Monday, Monday................

Well its the beginning of another week. I am glad its a short week. I am trying to go longer at work.

Today I made it to 2pm! I crashed hard when I got home at 3:00 but it is worth it to get back to a normal schedule!!

We had the plant auction on Saturday. I think it went really well. I did what I could which amounted to sitting around under a pop up and saying HI to the people that came to buy plants. I sold a few things but I couldn't get up to help them so I felt like a third wheel.

I did stay all day which was great. I also went to the after party. It was nice to see all my friends. Theresa said she saw some of "the old Greg" which made me feel good.

The more time that passes the closer I get to a full recovery.

Some great news by the way, at the Silent Auction (we have a great silent auction at the troop plant sale) I won a 3 month membership to a gym. Awesome, now I don't need to buy a recumbent bike. They also have an outdoor pool so I can swim on the weekends. Its also about 1 mile from the house. Now I just need to go!!!

I am sleeping better at night, my leg still hurts but if stay off of it the pain is not that bad. Still waiting for the feeling in my thigh to come back but I guess it is what it is.

Only a couple of weeks away from my next doctor visit. I am hoping he will let me start walking on my leg. I am sick of my crutches and that damn walker. Can you believe it has been almost 5 weeks I have pushing that stupid thing around the house!!!

Well, take it easy!!

Already Wednesday

I am very proud of myself. I set a goal to get back to work by Monday and I did it! I started going back to work part time. So far I have been able to make it.

Getting up in the morning and getting dressed is difficult and by the time I get in the car to start my commute my leg is very sore. Its not too bad during the drive. I was very stressed my leg pain would go through the roof but so far it has not. Don't get me wrong, it hurts but I can deal with it.

During the day, I have been able to make it work also. It hurts to sit in my chair and by Noon I am totally ready to go home but its good to get back into a routine. I am very happy to be back to work.

When I get home I am dead!! I crash on the couch and then sleep through the night. This is great because for several weeks I have not been able to sleep at all!

We start the Boy Scout plant auction this week so we are going to have a very very busy end of the week. I hope I can do my part this weekend and pitch in.

Overall, I am just happy to finally be making progress in the right direction! I just hope to keep it up... I started doing my PT exercises today and I want to continue I think it will help get rid of my "crazy legs" at night. We shall see.

I think that is it for now. Take it easy....

Finally Back on Track

It has been awhile but I am finally getting back on track. So much so that I am going to try to get back to work, part time on Monday.

About a week ago Wednesday I started getting very very sick. Turns out I put myself into de-tox. I ran out of all my pain meds that Wednesday and had to go to the doctors in order to get a re-fill. I was very anxious and I started to panic. By the end of the day I was in tears and feeling very sick to my stomach.

By Wednesday night I started throwing up. From that time on I was throwing up every 20 minutes violently. I did not stop doing this for about 36 hours. My Nausea did not go away for another 3 days after that. So by last Sunday I was almost out of the woods. I ran low grade fevers most of this week and since Thursday of this week I have been doing really well. My diet is getting back to normal as well. I lost a ton of weight!

Now that I am off my pain meds its funny because my leg does not really hurt as bad as thought. I wonder if my pain receptors were all screwed up? The only issues I have left now are "crazy legs" at night. This is a common side effect and I hope wont last to much longer. It is very difficult getting to sleep as I can not lay still and get comfortable. I am determined to work on getting my self to sleep without a sleep aide of any kind. I am done with medication!!!


I am thinking about trying to get into the pool this weekend and see how I do. Because of my De-Tox problems I have not done any rehabing at all. The only thing I have been doing is limping to and from the bathroom and up the stairs to take a shower and to go to bed. I need to get more exercise.

All I can say about my experience is BE VERY CAREFUL WITH HEAVY PAIN MEDICATION. I did everything correctly and followed my doctors orders. Yet I was smack dab in the middle of hell on earth for a week. I don't wish this experience on my worst enemy. NO it is not like a hang over. Its much much worse. It also scared the crap out of me. There were times I considered going to emergency room.

If it was not for Theresa I don't think I would have made it through.

By the way I am never doing anything like this again. I don't care if my right leg is fixed or not. I CANT DO THIS AGAIN!! NO MORE SURGERY!!

I go back to see my Doctor in July and I hope by then I can put more weight on it. I have been using the walker and crutches and its tough getting around but I think I am doing very well.

I have been able to drive a couple of places this week as well which was great since I have been very anxious to get out of the house and get of the couch.

I cant believe I have been sitting, sleeping and laying on this damn thing for a month!!!

Well enough is enough...I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Sorry for no updates!!!

Sorry for not posting but I have been a bit under the weather...

I should be back posting later this week.....

I will say it has not been a fun week!!!!!

See ya,

Follow up

Doctors appointment went great. He was very pleased with his work! So much so he had to show us the xrays.

He put 3 screws in which he will NOT remove. This is surprising to me but he said there is no point and the head of screws are buried deep.

Looking at the xray, the bone is knitting together very well and fairly quickly. He said the osteotomy is filling in well. He wants me to start putting weight on just my toes. As much weight until I feel pain. I am also looking for a recumbent bike to use for PT. He wants me to start with o resistance and not push knees up very high.

I am working on using crutches as well as the walker. I am also practicing on going up and down the stairs.

I will say, I over did it yesterday and my tail bone for some reason is still sore as heck. I need to watch it and find a happy medium or I could get myself in trouble.

I am also working on cutting my down on my long lasting medications. I only take those at night after I get done working for the day.

I finally took a shower the other day as well. Very very wonderful. It felt good and I don't feel or look quite as scroungy as was!!

I ALSO FINISHED MY NEW BOOK!! It wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was alright. I am going to start another Dan Simmons book "The Terror". Its about a failed Alaskan expedition in the 1800's.

Take it easy and I will talk to you soon.

My New Best Friend

Below is the instrument of my humility!

I don't like it but it is helping me get around very efficiently.

Happy Sunday.

One Week and Counting

It has been a little over a week and things are getting better and better every day!

My bruise is getting smaller and smaller. Instead of beinga deep dark purple my side is now turning a weird yellow color. My incision is looking good as well. I don't notice any infection or redness. It also looks gross but I think it is healing nicely.

There is still swelling in my left leg. I still keep ice on it all day and it is helping. The pain from the swelling is not as bad as it was. I still have numbness in my upper thigh and I am sure that is due to the swelling. I am hoping that goes away soon as it is a bit irritating.

Overall, the pain is getting better. I am still taking all my pain meds per the doctors instructions but during the day I am taking my long acting pain meds. Theresa suggested I try Ibuprofen during the day to control the break through pain. Since I am working I think that is good idea. It is a bit difficult and honestly, I am still taking one fast acting pain pill every 4 hours. My goal is to only take the fast acting pills (Narco) at night. Long term I think it will make getting totally off these easier if I start now.

By 5pm my leg still really hurts. Night time is the worst but it is not surprising.

I am trying to do as much as I can on my own. However, at night when I am getting up my walker makes a lot of noise. I am bumping it into the wall and the door of the bathroom every time I go into it. I think the walker is a tab bit wider than the doorway so I have angle it to get in. After this is over I think I am going to need to re-paint the door and the door jam. I am scratching it. I also make a lot of noise moving up and down the hallway.

I am having a great time giving myself sponge baths in the kitchen sink. Kind of gross if you think about it but its the only place I can wash my hair. I can not wait until I can take a real shower. I feel disgusting...

Theresa brought home a very cool cold pack that her boss got from PT. It is re-freezable and it is big enough cover my incision and my swollen thigh. It feels better than the ice packs the hospital gave me and does not leak. I would suggest getting a couple of these as they are fantastic!

My fever is gone. I am running a very low grade fever "99.6" but as of today my temp has been normal! I am very happy about this. Having a fever this long has been no fun at all.

I have my first follow up appointment Monday at 2:30. I am anxious to see the x-rays of the repair and verify my blood counts have bounced back. Based on how I feel, I am assuming everything is fine.

Not to be accused of passing on too much information but I have been having the worst constipation in the world. I have never in my life had this much trouble. I about passed out last night and I was sweating like a pig. I felt like I was going to die!! I am finally doing what I should have done, take stool softeners!! I am an idiot sometimes.


Anyway, enough of that!!

It has only been a week but I can tell you I am going to go nuts! Living on this couch sucks big time. I also am feeling guilty about needing help. I know it has been going on for a long time, even before the surgery but I just want to be less of burden to everyone.

Having said that, I need to be aware that if I push myself to hard I could end up causing damage and add more re-hab time or worse screw up my hip further.

I just need to keep thinking this is the home stretch!!! IT IS ALMOST OVER FOR EVERYONE!

Now its time for lunch....