2 Weeks

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Today marks two weeks since my PAO. I've been able to do so much more than I had expected I would be able to do thus far, and am extremely proud of my progress. Of course, there are a few things that are more complicated than I had imagined, but I'm doing so well that I've actually begun to think about getting the right hip done this year too. More on that later.

My mom commented today that she thinks I'm moving around much better than I was just a few days ago, but then she laughed as I crutched away, saying, "I can see your right calf muscle, but your left one is gone."

Yeah, my leg muscles have gone into a PAO hibernation, but not as badly as I thought. I'm doing most of my PT, which I think is helping, and I'm up to 63 degrees in the cpm.

I can now get my own shoes and socks on using the grabber; get in and out of the tub by using a long strap to lift my leg; get out of bed by myself as long as I'm not in the machine; get in and out of the pickup on my own; carry small objects or bags while crutching; and rise from a seated position without using my arms to haul myself up. My parents have left me for up to four hours at a time by myself on their trips to Billings to see my grandma in the hospital, and I've done just fine on my own.

Today, we made a trip to Target after visiting Grandma, my first big excursion out. Even though I'm slow and it was raining, I managed to get inside just fine, and then I used the motorized cart, which I swore to my friends I would never do! Mom took a picture on her phone as proof I actually used it. I only almost crashed once!

Enough of all this positive talk; here's a few of the things that have been hard on me. :)

Tougher than I expected
  • Moving my leg ... it's so heavy!
  • Getting comfortable in bed. (Though sleeping on my back hasn't been the torture I thought it would be.)
  • Pain under my armpits from the crutch (temporarily fixed by wrapping a washcloth around the arms for extra padding)
  • Twisting around to see things behind me
  • Tenderness at the incision point/hip area, making getting dressed painful. This is getting much better with each day, however.
  • Going to the bathroom. Not actually getting into the bathroom, but going. Sorry, but it's the truth. I'm taking the appropriate medicine to help me with this.
  • Pain on the right side of my body. The first week in the hospital was the worst. I had a terrible bruising-type feeling on my butt and back from laying in bed for so long. The pain continued when I got home, but it's getting better now that I'm using a down pillow on the bed to cushion my derriere.
I'm very happy in Montana right now, and have no real complaints as far as the recovery goes. I'm a very lucky girl.

Comments

Manda K said…
This is going to sound odd ... but what part of my advice hasn't been weird yet? :)

Use ice and heat on your armpits. Alternate them when they get sore. Those muscles and nerves aren't used to having that amount of pressure put on them, so giving them some ice will help with the inflammation of the nerves and the heat should feel yummy :)

And what did I tell you about the Colace? Tsk tsk ... Trust me, I know my shit (horrible pun intended)

Love you babe! Club 1300 is pulling for ya!

Manda ;)
May 07, 2008
Anonymous said…
Cassie

Sounds like you are making great and typical progress as a postop hipwoman!

Keep it up
RK
11/05 LPAO
6/06 RPAO
May 08, 2008
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