I'm Baaaaaaack!

Last time I left you all, I was preparing for my wedding and ecstatic that I was walking again.  Oh my how things can change.  Thankfully my hip has held up but unfortunately my marriage didn't. To find out you mean so little to someone you've committed yourself to is heartbreaking.  As usual I picked myself up and kept going. 



My right shoulder has been bothering me for at least 3 years now.  My initial plan was to have it replaced in 2011.  However my hip had other plans and I ended up having my left hip replaced after 3-4 months in a wheelchair.  Once I recuperated I decided I needed time before I had my next surgery.  Monday January 21st I will be having my right shoulder "resurfaced".  The plan is to go in and put in a Copeland implant which is pretty much a metal covering over the ball of the joint.  There is a possibility that the damage could be more extensive than they thought and may end up having to do a total replacement (which means more pain and longer recovery).  Knowing my luck, I'm sure it won't go the easy way.  Recovery is going to suck.  My right arm does everything for me.  My left arm hasn't worked since 2007.  During my bone marrow transplant in '06 I started having major issues with my left elbow.  By spring of '07, my left elbow fused and no longer moves at all.  I also lost lots of motion in my left shoulder. My left arm can hold things but as far as reaching for things it can't.  My right arm brushes my teeth, hair, bathes me, feeds me, puts on my makeup, writes, and everything else that involves the movement of your elbow.  So now I will be without the use of my right arm for a short time and it's going to SUCK! Thankfully my family will be taking care of me until I can use my arm again. 

I am accepting applications for someone to give me sponge baths ;) Preferably young, hot, and single.

It's official!

I'm officially back at work!  It went really well.  Everyone was happy to see me which made me feel good.  I only worked 4 hours and by the end of it my leg was tired and my feet were killing me.  Despite that, it went better than I expected.

Update

On Monday I start back to work!  Other than getting up at 4am everyday, I'm looking forward to it.  I'm a little nervous about how well I'm going to do.  I'm starting out at 4 hours a day the first week and then work my way up to 40 hours again.  It's the best physical therapy.  I feel bad though because I have to put in to get quite a few days off because of wedding stuff.  I also have about 15 personal days I need to take before Oct 24 or I lose them all.  It makes me feel guilty asking for all this time off right after coming back to work.  Although it's not like I've been laying on the beach the past 5 months sipping margaritas while working on my tan.  (I wish!)  Anywho wish me luck!

I'm almost back!

It's time!  Time to return the wheelchair, put the walker and crutches back in the attic, and return my grandpa's TV tray.:) I've been getting stronger and stronger.  I'm able to go up a flight of stairs (with assistance) and for the first time since April I was able to take a shower upstairs! Goodbye sponge baths!  Although I can't get up or down the stairs by myself, I've come such a long way.  I'm doing well walking.  I still am a little shaky when I walk but I just need practice to keep my balance.   In about 2 1/2 weeks I'll be back at work.  I can't wait although I'm not excited about getting up at 4am again.  I've been driving also.  It's still hard to get in and out of my car but I know the more I do it the easier it will be.  I'm so happy to be getting back to "normal".  When I went on medical leave from work it felt like we had just gotten done with Christmas.  Now when I go back to work we will be getting ready for Christmas again!  Oh how time flies. 

142 Days Later........

This year has not gone according to plan.  The only plans I really had was work hard, plan my wedding, and spend time with my family and friends.  Actually now that I think about it, I did do all of those things.  I worked hard on keeping my sanity and clawing my way back from my disastrous hip replacement.  I planned most of the wedding from my laptop while in my wheelchair. We made the hard decision to postpone the wedding a month later to make sure I would have enough time to recuperate.  Now it looks like we could have kept the original date but it's better to be safe than sorry.  I spent lots of time with my family and friends because I had all the time in the world.  I had lots of support from friends and family during this entire time.  They were always willing to help my mom and Jason take care of me.  I spent some weekends at my sisters house when mom and Jason had scheduling conflicts and weren't able to be at the house with me.  Any other time my brother TJ and his girlfriend Heather would come over and "babysit" me.  Having all of them and all of my nieces around helped get me through it.  I received get well cards in the mail and from work and it was nice to know people were thinking of me.  To help fill my time up I decided to bring out all of my scrapbooking stuff.  I have done more scrapbooking this year than I have ever done!  I also got back to reading again.  I can't remember the last time I've read so much.  I've also started a sewing project (that I bought a few years ago and never started).  Before all this happened, I was working a 40 hour work week and was on my feet the majority of the time. Add in pain medications and the drowsiness that it causes and I would be completely exhausted/tired and my feet would be in so much pain that I couldn't do much once I came home.  My nights consisted of laying in bed and only getting up to shower.  I had no energy whatsoever.  By the time morning came I would be somewhat recharged and get up to do it all over again.  I will be starting back to work September 19.  Right now I have tons of energy but I know as soon as I start back to work I will get back into this rut of pain and exhaustion.  I guess that is one thing I'm going to miss about all this is having all this energy and motivation to do things.  I realized how much I missed doing all of my hobbies (scrapbooking, reading).  Don't get me wrong, I love working.  I love my job and the people I work with.  I refuse to let my arthritis slow me down or keep me from doing things.  I just hope my body can keep up with me.  I'm so ready to get back to my life though.  To be able to pick up and go at a moments notice, climb a flight of stairs to the shower, or walk outside to get the mail are things that I never thought of as very exciting but now I can't wait to do them.  I have less than 4 weeks and I'll be back at it.  I have one more appt in October with the surgeon and then I think I'm done! 

So close!

In less than a week I go back for my next checkup.  I am praying that he releases me to put all my weight on my leg.  I've been doing great!  I'm mainly on crutches now and only use the wheelchair for long distances.  I can do so much more by myself now than before.  The only thing I'm waiting on is my surgeon to give me permission to get rid of the crutches.  I have cheated a few times just to see how it feels to walk without using anything.  But only around the house and not often.  I certainly don't want to jeopardize the progress I've made since April.  I have even driven a few times.  Driving was the easy part but getting in and out of the car was the hard part.  So hopefully I will get some more good news next week and I'll be on my way!

4 week check up

My surgeon was really impressed with my new hip.  He said it looked great and feels comfortable having me put 40 lbs of weight on it in 2 weeks.  I'll do that for 6 weeks and then after that I'll have another checkup and he will let me be full weight bearing.  He expects me back to work by the end of September.  He said "I think you should be either walking with a cane by your wedding or walking all by yourself.".  I told him I WILL be walking on my own by then.  He saw the look on my face and he said he had no doubt that I would.  I think he also could tell how anxious I was to get back to walking and emphasized that he wanted me to wait the 2 weeks before putting weight on my leg so that I didn't damage anything.  He's hoping that this implant will last me the rest of my life with only needing ,at some point, to replace the head of the femur and the plastic lining.  I'm very excited that he is letting me put weight on it at 6 weeks.  But once I get to that point I hope I can follow the rules and not push myself too hard. I feel like a little kid going to Disney World.  The kids keep asking "Are we there yet?".  You just can't wait to get there and the excitement builds up so much you could burst. Is that a good analogy? I'm so ready to be done with this I can't wait.  I can't wait to get back to my life, back to work, and back to causing trouble with my girlfriends.
                               
                                   BEFORE SURGERY

                            AFTER FAILED SURGERY

                              
                                 AFTER  SURGERY 2

                                  LOOK AT ALL THAT METAL!  My very own custom fit hip!