4 Weeks Down!

Four weeks ago today I had my surgery.  It is amazing how fast the time has gone.  It is nice to know that four weeks are behind me, but also frustrating to know I still have four more weeks of this.  However, next week I go back in for a new cast and I believe they will release me from this inactive state I am stuck in and will let me to move around more.  I intend on going back to work on August 2nd (2 weeks).  I have a feeling once I start back up at work the remaining 2 weeks will go even faster.

Yesterday I realized how much the internet occupies my days.  The other day I found myself not even being able to close my laptop while watching a movie.  Or sometimes I watch a movie online and surf the internet at the same time.  I hope this surgery doesn't make my brain turn to mush.  The first few weeks I was really good about reading.  I was reading about a book a day.  Now I am reading a book a week.  I find myself checking facebook every 10 minutes and being annoyed that no one has changed their status or added anything of interest.  Ebay has been a good friend.  My recent purchases have been Nintendo games for $2.  TIP: Do not keep your credit card by your bedside when being laid up for a few weeks.  Not good.  I have found that I justify my purchases because I feel bad making my husband go and get things for me, so just order it online of course!  Here is a list of my most frequented websites...

Facebook, Kayak.com, hotmail, gmail (no idea why I have so many emails), cnn.com, netflix, blogger.com, ebay, steepandcheap.com, amazon.com, weather.com. 

My laptop has been a huge lifesaver for this recovery time.  However, I wonder if I would be doing more productive things with my time if I didn't have it.  Maybe I will make a goal tomorrow to only check my computer 5 times, and have a time limit of 10 minutes each time.  I will let you know how it goes.  The video below cracked me up and I felt is very true.

A Day at the Beach!

My cast was already too lose after the second day, so we had to go back to the doctor's office this week to get another cast put on.  The hassle of it all is that my doctor's office is over two hours away!  However, there are many lovely beaches around Portland, and I love the beach, and my husband loves to surf.  There happened to be good waves that day, so we got our stuff together and spent a day at the beach!

We visited Popham Beach, which is my favorite beach in Maine.  They have beach wheelchairs, so my husband was able to push me out to the beach.  I plopped down in a beach chair and my husband used a laundry basket and two pillows to keep my leg elevated.  It was perfect!  It did get a little warm and I was jealous of everyone able to go swimming in the ocean, but it was still wonderful to get out and get some sun and enjoy the beautiful ocean.

After the beach we went to my doctor's office and I got a new cast.  It is much tighter and more of my toes are sticking out now.  I might get adventurous today and give myself a pedicure.  The incision wound still looked good and they said everything looked great.  I have been a little paranoid about getting a blood clot.  I read someone's blog who got a blood clot and have been worried about it since.  I asked the nurse who was putting my cast on what to look for in case I do get one.  She said most people have them and don't realize it.  However, she said she has worked there for over four years and has only seen 2 patients get blood clots.  She said both patients were being noncompliant and were walking on their cast when they were suppose to be non-weight bearing!  Goes to show you how important it is to follow the doctor's orders.

In two weeks I will go back to get a new cast put on, and hopefully they will release me so I will be able to get out of the house more and go back to work!

Also, I have a new tip to share in regards to showering/bathing.  I have started taking baths.  I have found it is really easy to sit on the edge of the tub, then with my back facing the other side of the tub I reach my arms back to the opposite side of the tub and just lower myself in.  Unfortunately, I can't sit back and relax because our tub is facing a wall, therefore I am not able to hang my leg over the right side of the tub.  But it is nice just to be able to do it.  I don't see myself attempting to shower.  The idea of taking a shower with crutches doesn't sound so great, plus I am not very graceful, so I can easily foresee me slipping and falling.  The tub is great though!

3 Weeks Down!!!!

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks or 21 Days (sounds better) since my surgery.  I am still on bed rest, and keep my leg elevated for the majority of the day.  The doctor told me at my last visit that if I keep up the good work and keep it elevated I will be released and will able to go to work and move around more.  I am able to get up and down the stairs much more easily and spend more time downstairs than up somedays.  My toes still turn blue and it becomes painful if I am up on my feet too long, but everyday the pain and swelling is less.  It is amazing how much better the cast feels in comparison to the splint.  It is so much lighter and makes crutching around much easier.  However, my cast is already very loose.  I was told this would happen in a few weeks time.  But I called the day after I got my cast because I could stick my hand down my cast where my calf is (great for itching).  I was afraid it might be too loose and I am terrified of hurting my ankle or getting an infection.  The nurse I spoke with told me to go through the weekend to see how it felt.  She said a loose cast can become irritating to the skin and it can be bad if it rubs against the incision.  So Monday I will probably go down for a new cast which sucks because its a 2+ hour drive.  So we are thinking about going to the beach in the morning since we will be driving all the way down to Portland Maine.  There is a beach with sand wheelchairs and I am thinking if I keep my foot elevated the whole time, the beach and sun will do me good?  I am probably a little deficient in Vitamin D since I have been indoors so much the past 3 weeks.  What do you think?  If we go I will let you know how it goes.

Sometimes I get on these "Poor Me" kicks where I think about how much this sucks.  I will watch my husband walk around the house and be able to do things I cannot because I am on crutches.  But I recently have been thinking about all of the people who cannot walk for the rest of their lives, or who always have to rely on crutches or a cane.  I try to keep that in mind and remember that this is only temporary and in a few weeks I will be walking again and life will go back to normal.  I need to start realizing how fortunate I was to have insurance and to be able to have surgery to fix my problem so that I can be active again.  We just had a friend over who was telling me when he broke his leg he had a cast on his entire leg!  That would suck!

Today is my husbands and my first anniversary!  We were married last year in Camden, Maine.  Because I can't really go anywhere we have decided to stay home and we are going to cook some lobsters and have a nice dinner!  We had a lobster bake for our wedding, so I suggested starting a tradition of having lobster for every anniversary.  :)  Sounds like a wonderful tradition to start!

Ways to kill time...

So now I am on day 11 after having surgery on my peroneal tendons.  Things are still going well.  I am being really good about staying in bed and resting and having my leg elevated.  The pain is not too bad.  I take Tylenol every 4 hours.  I do start to feel a little pain or soreness once the Tylenol wears off but it is nothing excruciating.

For the most part I stay in bed.  We only have one bathroom and it is upstairs so it is just more convenient.  I do go downstairs about once or twice a day.  My ankle starts to hurt and swell as soon as I move around, so I try not to be on my feet for more than 5 minutes.

Well I thought I would give some tips on how to kill time.  It can be difficult to sit around all day but I have found some ways to do it without losing my mind!

Read! - I have chosen some books that are in a series so that I immediately want to pick up the next one to see what happens.  I started and have almost finished the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyers.  I am almost finished with the last one and they are pretty good.  I have also started a series by Steig Larrsson.  I read the Girl w/ the Dragon Tattoo and have ordered the other 2.

Netflix! - I ordered DVDs and watch somethings instantly on my computer.  You can watch the series 24 instantly.  This is a great and suspenseful show to get into.  I have seen some of the seasons but not all, so I am catching up.

Scrapbooking-

Work - If you can work from home

Nintendo :)

I try not to nap during the day.  It is very easy to do, especially when you are taking the stronger pain meds.  However, I have been sleeping really well at night and I think that is because I haven't napped.  It is uncomfortable to sleep because you have to sleep on your back with your leg elevated, so I am very grateful that I can manage to sleep well!