up so off to LA LA LAND! NIGHT!

Thanks for checking in on me

Post-Op Day #30 - Roughin It On The Riverbed!

I forgot to update this yesterday so I'll do it now.

Saturday night I had to stay over at my clients home to look after her dogs, Angus & Harley. I sure got some exercising going up and down the stairs! LOL Oh well, I managed to do it safely so that was the main thing.

I stayed there till about 1pm and then Adam picked me up so we could get the day started together.

My ankle felt pretty darn good all things considered ---driving Saturday, up and down stairs, hobbling around the back yard throwing balls for the dogs! HA HA!

Adam and I decided to head to North Bend for lunch at Jay Berry's then we drove down the I-90 a bit to the Olallie State Park. The weather wasn't too bad so we decided to go down one of the short trails that lead to the river bed. Ok, this was highly amusing, getting down to the river bend took a LOT of navigating soft sand, rocks, roots......haha, I was laughing so much and that sucks because I always get weaker when I laugh. Adam was spotting me the whole way down and I managed to get down without any problems.

The water looked so nice, I love the sound of the water rushing over the rocks. Adam took a couple pictures of me so I'll upload them.

It started to sprinkle so we head back home for a bit, so I put my leg up to give it a rest.


I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin at 8pm, last day of that amount till the morning INR test!

Around 8:30pm we went for a nice roll around the block during a break in the rain ---the air smelled so good ---between the fresh rain smell and the blossoms on the trees....ah, so nice!

I wanted some icecream so Adam rolled me to the store and we grabbed 2 really cute single serving sized Vanilla Bean icecreams -- OH MAN, tasty stuff.

On the way home I asked Adam if he wanted to stop by the local pub for a beer(for him) and so we stopped in there for about a 30mins and watched Spiderman on the big screens HA HA!

I was tired by the time we got back so I just lounged on the couch watching a show I like, Brothers and Sisters.

I think I went to bed around 11pm because I knew I had an appointment at the Issaquah ACC to get my INR checked at 8am.

Anyways, Im really happy about how my ankle felt this weekend, esp because I had to do a bunch of extra stairs(they have about 16 stairs, I did them about 8 times) and driving the car.

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day #29 - Driving And Dogs

Today was good, early start as we gave a friend a ride to the SeaTac Airport at 6:45am.
On the way home we stopped at the coffee shop, I had a yummy sweet chai latte and we shared a nice piece of coffee cake.

After that we head to home to have a nap, we were zombies from the early morning plus all week we've been so tired from all the Dr's appointments etc...

I woke up and needed to go do the dogs that I'm looking after, I stay overnight at their place.

I decided to see if I could drive myself there(its about 2mins in the car) and I DID IT! haha! I think its about 5 clutch compressions each way HAHA!

I let the dogs outside in the backyard for a while, I even cleaned up some dog doo! HA HA! Oh that was amusing, you know me I couldn't just leave the crap on the grass. ;-)

After that I hung out with the dogs for an hour or so, we watched TV on the couch -- the 2 dogs are allowed to sit on it so they snuggled up beside me while I watched some ER type show and another one on autopsy's haha! I know, I'm strange but I love those types of shows.

My ankle felt pretty good after the drive there, I elevated it while I watched TV.

I made sure the dogs went potty again before I left and then I came home to sit on the patio in the SUNSHINE! OH ya, it was gorgeous out today!

Adam and I went to Uncle Si's pizza for dinner, it's right behind our place and has AWESOME pizza - we had a Hawaiian, my favorite. I also had a yummy salad, gosh it was so good. I have to be careful how much green stuff I eat, it's usually high in Vitamin K and I'm not supposed to have too much because it promotes the clotting mechanism in the blood.

After dinner we went for a nice walk around the block --- the temperature was perfect, a light breeze blowing against the face! ah, perfection! I did a gnarly manuevre in the wee-chair when we went down a hill and around a corner --- it was like a fish tail you do in a car! I was laughing so hard. :-)

I took my 7.5mg of Warfarin and now I'm gonna have a quick shower before I head back to the dogs and stay the night there. Adam will drop me off and pick me up in the morning -- I just had to take this job for my client, any extra money right now is a good thing, darn medical bills are starting to pile up! ACK!

Thanks for checking in

Post-Op Day #28 - Bye Bye Injections!

Today is May 8th so that means it's been exactly a MONTH since surgery -- wow time flies!


This morning I took my Lovenox before heading to my INR testing appointment at 8:45am in Bellevue.

I'm happy to report that my INR reached 2.0 WOOHOO, so I can stop the injections after tonight. hehe!
I have to take 7.5mg of Warfarin over the weekend and go Monday for testing to see if the INR is stabilized at 2.0 or hopefully a bit higher. I'm so relieved I'm at 2.0, 16 injections is enough for me -- my stomach is very happy, no more pin cushion treatment. haha!

This afternoon I had an appointment with my GP and we discussed birth control options as I had to stop my regular BC pills due to the estrogen in them.
I have a few options, get an IUD which will last for 5years or try a progestin only pill -- for right now I'm going to try the pill and see how that goes.

After my appointment I took the wee-chair out for a short roll to the store and back, the fresh air felt soooooooooooooooo good! It was actually NICE OUT! YAY!


My foot felt pretty good today, it was a bit puffy from too much walking around the grocery store yesterday. Plus I accidentally caught my KAM boot on the back of Adams heel(opps, poor Adam) and that jarred my foot really good!YOUUUUUUUUUCH!


I've noticed some muscle spasms in my foot, it doesn't happen that often, usually when I'm laying down in bed. LOL
My foot kind of jumps or the foot tries to bend at the ball of the foot which feels really odd. There's still odd sensations (tingling/numbness/mini shocks) throughout the foot since surgery, the nerves are still trying to figure out what to do.
I love how much I can move my toes, it's so nice to be able to exercise them a tiny bit --lifting them up and down to help the circulation.

I've also noticed that my leg from the knee down is looking very slack haha, oh the muscle tone is withering away on me. Oh well, I'll deal with "ol lady" leg for a bit, once I can walk it'll come back. HA HA!

Well that's it for today, I'm very pleased about the INR test today, I just hope it stays above 2!

Thanks for checking in