week 1 checkup

Today is 6 days post-op, so I went back to superhero (Dr.) Gellman for him to take a look at what I've got going on...

I told him that around my incision was really tight, and he said scar tissue has a difficult time recovering, and just to keep moving my ankle and massaging the area. But not too much, because the incision hasn't healed yet.

Then he took off my tape, cleaned it up, and put new tape on which I need to keep on for another 5 days.

The yellow stuff is something he put on there to help the tape stick - it's not the color of my skin, though I do have a little bruising. 

I can take regular showers now! I've been showering with a trash bag on my leg, and my leg basically up in the air because I don't have faith in the trash bag  method. So that's cool. They didn't have my hardware ready to hand me yet, which was not cool. (Fun fact: Gellman said about 95% of his patients ask to keep their hardware). 

I can't really feel a difference yet between my mechanical ankle and this one - probably because I'm not moving this one like a regular ankle yet and there's still some swelling. I go back to the doc in 6 weeks where he'll take x-rays and make sure everything looks how it should. 

Oh, and I'm off pain meds. I was only on them from day of surgery (Thurs) until Saturday...very cool. Now I also have a pill bottle full of hydrocodone which I have no idea what to do with. 

ankle hardware removal surgery: part 2

Continued from part 1

Waking Up: As if no time had passed, I was waking up in the wake-up room. My throat didn't feel sore at all like last time and I remember asking the nurse if they used the throat tube to help me breathe again. I have no idea how she responded. I also remember telling her that, if she has anything to say about it, I'd really prefer Hydrocodone to Oxycodone - it made me way less sick last time. I don't remember her response to that either. She asked me what my pain level was, I said 4-5. She pumped some drugs into my veins and then it was like a 2-3.

Recovery: Eventually the nurse wheeled me into my recovery room. My dad said he met up with us for the ride, which I don't remember. He asked me how I was feeling and I said: "I feel well," and smiled. And I did! The procedure itself was like 10-15 mins. I was under anesthesia way less time than the first one, and I could definitely feel the difference. I was groggy, but not INCAPACITATED like I was before. I was really cold so they gave me lots of blankets. I also had a feeling in my tummy that either felt really hungry or like I was gonna puke. J bought me a gluten-free muffin from the cafe so I ate that. Then a new nurse found me some gluten-free bread and toasted it. I immediately felt better. My lips were really chapped but, unlike last time, I brought a recovery kit which included chapstick, a huge waterbottle, and arnica (a homeopathic remedy).

The Wound: I didn't get regular stitches as they had planned (which I would have had to keep in for 2 weeks) - they gave me some self-absorbing/dissolving stitches. Then they wrapped it up with some gauze and an ace bandage. 

There you can see some writing on my leg so they knew which one to cut into - better safe than PISS ME THE FUCK OFF. My toes were cold so we made a toe-hat out of my sock, because it wouldn't fit over the bandage.

Peeing: Eventually I had to pee. It was the same kind of crampy feeling as last time - I think that happens when your bladder tries to wake up from the anesthesia. They brought the potty to me like last time, except the one last time was basically a stool. This one was a chair...nay a throne...it had to be documented for you guys :)

Like last time, I couldn't get it all out - and I would continue to pee in incremental stages the rest of the day. 

Home: I went home around 1p - just a few short hours after the surgery. They wheeled me out, I used crutches to get back into the house, plopped into bed to elevate and ice. My mom met us at home because I knew she'd cry if she saw me in a hospital. She then made me some sliced cucumbers with salt (a favorite after last surgery). 

Walking: Right now I'm walking with 2 crutches, but already bearing a little weight. My ankle is sore, but not terrible...like a headache in your foot - kinda tight, kinda sharp, just achy. I'll probably make some walking videos like last time so you can see the progress. 

Drugs: I'm taking Norco, which is a combo of Hydrocodone & Acetaminophen (Tylenol). I don't feel too terrible - the dosage is 1-2 every 4 hours and I've beens ticking with 1.  I took it a few times throughout the night, along with rice cakes to avoid nausea. 

Sleep: I slept with my leg elevated last night, but everything is so much less sore than last time, and now I'm a professional broken ankle position sleeper, so it came a lot easier this time around. Like I mentioned in part 1, I didn't sleep much last night - it felt like the night before school starting. Thankfully I found Jared Leto's instagram page which kept me more than entertained. 

Changing the Dressing: This morning I changed the dressing...here's how it all looked under there...

Not too swollen or bruised. A little bit of dried blood on the gauze but nothing oozy or smelly. I put new gauze on, wrapped it up again, and put my sock toe-hat on.

So that's that!!! I have a massage tomorrow and a follow up with Superhero Gellman on Wednesday morning. I'll certainly keep you updated. 

the bitchiest bitch: recovering from surgery

The two weeks following surgery were the worst. Week #1 I was told to elevate my big shitty cast 23 hours a day, which basically meant I could only get up to go to the bathroom (pee, that is - still no poo) or bathe. Week #2 the rules were less stringent, but I was too weak to crutch around or do anything so it basically resembled week #1.

Bathing: J would secure a trashbag over my leg with a rubber band at the knee. He had to put it on and take it off for me because I no longer had flexibility in that leg (guess what, when you can't move your ankle, your calf and hamstring freeze up too!). He had to do the same for my underwear and pants fyi. Anyway, I'd get in the tub with one leg up (I had to face backward, with my head at the faucet, so I had surface big enough to rest by cast). I'd support myself with one hand on the bottom of the tub, hold the lufa with the other, J would squirt it with Dr. Bronner's, and I'd suds up. A broken ankle certainly takes all the joy out of bathing. Meanwhile, my left glute was on its way to becoming the strongest glute you ever did encounter.

Drugs: BIZARRE SHIT. As the side effects literature warns, I had vivid nightmares, not just at night, but the second I closed my eyes - which was often. I was afraid to sleep, I was too fucking tired to stay awake. Each day blended with each night. Sometimes my dreams scared me so much that I made J hold my hand as I dozed off, just to ground me in some kind of familiarity. He obliged with a smile because he's incredible. Also the Oxy made my body twitch like 12 times as I fell asleep - sometimes whole-body, sometimes localized - SOMETIMES in my sad outchy ankle which quite frankly killed. For the second week I was switched from Oxycodone to it's weaker - but still quite sassy - little sister, Hydrocodone. The dosage was lighter and I was pleased.

 me, feeling/looking the worst I've ever felt/looked

Food: Overall, food was not part of this whole thing - everything nauseated me. I could tolerate cucumbers, strawberries, some soups, toast, tea...and a few other things that I can't remember (I can't remember most things). Weight began to fall off of me (silver lining?).

Sleep: I was on my back with my leg propped up every night. I fantasized about turning onto my side like a dude in prison fantasizes about getting laid - J and I hadn't spooned in what felt like decades. He was also scared that he'd move in the middle of the night and pull the covers over my cast in a painful way, so I slept on top of the covers under my own blanket. I set several alarms every night for meds, and kept gluten-free crackers on my nightstand so I wouldn't be medicating on an empty stomach. I woke up every morning with soggy crackers stuck in my molars - beginning another blurry day that would soon become night.