Okay! Enough with the hip replacement, already. I'm so ready to move on. And I have. But I will share all the happy happy news from my ortho-doc appointment this past week. And then the hip saga will be over.
I went in to my dr. appointment with my little list of stuff I was asking if I could either STOP or START. And here's how it went down:
Surgical Stockings I hate these. I'm sick of them. They've been annoying in a variety of ways, but the worst is that every time I take them off, I must have Chris put them back on because I can't bend over to do it. And it's clearly NOT his favorite thing to do. It's a pain. AND - I don't have to wear them anymore! Woohoo! Believe me, those suckers came off in the car as soon as we got out of the dr.'s office! Ugh.
Protimes (Those are the weekly blood tests I've had to get because I'm taking coumadin.) Okay, I admit, at least these provided me with a reason to get out of the house once a week. But that's where the fun ends. I'm known in the world of blood takers as a "hard stick". Consequently I've come out of many labs at times feeling like a pin cushion. It's amazing how different people approach the challenge. Some are so cautious (worried) and gentle that you can't even feel the needle going in. But these are also the ones that blow veins. It's happened to me several times - twice in the hand in an attempt to get at a vein there. Ouch! The other approach is that there is no such thing as a "hard stick" and those people just jab the needle in without ceremony. They also blow veins occasionally, and they also tend to leave BIG black/blue marks. At any rate, I've come to realize that taking blood is really an art you must approach with confidence AND care. But I'm tired of getting stuck. And bruised. I'm SO over all that. My last protime (and coumadin pill) will be this Monday. Yay!
The ice bags I was to put ice on my hip (leg) as often as I could take it. At first, I was even going to bed with the bag 'o ice (because that's what I did in the hospital) and I stopped that after I realized I was turning my whole SELF into an ice cube - and couldn't sleep. Geesh. But, poor Chris, was the one that had to be constantly putting together the ice bags. After a while they would get leaky, or I would be a popsicle, and I'd end up winging the things across the floor. Don't have to ice anymore - unless, of course, I'm having some swelling or pain. But I could also do heat if I wanted. That's good. 'Cause winter's coming! I no like the ice.
Hot tub? Well since the doc mentioned that I could actually use heat if I wanted, and since it was on my list anyway, I found this a great time to ask about being able to get in the hot tub. The lovely one that's sitting on my secluded-in-the-woods back deck. Oh, yeah. And - hallelujah - I can! Yippeee! Because we're coming into high hot tub season here... Cleaning it out is on Chris's "to-do" list, so now, if it will just quit raining! Um, before the snow flies! Yay for hot tubs!
Here's a big one:
Driving? I'm dying to drive again. I'm sure Chris is dying to have me driving again, too, since he's had to cart me around to wherever I've wanted to go. Okay, so it hasn't been that much because you don't want to go that many places when you're on crutches. But, hey, it's been 6 weeks and I wanna drive. Wah, wah. And guess what? I can drive again! Yippeeee! I've already been out a few times on my own. YAY!
Walking program? Yeah, so I had this whole big walking plan that I was all prepared to start, like, 10 minutes after I got home from my doc appointment. Hahahahahahahaha! Well, I kinda knew how that was going to go the morning of the appointment. Because I just couldn't wait any longer and I took a few steps at home. Uh, helllooooo? Reality check! I'm SO not going to be charging up and down the driveway any time soon! What was I thinking? All those muscles that have been sitting in there unused for 6 weeks? They're laughing at my stupidity, too. Hey, it's time to WAKE up, muscles. Alas, it ain't gonna happen overnight. But, the doc DID say to go ahead and walk as much as I can!
So, that was Wednesday and I hobbled on out of there. I grabbed my cane when I got home, because it just wasn't too easy. BUT, honestly, by the end of the day, I was doing much better. Enough to lose the cane if I was cautious. Still very hobbly, yes, but I could see that it was just going to be a process and I would just need to persevere.
That was Wednesday. Now, on Friday, the muscles are just getting stronger and stronger. Oh, I've quite a ways to go til I can even get out on the driveway to walk for 5 minutes up and 5 minutes back (a slow, but steady start), but I'm thinking that could be within a couple weeks. I KNOW it will get better and I'm going to start doing some ballet-like moves for strength and muscle control in the meantime.
Just being able to move around freely at home, doing stuff I haven't been able to do for 6 weeks, is so, so wonderful! I'm cleaning, re-decorating a little, re-organizing a bit, did I mention cleaning? and spending some GOOD time in my scrap room! Heaven!
And, finally,
The 90-degree angle thing. Well, that one isn't going to go away any time soon. I know it WILL get better because I was doing all sorts of bendy things (i.e. touching my palms to the ground in a good stretch, bending over my knee to tie my shoes, etc...) before my surgery with my other operated-on hip. But I DO have to just be very careful. At only 6 weeks in, the potential to dislocate that hip is still very great. Eventually, though, the metal will become one with the rest of me and I won't even remember it's in there anymore. But that's about a year down the road if I recall my recovery 11 years ago. In the meantime, I DO have to be careful about how I bend at the hip. Ah well. I'M JUST SO THANKFUL TO HAVE A NEW HIP! I can deal. :)
In other news - I finally got the juicer I've been really, really wanting ever since I watched the excellent documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. You should watch that. Eye opening. I may or may not do a fast, but I do believe in the benefits of juicing and was dying to own a juicer.
Now, Chris makes smoothies. And I don't mind the taste of them so much, but I can't deal with the texture. I'm a NO pulp kinda girl, so I can't handle all the "stuff" in the smoothies. I DO believe they're probably healthier than just the juice, because you're getting the pulp and all as well as all the other stuff (protien powder, flaxseed, etc.) he puts in there, but, well, I wanted just juice. I still like the fact that with a juicer, you can put a whole lot of fruits/veggies in and get out a glass of goodness. Fresh goodness. I was hoping it would have the texture of nice, smooth, juice. Pulp free juice.
AND IT DOES!
Here are a couple examples of the beautiful results I've gotten so far:
This is 2 apples, a (big) carrot stick, and a big stalk of celery Mmmmmm so sweet and yummy. I was surprised at how good it was! Pleasantly surprised!
This is 5 roma tomatoes, a about 1/2 cup of packed parsley (fresh from my container garden), a beet, 2 (big) carrots and a celery stalk. Oh, and about 2 tsp. of tamari soy sauce (for saltiness)
Now, who would ever sit down and EAT all that in one sitting. Yet, I could sit here and drink this deeeelicious nectar of the gods in just one glass. (Well, there is about half a glass left in the fridge...)
The thing about this juice is that, WOW, you can taste every single thing that's in there. And it's so so yummy! It's so FRESH. It's a revelation - that stuff you get in the store? It's NOT juice!!! There's just no comparison.
So, if I only end up just drinking a glass of some yummy concoction every day, I figure that's just one more step up the healthy ladder. :)
With that, I think I'll go finish off that last half glass! I can even walk over to the fridge, pour it and then carry it back to my desk all by myself! Sometimes it takes NOT being able to do stuff like that for 6 weeks to really appreciate what a simple joy that is.
