Another very early morning for me. I was up at 430am with tightness / soreness in my leg that I was unable to sleep through any longer. I went to the kitchen ate some shredded wheat, drank a glass of water and put down a couple of pain pills. Not much to do at 430am so I went back to bed, put ice on my knee and laid there playing Words With Friends and reading some news articles.
At about 630am my dad woke up, so I went into the kitchen and sat with him reading the paper and eating breakfast (more shredded wheat). My mom came out shortly thereafter and I worked on the Chicago Tribune crossword before putting it down to walk around some.
I have definitely made some progress in the past few days. I am able to walk, with my knee brace on and without any crutches or cane as long as the knee brace is fastened tightly. It keeps my knee from bending much when I walk, but it feels good knowing that I am able to put pressure on it and give it a bit of a work out. I did a few laps around the house, some with brace on, no cane and some with cane and no brace. After awhile though I could feel my leg getting sore / tired so I headed back to the bed to do some knee bending exercises followed by another round of icing. It's afternoon now, though it feels later because of the early morning. I expect the rest of my day to be similar to the beginning exercise, stretch, pills, ice, repeat. Back to work tomorrow too, so we'll see how that goes.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Day 3 - Sunday
Another early morning for me. I got some good rest for the first time though. I think I woke up half because of some pain and half because I was rested. This is the earliest I've been up in three consecutive days in a long time. I can't even remember when it might have been.
I got up and predictably went straight for the pain meds. They're a generic for the drug NorCo. Anyways, I had two of those with a glass of water and poured myself a bowl of shredded wheat. I've been going for a high fiber diet as one of the known, common side effects of these pain meds is constipation. Possibly more on this later.
After breakfast I decided it was time to take my original bandages off and replace with fresh ones. But first I needed a shower. The doctor told me not to shower for 5 days. Now, I don't know if anyone follows this advice, but I couldn't any longer. My hair was extremely greasy, it's August, I had been wearing the same shorts and underwear since Friday, the day of surgery. I did change t-shirts one time. I needed to keep the bandaged section of my knee dry so I got plastic garbage bag, had me mum tear a hole in it and slide it over my foot. I tied it off with a twist tie and I was all ready to take a shower.
Getting in and out of the shower was a bit treacherous. There is a tub, so having to step over that with one foot on the ground and a wet surface caused a little anxiety, but other than that good shower. I got some fresh clothes on, brushed my teeth (also first time in while), and felt pretty decent afterwards.
The bandage stayed dry in the shower and it was now time to take it off. Here's a picture of how it was originally wrapped after surgery.
There was the Ace bandage on top, followed by some cotton wrap that tore off easily. Under the cotton wrap was a thicker bandage seen in the next picture. If you look you can see where my leg was waxed / shaved up to and in the inside of my thigh are the surgeon's initials (SC).
I got up and predictably went straight for the pain meds. They're a generic for the drug NorCo. Anyways, I had two of those with a glass of water and poured myself a bowl of shredded wheat. I've been going for a high fiber diet as one of the known, common side effects of these pain meds is constipation. Possibly more on this later.
After breakfast I decided it was time to take my original bandages off and replace with fresh ones. But first I needed a shower. The doctor told me not to shower for 5 days. Now, I don't know if anyone follows this advice, but I couldn't any longer. My hair was extremely greasy, it's August, I had been wearing the same shorts and underwear since Friday, the day of surgery. I did change t-shirts one time. I needed to keep the bandaged section of my knee dry so I got plastic garbage bag, had me mum tear a hole in it and slide it over my foot. I tied it off with a twist tie and I was all ready to take a shower.
Getting in and out of the shower was a bit treacherous. There is a tub, so having to step over that with one foot on the ground and a wet surface caused a little anxiety, but other than that good shower. I got some fresh clothes on, brushed my teeth (also first time in while), and felt pretty decent afterwards.
The bandage stayed dry in the shower and it was now time to take it off. Here's a picture of how it was originally wrapped after surgery.
There was the Ace bandage on top, followed by some cotton wrap that tore off easily. Under the cotton wrap was a thicker bandage seen in the next picture. If you look you can see where my leg was waxed / shaved up to and in the inside of my thigh are the surgeon's initials (SC).
Here's where it starts getting good, the final layers are coming off...getting closer to the potential gruesomeness. Well here it is...
Obviously, lots of swelling. The four cut marks are black, not because of the color of my heart and the blood it circulates, but because of an antiseptic called Betadine used to keep the incisions clean. All the swelling makes it difficult to move or bend at all. I've been doing knee bending "exercises" and trying to put pressure on while walking. I've acquired a cane, which is great because waking up from sleep and naps has been getting tough. Not my knee but just my entire upper body has been aching from using the crutches. The cane helps me put pressure on the leg, gives me some balance and doesn't beat me up so bad. I've decided to take the day off from work tomorrow and try to return on Tuesday. I think by then I should be able to get around pretty confidently.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Day 2 - The Aftermath
Day 2 started quite early. By 2:30am I couldn't sleep, the pain in my knee was just too much to just sleep through. I had probably yakked up the majority on the pain meds I took after dinner so I figured, despite the previous nausea I had to get some more. I got up slowly, turned a few lights on and crutched into the kitchen. I knew my stomach was near empty and since you aren't supposed to take this pain pills on an empty stomach I poured some water and grabbed some bread to make toast. I nibbled at the toast, it didn't taste great and even smelled bad to me. I drank the water slowly, refilled the glass and decided to go for only 1.5 pills this time.
I crutched back to bed, hoping this pills would kick in within a half hour and I could get some decent sleep. As it so happened, this was not the case. After about 15 minutes more nausea set in and I figured it was just a matter of time before that bread and water was on its way back up. My dad had the foresight to put a 5 gallon bucket by my bedside for just such an occurrence. I had a tough time even leaning up as my upper body, specifically my stomach muscles and back had taken a beating in the first round of vomiting. I was sore all over but that didn't stop me from leaning over the bed and ejecting my recent bread and water.
The rest of the night, I kind of just laid in bed I had trouble getting comfortable due to knee pain and wearing a large, annoying knee brace. I read some news articles on my phone. It was just announced Mitt Romney named Paul Ryan from Wisconsin as his running mate in the 2012 Presidential Election. So I read up on that and went out to the kitchen about 5am to try to drink some water and keep it down. I had some strawberry Italian ice with it, and things weren't too bad. I took my brace off and did some "walking" around with the crutches.
I laid back down and iced my knee, took some more pain meds and just let time pass while reviewing my fantasy baseball team. I knew at some point I was going to have to try to keep some solid food down and I knew there were two leftovers pieces of pizza in the fridge. I decided to go for it. I got up went to the fridge and got a glass of water and took down the pizza in no time. Felt pretty good too, no immediate queasiness, no urge to hobble to the trash can. Felt so good I decided to have a couple Nutter Butters that I saw in the fridge with some milk. All this eating kinda wore me out. I went back to lay down, fell asleep and woke up around 1pm. I woke up feeling half decent, a welcome change.
I spent a lot of the day laying down, drinking water, and just surfing the Internet. I started walking around more and putting pressure on my leg. I was able to bend my knee and keep it flexed and then straighten it back out small stuff but you have to start somewhere. The pain meds have been effective and I don't have any more nausea. The knee itself it pretty sore, probably from moving it around throughout the day, but that's fine, it's to be expected. Tomorrow, I have to change the bandage and I will get my first look at my new knee. I know its going to be swollen as can be. I'm interested to see where the incisions were made and I'm going to try to get some more direct ice on it. Icing it through and a bandage and gauze just doesn't seem to have much of an effect, I don't think the coldness can get through. Anyways, until tomorrow...
I crutched back to bed, hoping this pills would kick in within a half hour and I could get some decent sleep. As it so happened, this was not the case. After about 15 minutes more nausea set in and I figured it was just a matter of time before that bread and water was on its way back up. My dad had the foresight to put a 5 gallon bucket by my bedside for just such an occurrence. I had a tough time even leaning up as my upper body, specifically my stomach muscles and back had taken a beating in the first round of vomiting. I was sore all over but that didn't stop me from leaning over the bed and ejecting my recent bread and water.
The rest of the night, I kind of just laid in bed I had trouble getting comfortable due to knee pain and wearing a large, annoying knee brace. I read some news articles on my phone. It was just announced Mitt Romney named Paul Ryan from Wisconsin as his running mate in the 2012 Presidential Election. So I read up on that and went out to the kitchen about 5am to try to drink some water and keep it down. I had some strawberry Italian ice with it, and things weren't too bad. I took my brace off and did some "walking" around with the crutches.
I laid back down and iced my knee, took some more pain meds and just let time pass while reviewing my fantasy baseball team. I knew at some point I was going to have to try to keep some solid food down and I knew there were two leftovers pieces of pizza in the fridge. I decided to go for it. I got up went to the fridge and got a glass of water and took down the pizza in no time. Felt pretty good too, no immediate queasiness, no urge to hobble to the trash can. Felt so good I decided to have a couple Nutter Butters that I saw in the fridge with some milk. All this eating kinda wore me out. I went back to lay down, fell asleep and woke up around 1pm. I woke up feeling half decent, a welcome change.
I spent a lot of the day laying down, drinking water, and just surfing the Internet. I started walking around more and putting pressure on my leg. I was able to bend my knee and keep it flexed and then straighten it back out small stuff but you have to start somewhere. The pain meds have been effective and I don't have any more nausea. The knee itself it pretty sore, probably from moving it around throughout the day, but that's fine, it's to be expected. Tomorrow, I have to change the bandage and I will get my first look at my new knee. I know its going to be swollen as can be. I'm interested to see where the incisions were made and I'm going to try to get some more direct ice on it. Icing it through and a bandage and gauze just doesn't seem to have much of an effect, I don't think the coldness can get through. Anyways, until tomorrow...
Day 1 - Surgery
I tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee playing softball on June 24. I got a base hit was running toward second base when I tried to stop. I felt and heard a loud pop, I took a tumble and immediately knew something was wrong. I needed help getting off the field, went to the doctor soon after and was diagnosed with the torn ligament. I debated bypassing the surgery because I was walking OK and didn't want to go through the extensive rehabilitation. After speaking with doctors and a few friends whose opinions I value, I decided to go through with the surgery.
I was told to arrive at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL this morning at 6am. I woke up at 5am and took a shower and drove over to my parents house. I needed someone to drive me home after surgery and help with any other issues I might have at the hospital. I'm lucky that they are around to help. We arrived at the hospital right at 6am.
I checked in, signed a few documents and was brought to a pre-surgery room to change into a hospital gown. It was about 6:20am at this point and the nurse told me that surgery was scheduled to begin around 8am. With some time to kill, my parents came into the room to hangout and talk. A few different nurses were in and out. One hooked up an IV, another helped fill out some paperwork, others just stopped in to say hi and good luck. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
A young doctor, my surgeon's assistant / trainee / protege came in to say hello. He fiddled with my knee a bit, asked which knee was being worked on, etc. I must have been asked 7 times by 6 different people what knee was being operated on. Better safe than sorry I guess. By the third time, I wanted to have some fun with them and say "Knee surgery, no, no, no. This is a gender reassignment." But I chickened out and just kept saying, "right knee".
At about 7:40am a nurse wheeled me out of the pre-surgery room towards surgery. They parked me in a room, gave me some oxygen and took my vitals. My surgeon stopped by, asked what knee we were operating on, and initialed my knee just to be sure. He gave me a run down about what was about to happen. I was going to receive a "nerve block" in my right thigh, which would numb my leg for about 16 hours. After the surgery, I would have a knee brace and be able to put pressure on the leg as soon as the next day. He told me to change my bandage in two days, not to shower for five days, and that we would have a follow-up appointment in ten days. The anesthesiologist came by to introduce himself, explain the nerve block and just double check with me if I was taking any medications to avoid any complications.
It was go time. I was wheeled into surgery, the room felt like it was about 50 degrees. The doctors were talking about Ferraris. Seriously. They placed a mask over my face and I was soon out for the count.
When I woke up, I was in the recovery room, which I think was more of a hallway with a series of curtained off spaces. I could be wrong about that though, this is by far the haziest part of my day and I don't have much recollection from here and up until I saw my parents back in the pre-surgery room in which I had began the day. My leg was totally numb from the thigh down from the nerve block, it was a really bizarre feeling. I was given some water, crackers, and pain meds and told to relax in the room until I felt a little less woozy.
Once I was ready to go, I got into a wheelchair and was wheeled out of the hospital. Every small bump I hit in the wheelchair caused me to cringe. I got into the car and it was worse. Chicago area roads and train tracks can be pretty rough on people's cars. They're even tougher on a guy with a recently operated on knee. I couldn't wait to get home and lay down.
When I got home, I got into bed and propped my leg under some pillow and just laid there. This is the part of the day I was dreading the most. Just home, big brace on my knee, big bandage, knee throbbing, and a long recovery ahead. As I'm laying here I'm thinking this is exactly why I didn't want to go through with surgery in the first place. The pain meds weren't doing much for me at this point, but I didn't want to overdo it with those, so i literally bit a rag on and off for about an hour. I ate a turkey sandwich, we ordered pizza, ate some of that too. Popped 2.5 of these pain pills in my mouth, took down some water and went back to lay down and ice my knee.
Within an hour my head was spinning, I was drifting in and out and really feeling nauseous (a side effect of these pain meds). I had to get up. I struggled to my feet and began to crutch into the living room where my parents were hanging out. I saw a plastic bag on the dining room table and grabbed it just in case Cousin Ralph was coming over. I just to the living and the feeling hit, not nearly enough time to get to the bathroom, so i puked right there in the living room. I got the majority of it in the bag but there was a bit on the floor that my poor mother had to clean up. Sorry Ma. By now it was about 930pm and I decided to call it a night, I laid down probably falling asleep around 1030pm.
I was told to arrive at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, IL this morning at 6am. I woke up at 5am and took a shower and drove over to my parents house. I needed someone to drive me home after surgery and help with any other issues I might have at the hospital. I'm lucky that they are around to help. We arrived at the hospital right at 6am.
I checked in, signed a few documents and was brought to a pre-surgery room to change into a hospital gown. It was about 6:20am at this point and the nurse told me that surgery was scheduled to begin around 8am. With some time to kill, my parents came into the room to hangout and talk. A few different nurses were in and out. One hooked up an IV, another helped fill out some paperwork, others just stopped in to say hi and good luck. Everyone was very friendly and helpful.
A young doctor, my surgeon's assistant / trainee / protege came in to say hello. He fiddled with my knee a bit, asked which knee was being worked on, etc. I must have been asked 7 times by 6 different people what knee was being operated on. Better safe than sorry I guess. By the third time, I wanted to have some fun with them and say "Knee surgery, no, no, no. This is a gender reassignment." But I chickened out and just kept saying, "right knee".
At about 7:40am a nurse wheeled me out of the pre-surgery room towards surgery. They parked me in a room, gave me some oxygen and took my vitals. My surgeon stopped by, asked what knee we were operating on, and initialed my knee just to be sure. He gave me a run down about what was about to happen. I was going to receive a "nerve block" in my right thigh, which would numb my leg for about 16 hours. After the surgery, I would have a knee brace and be able to put pressure on the leg as soon as the next day. He told me to change my bandage in two days, not to shower for five days, and that we would have a follow-up appointment in ten days. The anesthesiologist came by to introduce himself, explain the nerve block and just double check with me if I was taking any medications to avoid any complications.
It was go time. I was wheeled into surgery, the room felt like it was about 50 degrees. The doctors were talking about Ferraris. Seriously. They placed a mask over my face and I was soon out for the count.
When I woke up, I was in the recovery room, which I think was more of a hallway with a series of curtained off spaces. I could be wrong about that though, this is by far the haziest part of my day and I don't have much recollection from here and up until I saw my parents back in the pre-surgery room in which I had began the day. My leg was totally numb from the thigh down from the nerve block, it was a really bizarre feeling. I was given some water, crackers, and pain meds and told to relax in the room until I felt a little less woozy.
Once I was ready to go, I got into a wheelchair and was wheeled out of the hospital. Every small bump I hit in the wheelchair caused me to cringe. I got into the car and it was worse. Chicago area roads and train tracks can be pretty rough on people's cars. They're even tougher on a guy with a recently operated on knee. I couldn't wait to get home and lay down.
When I got home, I got into bed and propped my leg under some pillow and just laid there. This is the part of the day I was dreading the most. Just home, big brace on my knee, big bandage, knee throbbing, and a long recovery ahead. As I'm laying here I'm thinking this is exactly why I didn't want to go through with surgery in the first place. The pain meds weren't doing much for me at this point, but I didn't want to overdo it with those, so i literally bit a rag on and off for about an hour. I ate a turkey sandwich, we ordered pizza, ate some of that too. Popped 2.5 of these pain pills in my mouth, took down some water and went back to lay down and ice my knee.
Within an hour my head was spinning, I was drifting in and out and really feeling nauseous (a side effect of these pain meds). I had to get up. I struggled to my feet and began to crutch into the living room where my parents were hanging out. I saw a plastic bag on the dining room table and grabbed it just in case Cousin Ralph was coming over. I just to the living and the feeling hit, not nearly enough time to get to the bathroom, so i puked right there in the living room. I got the majority of it in the bag but there was a bit on the floor that my poor mother had to clean up. Sorry Ma. By now it was about 930pm and I decided to call it a night, I laid down probably falling asleep around 1030pm.
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