1 year gone by!

I am apparent too busy to blog during the school year...well, maybe not busy, but flat worn-out!  I have had my new hip for exactly 1 year!  I can't believe it!  I have had such an amazing year.  I can do much more than I even dreamed.   In fact, at the beginning of May I was feeling the best I have felt in a while.  Then, that very night I got a bad case of vertigo.  So bad, I was in the hospital for 2 days.  Now, almost 7 weeks later, I am still recovering.  Apparently,  I had a virus that attacked a nerve in my inner ear and made some crystals move.  So the crystals are back where they need to be, but my brain is still learning how to work with the damage done to my nerve.  Even, with the vertigo, I feel so much better than I did last year! I can't wait to see what else happens! 

 I wanted to look back at my kick the cane list and reminiscence a little over the year!
1.  Dance- I have danced in my house, classroom, a dance workout class, and at a bar.  I had a great time with great friends, Maria and Savannah, going out and getting to dance to some great songs!  

2. Walking around businesses-  I have been to malls, IKEA, antique establishments, Southern Living Women's show, and Southern Living Christmas show.  Just so you know, I rarely buy anything.  I love to just look around and get ideas...and make a wish list. 
3.  Walking on Nature's Trails of the sort:  I have been to the beach, Riverwalk, River Park, and even hiking trails to see waterfalls.  I also went to Brookgreen Gardens for a Fall festival with my family.  

4. Riverbanks Zoo-  I haven't been yet...
5.  Riding a bike-  I have tried, but still working on some more flexibility.
6. Horseback Riding-  Haven't done this yet either...
7. Camping-  I went camping with my bestie, Jessica.  It was in October during a cold spell.  It was freezing, but it made the fire so much better.  We also hiked to waterfalls!  I felt great, strong and powerful!

8. Swimming in the ocean-  I still haven't swam, but I have waded.  I will check this one off, in a week or two! 
9.  Travel to a new place and be a total tourist-  I have been to Disney's Animal Kingdom with my mom.  We had a total blast!  I was even dragging her around at the end of the night!  What a total flip, she is usually encouraging me. 

10.  Go to a Knight's game- I went with a friend from work, and we had such a great time.  Watching a ball game and talking. Although the stairs back up to the car were still tough.  I can tell already the muscles around my left hip are stronger then they were then. 

11.  Go to a festival of some sort-  I went to the Renaissance festival with my mom,  what an interesting experience.  I went to the Strawberry festival with a great friend, Cheryl.  We had a blast, and even went to a concert that evening.  The next day, I got vertigo...ugh!

12.  Wear cute shoes- done....lots of times!  Even when I went out dancing!
13.  Go Bowling- Did that for my birthday!  I need to do that again!
14.  Play Putt-Putt-  I played against my mom at a place in Myrtle Beach.  It was fun, even though she totally stomped me!  Although, the first 6 holes, I was winning....I have no idea what happened.

Added:
15.  Go to NYC-  I just returned a few weeks ago.  I had a ton of fun with my mom.  Again, I was dragging her up the 1,000th step from the subway.  We went to a Yankee game, NYC Library Tour and we walked around parks.  If I didn't have this vertigo, I would have been skipping around New York!

WOW!! Almost 3 months!

My 2 month appointment came and went!  In fact, I am almost 3 months past my surgery!  My surgeon is super excited about my progress and I am allowed to do pretty much anything except high-impact running.  I go beck in a year for a check-up.  I am so excited about how much I can do and without pain!!!  It is crazy.  I knew how much I was hindered in the past, but now I see how much my life has changed already.  My tendons are still a little tight and my range of motion is still restricted, so I am headed to a Physical therapist soon to get some ideas on stretching.  I have knocked out so many of my Kick the Cane list:  going to IKEA (twice now), went to the Southern Women's show, mowing the yard, bowling (that was the hardest, and a little painful), dancing, swimming, and walking at Riverwalk.  My plan is to continue crossing things off my list and just keep active! 

I am so much happier, and people have even told me how much more I am smiling.  My steps have increased from about 2,000-3,000 steps last year to 7,000-8,000 steps already!!  I am so grateful to have the surgery, and I know I am on such a better path!  The picture is from Riverwalk.

No More Cane!!

Wow!  A lot has happened since my last post.  I took my new hip to Denver!  We had a great time in Red Rocks, and going to a good friend's wedding.
 

I also traveled back to Virginia because my dad passed away.  It was very sad, but I know he is not suffering anymore.  He got to see me with my new hip, which is all he wanted. 

I have had so many new experiences without pain!  I can now walk without a cane at all.  I can clean, shop, get up, and so much more!  I went to my month check-up with the physician's assistant.  She was very impressed with my progress.  She reminded me of how difficult my surgery was for the surgeon, so I have to take it easy for another month.  No exercising and limit my daily steps to around 4,000.  I have to watch how I move my hip.  She did clear me to swim!

I went swimming, and it was so crazy to kick with my leg and not feel any pain!  It is so crazy!  I still take Tylonel about every 6-10 hours for some muscle pain.  I still walk with a slight limp, but the physician's assistant said that my muscles and ligaments will still be tight for awhile.  I can't wait to cross things off my Kick the Cane list!  Starting next month....it is ON!!

No More Walker!

      So I have been using a cane on occasion since 2 weeks post-op.  but still using the walker for longer distances.  For the past 2 days, I have only been using the cane.  I even went to the mall!  I didn't walk the entire mall...baby steps.  I have a limp, but significantly smaller than before (or so I am told by others).  I can do so many more movements with NO pain.  I still have one spot on my outer thigh that is sore and tightens up when I walk.  I can also not slide my leg inward when in a lying position more than like 4 times.  I am feeling better every day,  I am only down to using Tylenol only for pain and about every 6-8 hours instead of 4-6.  
       When I wake up in the morning,  I feel a little dizzy.  I have heard this could be a side effect of anesthesia.  I have ridden up to Virginia and back (My wonderful mom drove me!).  On the way there, I was super uncomfortable like every hour.  On the way back, I felt very little discomfort.  I went to Virginia to see my dad because he has stage 4 lung cancer, and is currently in Hospice.  My dad told me about 2 months ago, he just wants to know that I make it past my surgery with a new hip.  So, he got to see me walk.  I will always remember those precious moments with my dad!

    I am looking forward doing more things every day.  In fact, on Sunday I am going on an airplane and flying to Denver for a close friend's wedding!

2 Weeks Post-Op

       So, 2 weeks ago I went under the knife and got my hip replaced.  That was an....experience.  The day of surgery I was full of anxiety.  I think getting the IV in was the worst, apparently my veins in my hand were not cooperating.  The nurse eventually got the IV in, and then I met my anesthesiologist.  My surgeon came in to chat.  Then, after about almost 3 hours of pre-op "stuff,"  the anesthesiologist assistant came in to give me something to "take the edge off."  Then, I said goodbye to my mom and told her I loved her...and he wheeled me back.  Now, just let me say, they really need to de-clutter the hallways.  I honestly thought they were taking me to the basement or something with all the unused medical equipment sitting in the hallway.  Then, we went into this big operation room, and the anesthesiologist greeted me.  After that, I remember only bits and pieces. I guess I had to move from the bed to the table (no memory), but I do remember someone saying, "Jennifer you need to scoot over, you are not exactly in the middle of the table." 

      My next memory is in a huge open room, and nurses waking me up.  I asked, "Do I have a new hip?" A radiologist came in to tell me I was getting an X-Ray.  I asked, "Can I go to sleep?"  I remember the nurse calling me Jessica, and I said, "No, I'm Jennifer."  Then, I remember waking up and saying, "Where's my mom, am I going to see my mom?" Needless to say, it took about 2 hours for me to wake up.  Anybody that knows me, knows I love to sleep and have a hard time waking up. 

    Then I went to a room, and my mom came in.  I was starting to feel pain and asked for medicine and it did take a little while for me to get some meds.  I was still very tired, my throat was sore, and I was feeling nauseated.  My mom left because I was basically out of it.  The night was interesting, not a ton of sleep because they wake you up to put meds in, but it burned sometimes.  They also have to check your blood pressure and temperature.  My surgeon called the nurse at 10:45 to check on me, she was in my room.  He told her to ask me, "Do you like your longer leg?"  I was like...huh....it's 10:45 shouldn't he be in bed!   Going to the bathroom was a whole ordeal, but I got out of bed at about 1am...8 hours after surgery. 
     The next day, I got physically therapy at 7:45am.  My mom came at about 8am. I found out that the Doctor had injected my hip area with a medicine that is a combo anti-biotic and pain reliever that lasts for 5 days.   The doctor came in and explained the surgery (the doctor talked to my mom right after surgery, which scared my mom because no one was left in the waiting area and no one got called back to see the doctor!). 
      Apparently, my hip joint was impacted into my socket.  This made it difficult to get apart and all my tendons/ligaments had been shortened.  My left leg was approximately 2.5 cm shorter than my right, but he added 2 cm to my femur and the new joint should fix the rest.  So, he really had to stretch the tendons and barely had them connected.  He feels like scar tissue will fill in the rest and the tendons will stretch out over time.  The bulk of my pain, is the equivalent of hyper-extending your knee and pulling a muscle.
     Later that day, I had my IV and drain (no one told me about that) removed.  I had another round of Physical therapy and was cleared to go home.    I left the hospital approximately 24 hours after my surgery.  I have been very lucky and used a strong non-narcotic pain meds for 2 days and then used Tylenol during the day and the stronger meds at night.  I have 9 exercises I do 3 times a day (I started at 10 reps and am up to 15).  I walk the house 6 times a day with a walker.  I have been out 3 times, and I have even driven!  I am fully independent, my mom left yesterday. 
      I really didn't want to have to look at my incision, but I have to now that my mom is gone.  It really isn't as bad as I thought, but it is about 9-10 inches.  They used stitches in the inside, and glue on the outside.  I am so looking forward to moving from the walker to the cane, and then no more cane.  I go for a post-op check-up on the 22nd, in just 16 days.  Check back for an update. 

Dun....Dun...Dun

So today is the day....surgery day!  I have been dreaming about weird things, but last night it took the cake.  It involved fingernails....ewww!  Maybe because I am so nervous.  I have "white coat syndrome,"  I just don't like to be poked, prodded, and exposed.  I know, I know it is deep-seeded trust and control issues.  I wish I could just fast forward time, see that I got through it...that would make me loads more confident.  I wish I dreamt about that!

Something that seems even more bizarre than my dream, is that I am genuinely a little sad to lose my hip.  Yep, it is deformed, but it made me who I am in so many ways.  It is going to be weird, to not have that anymore, but some perfect man-made part in me.  I am sure I will get over it, as soon as I can walk and feel no pain!  Well, I have to go get ready for my day.  I am sure I will be uncomfortable all day, but I know it will be worth it.

By the way,  surprisingly I am not thirsty....yet!  (No eating or drinking after midnight! Surgery at 1:45 PM....going to be a long time before I get to drink anything)

"Kick the Cane" List

So, with the surgery quickly approaching...4 days...ekkk!  I need to have a list of positive things to look forward to after the surgery.  For starters, the pain is terrible right now because I had to stop my regular meds earlier this week.  I can't imagine what the pain will be like afterwards.  So instead of a "Kick the bucket" list, I am making a "Kick the cane" list.  This is a list of all the things I am looking forward to doing after surgery!  I hope to finish by August 2017, about 14 months after surgery.  This is in no particular order. 

1. Dance (duh!):  in my house, at a bar/club, in a dance class
2. Walking around businesses: IKEA, antique show, mall, Southern Living Christmas show
3. Walking on Nature Trails of a sort: River Walk, Around Winthrop Lake, the beach, Brookgreen Gardens, and Huntington State Park
4. Riverbanks Zoo
5.  Riding a bike
6.  Horseback Riding
7. Camping
8. Swimming in the ocean
9,  Travel to a new place and be a total tourist
10.  Go to a Knights game
11. Go to a festival of some sort
12. Wear cute shoes
13. Go Bowling
14. Play Putt-Putt

This list may be altered or amended at anytime.