hcskip
EOG Addicted
Copied from my FB post:
Today marks Day 50 of what I have kindly called, “100 Days of Hell,” which is my estimated critical-recovery period for my broken leg and arm. Many thanks to everyone who has given me advice, regaled me with phone calls, letters, food, words of encouragement and offers of piggy-back rides until I’m officially (and literally!) back on my feet again.
The pain management issue, with a notable exception, seems to have moved on. No real lingering pain in my leg at this point, and it appears to be healing nicely. Quite a bit of numbness around my ankle and foot, but each day seems to show improvement there. Also, there was a lot of swelling in that same area, and that’s slowly subsiding. The skin where my leg bones attempted to make a hasty exit appears to have almost completely healed, with only minor scarring. At this point I can only hope that the bone cement does its job and I’ll be able to start putting weight on that leg in mid-December, as expected.
It’s all still a bit stiff, but each day seems to be getting better. I’ve stopped wearing the aircast boot in the house so I can focus on improving flexibility.
My right arm is a slightly different matter. My PT has pointed out to me that the shoulder area permits more movement in different directions than any other part of the body, and so recovery requires patience and carefully working to recover flexibility first, then strength. The flexibility is coming along, though there’s a lot of work left to do. There is a part of my shoulder that hurts with certain motions, and it’s PROBABLY due to where the humerus (upper arm bone) broke near my shoulder blade. That’s a conversation I’ll be having with the doctor after my next set of x-rays, scheduled for next week.
The pain exception is in my arm – it’s almost constant, a dull soreness particularly if I try to move it under its own power. The Tramadol I’m taking now only takes the edge off. Now, it may just be my fault – I’m typing with it (though I use my left arm to position it on the keyboard), and there are just times when I need a second arm to do simple things. I guess I just need to keep deliberate movements to a minimum.
I’m still in the wheelchair, and still sleeping in the solarium daybed. Normally I’m a sound sleeper, but I have yet to sleep more than a couple hours at a time, mainly due to the arm pain. My next doctor’s appointment is Monday, and I’ll learn if I can graduate to crutches (given my arm, doubtful), or a knee scooter.
Anyway, that’s the update. Thanks again for your support!
Today marks Day 50 of what I have kindly called, “100 Days of Hell,” which is my estimated critical-recovery period for my broken leg and arm. Many thanks to everyone who has given me advice, regaled me with phone calls, letters, food, words of encouragement and offers of piggy-back rides until I’m officially (and literally!) back on my feet again.
The pain management issue, with a notable exception, seems to have moved on. No real lingering pain in my leg at this point, and it appears to be healing nicely. Quite a bit of numbness around my ankle and foot, but each day seems to show improvement there. Also, there was a lot of swelling in that same area, and that’s slowly subsiding. The skin where my leg bones attempted to make a hasty exit appears to have almost completely healed, with only minor scarring. At this point I can only hope that the bone cement does its job and I’ll be able to start putting weight on that leg in mid-December, as expected.
It’s all still a bit stiff, but each day seems to be getting better. I’ve stopped wearing the aircast boot in the house so I can focus on improving flexibility.
My right arm is a slightly different matter. My PT has pointed out to me that the shoulder area permits more movement in different directions than any other part of the body, and so recovery requires patience and carefully working to recover flexibility first, then strength. The flexibility is coming along, though there’s a lot of work left to do. There is a part of my shoulder that hurts with certain motions, and it’s PROBABLY due to where the humerus (upper arm bone) broke near my shoulder blade. That’s a conversation I’ll be having with the doctor after my next set of x-rays, scheduled for next week.
The pain exception is in my arm – it’s almost constant, a dull soreness particularly if I try to move it under its own power. The Tramadol I’m taking now only takes the edge off. Now, it may just be my fault – I’m typing with it (though I use my left arm to position it on the keyboard), and there are just times when I need a second arm to do simple things. I guess I just need to keep deliberate movements to a minimum.
I’m still in the wheelchair, and still sleeping in the solarium daybed. Normally I’m a sound sleeper, but I have yet to sleep more than a couple hours at a time, mainly due to the arm pain. My next doctor’s appointment is Monday, and I’ll learn if I can graduate to crutches (given my arm, doubtful), or a knee scooter.
Anyway, that’s the update. Thanks again for your support!
