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...

1 Week Post-Op

It's been a week since surgery. I feel pretty bad still. It was much worse than the doctor thought before. The pain pills have been very helpful. For the next two weeks, my therapy is to "wiggle my toes." I won't be able to put weight on it for 8 weeks. The meds make it very hard for me to think/type straight. I feel like a wreck. At least I got to have a shower!! After one week, I was pretty disgusting. The kids will be at my Mum's for who knows how long. They are both pretty upset with me; they won't talk to me on the phone. I saw Keely the day before yesterday and she was herself and had to leave right away for hurting me intentionally. She didn't even say hi to me or sit with me. Colin came over yesterday and he was glued to my side and cried when he had to leave. He kept saying, "Daddy, I promise I be good and not hurt Mommy so I can sleep at home. I promise Daddy!" When Christian carried him out of the house, I sobbed my little heart out. My parents are bringing them over today, we are going to load me into the wheelchair, and go to the playground all together. I sure hope that this doesn't backfire!!!

That's all for now. Time to nap again.

My Wandering Husband

10:00 pm. Christian and I go to bed.
1:23 am. Colin calls from his bed, "I have a bloody nose." I look and Christian isn't in bed. I think to myself, "I missed Colin's first call. Chris got up and is on his way to take care of it." 15 seconds later, Colin calls again.
I got up, sprinted to Colin's room, and start to apply pressure to his nose. Suddenly I hear it. It sounds like a bear sleeping in Keely's room. She is prone to deep breathing, snoring, talking & sleepwalking, but this sound was far too severe to come from her little body.
Colin's nose stops, I tuck him back in. I go into Keely's room and see her sleeping at the foot of the bed and Christian at the head (mind you, this IS a full sized bed). I shake him awake and he looks panicked. I walk with him to the kitchen and ask why he was in bed with Keely. Not only did he have no idea why he was in Keely's bed, he had no idea what he was talking about!! He was completely out of it and rambling about the oddest things!! It was glorious.

My Knee... and the upcoming surgery

Went to see the Orthopedic Surgeon today. Not really surprised that I need surgery. It is scheduled for Monday, June 11 at 730am.

I have moderately severe Patellar Tracking Disorder. My kneecaps do not slide up and down as they should, they pull outwards. Due to my previous knee injuries, the ligaments & tendons surrounding the kneecap are stretched out. Each time my knee has popped out of joint, the underside of my kneecap has been scraping the other bones and causing premature arthritis.

The surgery will consist of this:
A 3" incision under my knee. They will be cutting off my tendon and reattaching it with a screw (that I will have forever) in the center. They will be tightening my ligaments at the top of my knee. And, they will be grinding down the underside of my kneecap. I will have a catheter installed in my knee.

Post-surgery:
I will be on crutches for about 6-8 weeks. For two weeks, 6 hours a day, I will be on a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion Machine) which is a machine with a foot brace that gently and slowly move my knee. The catheter they are putting in will be connected to a pain pump. It will dispense meds directly into the knee for pain. We will be having to fork out $320 for a Polar Care Unit which is a new version of an ice pack. You strap the large pad onto the knee (like a brace but thick like an ice pack), a hose connects between the pad and an ice chest. Inside the ice chest is a pump and ice water. Once plugged in, the ice water circulates around the injury without the "ice burn" you get from a pack. It also weighs less and keeps less pressure on the injury. I would be wearing it non-stop for the first few days, during all CPM sessions, after all therapy sessions, and anytime there is swelling or pain. Oh, and I also get a fancy robotic knee brace. All these fancy contraptions and whositwhat's will cost a mere $800!!! And that doesn't include paying for the surgery or anesthesiologist!!! WooHoo!!!

So... that's what's going down. Just thought I would let everyone know (and this is by far easier than calling everyone)

Does anyone want a free trip to Texas to help take care of me &/or the kids???? We are desperate... especially since it is short notice and I'm going to be out of commission for a while. PLEASE!