JUNE 17th

My nurse called me today and the company said they will have my hip ready by June 13th.  My surgery is scheduled for June 17th.  I asked her if there was a possibility that the surgery could be moved up and she said that there is a slight chance but that she doesn't think it will happen.  They are scheduling my pre-op testing the first week of June so that if it does happen earlier I'll have all of it out of the way.  Now comes big decisions that need to be made.  Continue on with the wedding as planned or postpone it?  I'm terrified of either decision.  If everything goes PERFECTLY with surgery, I will have around 21 days(3 weeks) to start walking again before the wedding.  My vision for my wedding day was me walking down the aisle with no assistance except for my dad.  I wanted to be able to dance and celebrate at my reception with my family and friends.  I know to some people this may seem petty.  Who cares if you can't dance, mingle with family and friends,  or walk down the aisle?  Well to me its important.  I feel I'll be able to walk on my own in that short amount of time but if something goes wrong again it could ruin everything.  At this point, every week counts in my recovery.  Plus we would lose money if we had to postpone probably.  I'm really set on a fall wedding but I'm not sure I want to wait a year.  I do realize I am lucky that technology has come so far and that I'm going to have a chance at walking again.  There are people around me that are going through things that are more serious.  So I do realize it's not the end of my world.  I'm so very lucky but so very stressed.

same old same old

Unfortunately there hasn't been any more news on my hip.  I'm still sitting and waiting.  I've been watching lots of tv, playing ds, and trying to get back into planning the wedding.  I've been getting out of the house every now and then.  Mom takes me to dance class with her and has taken me to the mall a couple times.  Jason rents us movies from redbox.  However I'm still bored.  So bored it almost makes me sick.  After being up in the morning for a couple hours I'm already looking forward to going to bed that evening just to give me something different to do.  I think the boredom bothers me more than the pain of having no hip.  I'm so ready for the next surgery.  Once I have it done at least I'll be able to work towards something.  Once they release me from restrictions I'll be able to exercise my leg and work towards walking again.  I can't wait to go back to work and be around my awesome co-workers.  I'll be able to pick up at a moments notice and go meet friends for dinner and shopping.  I just need to remember all the things I have to look forward to once this is all over with. 

4 more weeks? You've got to be kidding!!



Before my recent surgery

After my recent surgery

I had my 1 month check up with my hip surgeon.  He took some xrays of my left hip just make sure everything looked okay (which it did).  As you can see from the second xray there is no ball or socket joint.  Instead there is just the metal femur replacement that comes out the top of my leg which is from the first replacement. Thankfully they didn't have to replace that part. Unfortunately, that is the main thing that causes my pain.  It stabs me throughout the day every time I move which then causes an ache or throb that lasts for awhile afterwards.  He showed me a model of what is being made for me.  It is a custom made prosthesis that will fit me and me alone.  He is pretty confident that it will work.  He said he is not leaving the operating room until he gets that hip to stay in.  He also told us that it may be another 4 weeks before my surgery which really disappoints me.  That is really pushing it to get well enough before my wedding.  Once I have the surgery, I won't be able to put any weight on my leg for 3 months so that the bone has time to grow into the prosthesis.  If it goes that way, that takes us to September which of course is one month before the wedding.  Can I get myself walking again with no assistance within a month?  Plus try to get back to work?  Finish planning the wedding? I'm not sure.  The doc is going to call De Puy Orthopaedics this week and try to find out a date of when they will be done.  He said he isn't going to wait once it's done.  He will book my surgery ASAP once it's finished.  Maybe it will be done before June.  That's what I'm praying for.  Even a week earlier would give me a bit of a head start. He is supposed to call me this week as soon as he finds out. I'll let everyone know once he does.

Duh, you can't park here!

It always bothers me when I see a vehicle parked in a handicap spot with no handicap sticker.  I always want to leave a note on their windshield telling them they are spineless and should be ashamed of themselves.  Another thing that always baffles me is when a person with a handicap sticker decides to park in the diagonal blue lines which is obviously not a parking spot.  Those diagonal blue lines are for the people who are handicapped to park beside them so that they have enough room to get their wheelchair/walker/scooter out of their vehicle.  Guess what happens when you park on those diagonal blue lines?  You guessed it! You make it extremely difficult for the handicapped to get back in their vehicle.  This situation bothers me even more than the other because if you are handicapped you should know how difficult it can be to get in and out of your vehicle.  Why would you make it even more difficult for someone else that's in the same boat as you?  This all came to mind when my mom and I went to Target yesterday.  I have to use my walker to get out of the car and get turned around so that I can sit in my wheelchair.  I need lots of space on the passenger side for the walker and wheelchair.  Thankfully I had plenty of room to get back in the truck when we left.  I just might start carrying post-it notes in my purse or better yet copies of this blog to leave on the windshields of the guilty.

Oh Happy Day

For the first time since before my surgery I actually wore jeans and makeup this weekend!  Since I never go anywhere I don't bother with makeup.  I have only been wearing comfy pants because of my foot long incision so I decided to put on some jeans and makeup to go to my nieces birthday party.  My niece Trinity picked out my shirt and then her and Alexis watched me closely as I put on my makeup.  We went to Incredible Pizza to celebrate Alexis' birthday.  It was great to get out and be all made up.  Everyone had a great time and when we got home as Alexis went upstairs she stopped and said "Quimby, you look so cute today!".  It was the sweetest thing and made my day.  On Easter, I got all made up and went to my Aunt Peggy's for Easter with my entire family.  It was great to get out this weekend and feel good about myself.    Max's birthday was yesterday. He is 3 years old now! He received a new rawhide and a new rope to play with. I also watched Due Date Saturday night with Jason. It was pretty funny. 
















Plus I took a lot of pictures with my camera and will probably get them printed out so I can scrapbook with them.  One of the many things on my list of To Do's. To keep busy I've read 3 books so far.  I'm also getting started on scrapbooking again.  I'm hoping to work on learning more French and maybe Spanish.  Anything to keep me busy and maybe do things I've been wanting to work on but haven't had time to do when I was working.  Plus I need to get back into planning the wedding.  All the big decisions are made but now it's just needing to get the little things done.  I should never get bored with all these things to do but it still happens.

Although this whole situation hasn't been the easiest to get through, I couldn't get through it without my friends and family.  I've always tried to be as independent as possible. I hate having to ask people for help.  Now I have no choice.  I'm not able to do a whole lot for myself so I have to depend on others.  My family has been great.  My mom and fiancee Jason are my main caretakers.  But when they need some time for themselves I have family and friends that we can count on to come over and stay with me.  I just want to say thank you to everyone that has helped us out, sent cards, well wishes, and have said prayers for me.  Hopefully it won't be much longer before my hip is done!

I'm Human Again

Unfortunately my house does not have a shower on the first floor.  Since I'm only able to use one leg I cannot go up a flight of stairs. That poses an issue. So I've been taking sponge baths and having my hair washed in the kitchen sink.  It gets the job done but who doesn't love getting in the shower just to have hot water hitting your body.  So this Sunday, I went to my mom's boyfriends house.  He has a walk in shower on the first floor.  With the help of my mom and a newly bought shower seat I was able to take a REAL shower!  I can't tell you how great it felt!  I had a hard time tearing myself away from it.  Once I got out and finished getting dressed I felt like a human being again.  It was great.  Sometimes it's the small things you take for granted that make you feel like a real person and re energize you. 

So I've had one of my last physical therapy sessions.  They feel I'm doing all I can with what I have for now.  Since I'm not allowed to exercise my left leg there is not much else they can do except exercise my good (right) leg.  With all that done now, they are discharging me until after my next surgery.  Then I'll be able to save the majority of my 40 therapy visits for afterwards when they will really benefit me. Once I get my new hip they are going restart therapy and hopefully I'll be able to work on getting my left leg stronger.  Although I'm not sure what all they'll have me do for my left leg because I won't be able to put any weight on my leg for 3 months.

I'm thinking of getting my scrapbook stuff out and start to work on it again.  I used to buy all this scrapbook stuff and then I never had any time to do it.  So I told myself I'm not allowed to buy anything else until I actually spend time working on it.  Fast forward to today where I have all the time in the world to work on it.  It will definitely keep me busy and it will be nice to get more of it put together.

Updates and stories

     My first week home from the hospital is done.  When I first came home no matter what I did, it hurt.  I had zero control over my left leg and could barely do anything.  The first weekend was rough.  I had a few breakdowns from being almost completely helpless and overwhelmed.  To go from working 40 hours a week and walking the majority of that time, to not even be able to sit up in bed let alone get out of bed, is extremely hard to deal with. But after having some good talks with my Mom I decided to just take things one day at a time and focus on what I could control, my right leg and my arms. So I've started physical therapy to help me get my right leg and arms stronger.  Although I'm not able to walk, I can hop around for short distances using my walker. The stronger my right leg and arms are the easier it will be using the walker, so I'm not always stuck in my wheelchair or bed.  Each day I'm getting a little stronger which gives me more confidence.


In other news..........

     Earlier this week my mom had gotten me up and I was eating breakfast at the table in my wheelchair.  She went upstairs to change and Max(the dog) stayed downstairs with me.  The rule is he is NOT to be on the couch and he is well aware of it.  As soon as Mom went upstairs he jumps up on the couch.  I immediately tell him no and that he needs to get down.  The little shit looks right at me and proceeds to curl himself into a little ball and lay on the couch.  Little shit knows I can't get up to punish him and he is taking advantage of it! That rotten scoundrel.


     My brother Tj, his girlfriend Heather, and my nieces have been coming over to shower and do laundry each night because their pipe burst and they no longer have any water.  We've started watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy together and try to get the correct answer first.  Final Jeopardy came around and the category was U.S. Presidents and Baseball.  Without even seeing the clue, he yells out Richard Nixon. He ended up being right! How he did that I have no idea. 

     I've had lots of visitors. Amanda and Ashley came over on Sunday and brought food.  Enchiladas, queso, chicken tortilla soup oh my!  It was so yummy!  My sister and the baby came over, my mom's man Jim came over and has brought me dinner and lunch a few times. My dad has come over and brought me lunch and spent the day with me.  Grandma finally got out of rehab so Grandpa and Aunt Vicki brought her over to visit.  She looked so good and it was great to see her.  My cousin Julie was in town from Ohio to run the Susan G Komen for the Cure. She is a breast cancer survivor and is one of the most awesome people to meet.  She, her mother(also a survivor) and son Mikey stopped by to visit.  Then later on that day my girl Laura came over to sit with me while my mom went to dance class with her man.  So I've been keeping busy with visits from friends and family.

Tonight we are going to rent a movie and order pizza.  I'm excited for that and pizza sounds really good.  Anyways that's all I have for now.