6 1/2 Weeks Post-Op... A lot of ground to make up... And a screw

Went to see the Dr today. Due to the re-injury, I have a lot of ground to make up. The good news is that my tibia has healed. I can now put some weight on my leg, but still won't be able to walk for another bunch of weeks. Also, some of the swelling has gone down.

The bad news is the screw must come out, but, not until I'm back on my feet. It's sticking out this far...

Since the delay in my recovery, the doctor basically wants me to double time my recovery. Instead of being on the CPM (the bending machine) for 1 month and then going to physical therapy after, he wants to to knock them out at the same time.

So, that's the update on Frankenknee.
Colin will start his meds tomorrow morning.

Colin's Trip to the Doctor

Since my surgery, the kids have been living at my parents house and only coming to visit; they are finally staying the night only on Christian's days off. This has led their need for order and structure to have been blown to hell. This has resulted in regression and an increase in behaviours in both kids.

My parents took Colin to the pediatrician today for a behaviour appointment. The Dr's passion is Autism, ADHD and behaviourally challenged and he gives appointments out side of office hours for the parents who need behaviour help. He had told me at their last appointment that he wanted to see them, Colin in particular, based off what he was observing during the appointment. SSSOOOO...

Colin's symptoms/behaviours are a perfect example of what ADHD is. And to clear the questions... YES, HE IS STILL AUTISTIC. ADHD and Autism run hand in hand with the majority of cases. Normally he would set up multiple visits to have parent interview and child observation. Within walking into the office, Colin displayed every behaviour that we wanted to talk about. Unfortunately, that meant that Colin didn't need multiple visits; he prescribed the medications straight away.

The Dr. picked a medication that has been used for 30 years. He feels very safe in prescribing it. As glasses help people focus their eyes to see, these medications help children with ADHD focus their thoughts better. The medication is Adderall XR. It is a stimulant which does have appetite loss and trouble falling asleep as the side effects. We may need to change medications multiple times to find the "right one" but once found, we should see a dramatic change in him within 3 days.

During the appointment, the Dr asked about Keely. Apparently, she also shows many symptoms of ADHD (including the going potty in her pants right in front of you). He asked us to make an appointment for her next week. Hopefully the medicationss will center her and she won't have to go back to special ed classes (since there is NO WAY she would be able to last the kindergarten year without some kind of help).

SSSOOOO, check back for updates over the next few days...

Mourning the Loss...

To some, this post will be somewhere between silly and absurd. To the others, you know EXACTLY how I feel. Sorry to the first batch...

I finished reading the final Harry Potter book last night. I'm a little sad, a little in shock... I started reading the books early in 2001. I mourn the characters fallen in the books as much as I mourn the end; there will be no more books. I guess I've always known it has to end, but it has been such a huge part of escaping reality (I have read them over and over... I wanted to name my son Harry, for Pete's sake). Today I am wearing a black shirt for my beloved Harry Potter books.

I enjoyed the wild roller coaster of emotions Rowling put me through (the final book as much as the others). It ended bittersweet for me. This final book had me in tears more than once. At one point, Christian came into the bedroom and sat holding me as I went through a very upsetting chapter. I wanted to stop so many times for fear of what the end would hold.

I guess there is only one thing left to do. Start reading book1 page 1 tonight. Knowing the end will make the re-read more emotional than in the past.... but it's something I feel compelled to do.

Thank you Joanne Rowling. You created a magical world that will live on forever.

4 Weeks Post-Op... And I re-injured Frankenknee

For the past week, Christian's Mum has been here helping me out. I'm SO glad that she was able to come out here (it was her first trip to the lovely Tejas). Keely stayed the whole week here, so my Mum was given a bit of a break (one kid is 100 times easier to deal with than two).

On Thursday last week, I was adjusting myself on the couch and re-injured my knee. The good news is that I don't need immediate surgery. The bad news is the screw shifted (you can see the head of it bumped up under the skin) and the past 4 weeks of recovery was wasted. I am back with the immobilizer locked straight and in quite as much pain as week 2. As soon as Frankenknee is 110% healed, the Doctor will have to take the screw out.

SO.... that's the past week in a nut-shell. I'm just thrilled that I didn't have to have everything reopened right then and there!!!

My poor Mum is stuck with the kids living with her much longer now.... AND since school will start in a month.... she's going to be having to take them to and from school (and I will miss Keely's first day of kindergarten). Oh that poor woman.

3 Weeks Post-Op

I'm off the drugs during the day.... mostly. I have the privilege of strapping my leg into the Continuous Passive Motion Machine for 6-8 hours a day. That involves laying on my back staring at the ceiling fan complaining that my body hurts. I'll have Andy take a picture and post it later this week. The movement hurts. It feels like my knee is going to tear open. I started on Thursday only being able to bend it 10'. I'm up to 27'. I have to be up to 45' in 2 1/2 more weeks. *sigh* Then I have another appointment where I will be given the task of getting up to 95'. Then starts the physical therapy for weight and muscle rebuilding. Fun times ahead!!!

Christian's Mum is here from San Luis Obispo to help take care of me. It sure is a blessing that she was able to get the time off of work to come!!! It's going to help on the stress to my parents and Andy a lot. The kids were really happy to see her. She will be here until the 10th, so it should be a decent holiday for her.

Yep Yep. That's the update as of now.

I would like to introduce... FRANKENKNEE!!!!

16 days post-op. I had Andy take some pictures. I think "Frankenknee" sounds more humorous than "Frankenleg" but my whole leg has been effected by the surgery. Starting at the toes... all the way up to the hip joint is swollen. I have cankles (sp?) now.Note the burn on my foot/ankle area. I woke from surgery all drugged and complaining of a burn. Once they unwrapped my full leg/foot wrappings 5 days later... yep, the doctor burned me. It looks MUCH better now.

My knee is still pretty purple. NOWHERE as bad as it had been. I was too disgusted to look at it before or I would have posted pictures earlier. I was only given internal stitches; he just taped the incision area and told me to wait until it crumbles off.

Well, I hope you enjoyed meeting Frankenknee. He will be with me a long time and I'm sure that this will all have been worth it in the end. I have pictures of the insides and the razor scraping my cartilage, but I can't scan them in at the moment. I am REALLY hoping to get a picture of the screw just because it was a bit larger than I had expected. We will see.....

2 Weeks Post-Op

It's REALLY hard to type on the laptop.

I'm still alive. My leg is pretty dang swollen. It looks like frankenknee. I still can't look at it without becoming faint.

My parents have been bringing the kids over to see me every other day. Colin has been an angel at home. Keely pretty much plays in her room when she's over. My parents have taken me on two wheelchair walks. It's amazing how much I miss being outside. Heck, I miss laying on my side/tummy, walking, sitting comfortably on the couch...

More to come after I see the doctor on Thursday...