Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for this year, despite it being one of the most difficult and trying years of my life. 

I am thankful for my health. Aside from my foot issues, I've been pretty healthy! I am pretty sure that it's because I haven't been at work, and that I've spent most of my time inside away from people. 

I am thankful for my family. We don't always get along, but with the passing of my grandma, I think we have gotten a lot closer. Everyone rearranged their schedules for every surgery I've had. I have also had the chance to see my extended family a lot this year. We are always a loud, nutty bunch when we get together. 

I am thankful for Aaron. He has to deal with me day in and day out. He drives me to all my doctor appointments. He takes me out when I'm going stir-crazy at home. He does his absolute best to keep me in good spirits. He's amazing, and I'm glad we get to spend every day together. I will love him forever. 

I am thankful for Bobbie, Toni, and Teri. We are on group text chat every day. I think we all keep each other from going bat-shit crazy. I'm a stay at home cripple, Bobbie is a stay at home mom to two (and sometimes four) kids, Toni is a student down in Arkansas, and Teri works all day. It honestly feels like we are just sitting around drinking coffee and chatting all day. It's even better when we can all be in the same place at the same time. 

I think that covers the important stuff. I hope you all have a very happy thanksgiving! 

6 Weeks Post-Op

I had my 6 week post-op appointment on Nov 1st, and what a happy day it was! Dr. Senall said everything looked GREAT!!  I thought I would be getting my second cast, but things were progressing so well that Dr. S. put me in an air boot. I am still non weight bearing for the next few weeks, but at least I can wash and shave my little leg. Seriously... It's so thin I can feel my tibia and fibula.

I did, unfortunately, have to pull out two halves of stitches that they missed at my first follow up appointment. I'll allow it...it was a pretty gross mess. 

The scar! 

Boots and boots and all the boots. I'll be going as robocop for halloween next year

It's so weird to be in the least amount of pain I've been in for the last few years, but like I said, I haven't started weight bearing yet. 

Outside of my foot issues, it's been a busy few weeks since my last blog post. I saw Bon Jovi with my mom for the third time this year (Tampa, once. Chicago, twice). It was an AMAZING show. The band has never disappointed us. Since the show ran very late, I decided to stay the night at her house instead of Aaron coming to pick me up at the United Center at 11pm. I am very glad I did because little did I know, that next morning would the last time I would see one of my best friends in the world, my dog Pepsi. My mom came home from work that night and found Pepsi in an indescribable amount of pain, sprawled out in the floor, and unable to move. My mom told me that she just new it was time to put her down. Pepsi was 15 years old. She had a very good life...we spoiled her rotten. It's still really sad, but each day gets easier. 

The best in the world. I will always miss you Pepsi!

Halloween was pretty weak. It's one of my favorite holidays, and the cast and crutches made my costume choices very limited. Since Aaron and I loved The Book of Mormon musical, we dressed as Mormon missionaries. Very simple costume for a small house party at a friends house. 

Hello, would you like to change religions, I have a free book written by JESUS

We went to our first Blackhawks game of the season on an extreme whim last week. I had a friend text me at 10 minutes to game time that tickets on stubhub were 10$ each. We ended up buying tickets and booked it over to the UC. We missed about half the first period, but the game was great, and the hawks won! 

He's the best. 

HAWKS WIN! HAWKS WIN!

That's it for today! My next appointment is in December, and I will hopefully be walking by then! 

- Vanna 

Post Surgery #3: Week 1 and 2

Some pre-op photos and one of me on a lot of drugs

Weeks one and two have come and gone since my ankle fusion.  Aaron and I started off the day bright (dark) and early by leaving the house at 4am since I had a 5am check-in time. Once I was checked in, we moved to our pre op room so I could put my sweet hospital gown and socks on. Aaron's sister Rachel is a nurse at the hospital, so she came down to visit us before her shift was over. She works on the teeny tiny babies, otherwise I would have requested her to be my nurse.

I met with 100 different people who all looked the same in their scrubs. The anesthesiologist came and explained the nerve block to me. He said I had to be awake for it so that I could tell them if I was in any pain (aka if they hit the nerve). I had one injection near my sciatic nerve and one near my femoral nerve. I honestly don't remember having it done, or even leaving my pre-op room. Yay drugs, right?!

I was in recovery for quite some time since they were waiting for a room to open up. Unfortunately for me, there was some miscommunication between two nurses and Aaron. One told me that she called him and left a message so that he could sit with me, and when he called back, another told him no. So I sat there alone and in and out of sleep for what felt like hours. I couldn't even call him  myself because he had all my belongings. I finally made it up to my room. I remember the guy who moved me telling me how pretty my toenails here painted. I tried to tell him that I wish I chose a more "autumn color" but I don't think he understood what I meant.

Aaron met me in my room at some point. He did some work on a video, and I did some work on catching up some zzz's. I was STARVING and nauseous at the same time. I was a clear liquid diet until the nausea passed, so I had some delicious chicken broth for lunch. Honestly, after all the food I had at the hospital, the broth was the only hot and tasty thing I ate. I did eventually switch to veggie broth after a recommendation from a nurse that it had more flavor.

My mom came by after work while Aaron went to have dinner with his sister, and my sister came by shortly after that. We chatted and watched TV, and my sister showed my this ridiculous video. If you want to know what the fox says, watch it.

I was only supposed to stay over one night, but due to the insane amount of pain I was in and the fever I couldn't break, I ended up staying two nights. I left Saturday afternoon and stayed at my moms until Sunday. Since then, I've just been hanging out in bed/on the couch. I play Lego Harry Potter on the xbox for half the day, and watch TV the other half. I'm thankful that all of my favorite television shows started up last week. 

I spend a lot of time snuggled in my blankie. 

Some times I nap backwards on my ottoman.

On the 4th, Aaron and I headed to the burbs to get my foot unwrapped and casted. I was (of course) hysterical getting my stitches out. I am pretty sure I counted 12 snips and pulls, but the lady that put my cast on pulled one more out. Aaron said the bandages were pretty nasty. I couldn't look. After the stitches were taken out, I had steri-strips put on and was sent to x-ray. I wish I would have taken a picture of what the inside of my foot looks like now. I have 6 screws and a plate! 

Before xray, and getting my cast. 

The cast is not as bad as I anticipated, but it's only been less than 24 hours. Talk to me in a month when I get my next one. Dr. Senall was very optimistic when he saw my films. He said I will get my next cast in about 4 weeks, and after another 4 weeks we might try a walking boot. WOO!

In non-foot related news, I got to see the Stanley Cup twice in two weeks. There was a photo-op at Millennium Park the day before my surgery, so I waited in line for about 3 hours. Thankfully I had nice line neighbors and my Kindle to keep me occupied. The second time, I happened to catch something on Twitter about the cup being at a restaurant down the street from our apartment. Aaron has never seen the cup before, so I treated him to a nice dinner, and we got to have our picture taken professionally with the cup.  

we are a pretty good looking trio.

That's all for now! 

- Vanna

Surgery #3

.....I am having an ankle fusion!

After meeting with Dr Senall, I not only decided on an ankle fusion, but I also decided to continue my care with him. I think Dr. Arndt is a great guy, but when I had two other doctors tell me I have too many risk factors that would cause an ankle replacement to fail, I need to go with who makes me informed. Dr. Senall was very straightforward with me. Like my second opinion, he said that my tibia would not hold the replacement hardware.  The turn around time of this is pretty quick. I am having this done on the 19th of September. Just over a week away. I'm pretty lucky actually. The hospital is making special arrangements to let Dr. S operate on a day he normally doesn't. If this wasn't possible, I would have to wait until October 8th.

Aaron turned me into a Packers supporter

In the next week, I need to do some major grocery shopping, tons of laundry, clean the apartment, see my friends, go on a shopping trip to look for bridesmaid dresses with my sister, and of course have a date night with Aaron. We try to go out once a week, whether it's going out to eat or ordering a pizza and relaxing at home. What ever it is, it has to involve neither of us cooking. It also always includes fro-yo.

Outside of my foot issues, the last few weeks have been pretty good. Aaron and I had a very busy weekend! We celebrated our first anniversary (clearly what a crazy year it has been!), Aaron ran the Chicago half-marathon, football started (not that I really care), his friend Connie was in town from NYC, and I went to a taping of Windy City Live (a Chicago talk show) and Giada De Laurentiis was on!

Had a casual dinner at Maggianos, and was presented with this cheesecake

He's been training all summer for this. I'm very proud!!!

Yes, I geeked out the whole time. 

Too Many Cooks?

Greetings.  I have not had surgery yet, nor have I scheduled one. After enough pestering from my mother, I scheduled an appointment with a bone and joint specialist in early August. After scrambling to get my medical records for him, I met with Dr. Kaz of the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute here in Chicago with 48 pages of medical gibberish. 48 pages. For one year of treatment. That didn't even include any physical therapy notes. Anyway, he was a very nice guy. I had some x-rays taken. When I say "some," I mean like 20. While I was standing on JUST my bad foot. It was an awful experience, but he needed to see what the heck was going on down there.

What he noticed was more bone spur formation on my tibia and fibula that was probably causing my ankle to not get proper dorsi/plantar-flexion. He suggested that instead of a total ankle replacement, an ankle fusion. He wanted to cut my ankle open, shave down the bone spurs, and fuse the ankle closed. He said that later in life, I can choose to have it "taken down" and replace it at that point. Sounds pretty fucking awful, right? Ugh. 

He also suggested a cortisone shot for the pain. Now, I have been kind of avoiding a cortisone shot for the last year. I have heard several horror stories about the pain involved in getting the shot, and that sometimes it doesn't even work. Dr. Kaz left me in the room for a few minutes while I calmed myself down, as I was having a full blown panic attack. Vanna + Needles don't mix. After about 15 minutes, I finally agreed to it. He had his assistant come in and set up. I politely told him that I don't do well with needles or pain, and that I may shout several expletives while being injected. He gave me a tissue to cover my mouth. It was over in less than a minute, and that's the only good thing I will say about it. I was in more pain for that minute than I was post fixator removal. It was like fire, acid, and 100 bees were being injected straight into my joint. 

Pre-injection, post-injection, and me wearing cute girly shoes!

It's been about 4 weeks since the cortisone shot. I am kind of pain free, but not enough to walk on my own. Bummer, right?

I have an upcoming appointment with a third (and final) opinion at the end of the week. His name is Dr. Senall. My neighbor by my mom's house had foot surgery a few weeks ago, and had been talking with him casually about my situation. He told her to have me make an appointment to see him. Since the first two doctor's had given conflicting advice, I figured one more would break the tie. I had to scramble (again) for my medical records, this time including all radiology images. Since I lost my MRI CD, I had pay for all those images to be sent as well. Unfortunately, I had to send my mom to pick up the MRI/X-ray CD and drop them off at Dr. Senall's office since it was so far out of my way. As soon as I have that bad boy in my hands, I will get a nice photo update of all my x-rays. 

Hopefully all of this won't be a case of too many cooks in the kitchen. I really need to figure out what to do with my foot before I take a knife and cut it off. 

Outside of my foot nonsense, life is pretty good. Aaron and I celebrated his birthday with a fantastic dinner at RPM Italian, and then gambled our night away at Blue Chip Casino in Indiana. The next day we hit up the dunes on the way home. 

I am bummed that the summer is getting close to being over. I mean, if I am going to be home all day doing nothing, at least I can do it by the pool. Once the summer is over though, I'll be banished to the couch again. I will say that I have done a lot of reading so far. I have read the Crossfire Series by Silvia Day (Bared to You, Reflected in You, and Entwined with You), Divergent and Insurgent both by  Veronica Roth (looking forward to the Divergent movie in March 2014!), Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (the book the show was very loosely based off of), and I have just started reading Rush by Maya Banks. It's the first book in the Breathless Trilogy, and also the first book I am reading on my new Kindle! So far I am very impressed with how little my eyes strain to read it and how portable it is!

My summer of smut (books)

That's all for now. As soon as I get my next move figured out, I will update again, Until then, don't go wasting your summer, fools!

- Vanna

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Figuratively speaking, of course. There are no literal steps involved with this blog post.  That being said, this post is written with a lot of frustration. My apologies.

I went to see good ol' Dr. A a few days ago for a long overdue follow-up. I have been going once a month to see him, but missed June due to the passing of my grandma, and having to spend some time in the "great" state of New Jersey. So, it had been about 2 months since I had seen him. I was very, VERY nervous to see him. I knew it would be a long appointment because I had a lot of concerns about my progress.

Q1. Why am I not walking on my own?
Q2. Did the ex-fix work?
Q3. What happens next?

A1. So yes, I am STILL on crutches. Some times one, sometimes two. If I am home, I usually one-crutch it. If I fall, at least the floor is carpeted, and there is usually a bed or couch within falling distance. If I go out, I almost always two-crutch it. Unless I'm going to the corner Starbucks. I need a free hand to carry my coffee. With the help of my awesome physical therapist Lindsey, I learned that in order to walk properly, I needed another 10 degrees of dorisflextion (the UP motion of the ol' footie). My foot was stuck at neutral 90 degrees, and it was like hitting a brick wall trying to get passed that. This is why I am not walking on my own. The pain I have when that foot hits the 90 degree mark combined with my full body weight is around a 5, which isn't bad compared to the 20 I was having this time last year. Still, it prevents me from walking crutch-free. I can't even walk with my cane more than a few steps.

A2. I learned that yes, the ex-fix did do what it was intended to do. My tibia and talus are separated and, I still have about 4mm of space left. Those pesky bone spurs are also gone. However, it opened our eyes to another problem. Although I am pain-free in the original area, I am full of pain in another area (see A1 above).

A3. Every time I start thinking about this, I get very emotional. I started crying in the doctor's office. Some tears were out of frustration, some where out of fear, some were because I'm an over-emotional female. Ok, all were because I am an over-emotional female. I guess I should say why I was crying. I have to have a total ankle replacement. That's right...a third surgery is in the works. I am currently looking to get a second opinion on this all. It's not that I don't trust Dr. A, I just realize in hindsight that I should have gotten one before all of this started.

On an unrelated note, Aaron and I recently saw Book of Mormon. I HIGHLY recommend that if it is in your area, you see it immediately. You will laugh your butt right out of your seat!

Stay tuned for more updates on surgery #3!

- V

INTERRUPTION

PARDON THE INTERRUPTION OF ANKLE NEWS.... 

BUT THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE  STANLEY CUP!! 

that's all. 

Picture Time!

Most recent x-ray. You can see how worn out my tibia is.

New medication. Bright yellow stinky lotion.

I have a tongue issue. It's always out in pictures!

Atrophy at its finest.

Post pedicure. Plantar/Dorsiflextion

Water therapy is the best :-) 

What I look like on the Alter-G

Untitled, So as Not to Spoil the Surprise

It's been about a month since I last updated. It's been a very busy month, at that!

 I went to Dallas for a quick weekend trip with my sister to see my grandma. The weekend after that, I spent a few days in the suburbs watching my mom's dogs while she was in Dallas. Want to know how I got there? I DROVE! Oh yea, you read that right. I drove.  A car.  MY car.  After I got back from Dallas, my boyfriend came out to pick me up and I decided to go for a little test drive while there weren't too many people on the road. I had previously been working on the pedal motion of up and down with my foot, so I felt like I was ready.  I did great, so I amped it up and drove back to my mom's the following weekend.  I know it seems silly to be excited about driving at 29 years old, but when you haven't been able to do it for almost 6 months, you'll understand.

Let's talk PT. My range of motion is phenomenal, the swelling is almost all gone, and the scars are lightening nicely.  I am also standing more evenly on both feet.  In my last post, I talked about the step-downs I had tried that resulted in me crying. Well, my therapist has not had me do them since.  I still do the bike, and I have been working on ankle and toe raises on a shuttle. Recently, I started working on an Alter-G. It's a treadmill that I zip into and it blows up with air to take pressure off my ankle.   I started walking on 50% of my body weight at a whopping 1 mile an hour.  I have since upped it to 60% of my body weight at 1.2 mph. The Alter-G has really helped me get the motion of walking back. There has definitely been some pain associated with using it, and that really made me nervous.

I had another follow up visit with Doctor Arndt at the end of May.  I voiced my concerns over the amount of pain I had when trying to walk.  He had some x-rays taken to make ure the joint space he made was still preserved. The end of my tibia where is meets the talus is very worn and ratty, and is most likely the cause of my pain. I need to continue walking and doing PT to work it out. Dr. A and did say that a fusion or a replacement may be needed if the pain does not subside. Just to be clear though, a fusion is out of the question.  He also told me to try using my Arizona boot that I had made last summer. That brings me to the surprise! After digging around my mom's house, I found the boot. I got home, strapped it on, and it provided so much more suport that I was able to TAKE A FEW STEPS. I was so thrilled that I just started sobbing. I do need to use a cane, and the boot only fits into my gym shoes (that I bought last summer specifically to use with this boot) and my work shoes. I also can only do it for a little bit at a time. Progress is progress though, right?

I was prescribed some new pain cream at this appointment as well.  I had heard about compounded medication before, but this is my first time using it. It's a combination of several medication that are then made into a lotion. The most prominent ingredients are Ketamine and Gabapentin. It is bright yellow and smells like radioactive horse piss. I've only used it once since getting it a few days ago. Aaron and I went to see Off With Their Heads, Bayside, and Alkaline Trio at the Metro so I was standing for several hours and I put it on when we got home. I felt better almost instantly! I will use it before PT this week to see how I feel on the Alter-G.

I promise to put some pictures up soon. I've been blogging on Aaron's macbook because he conveniently leaves it on the coffee table next to the couch I spend my days on. As soon as I unpack my laptop, I will get some pics up. :-)

In other non-foot related news, the new apartment is coming along nicely. We had our first visitor's over when Aaron's mom, sister, and niece came over Memorial Day weekend.  I also went to my first baseball game of the season (finally!) while the red sox were in town. Sadly, the red sox lost the game. Aaron did get picked for white sox trivia and won a shirt and hat though! We are going to a patio party this coming weekend at US Cellular Field with a bunch of friends, and I'm excited to get my craft on and make the shirt my own! Clearly, I am not letting the pain and crutches ruin my summer. We have also been happy that the Chicago Blackhawks are kicking ass in the play-offs.

Pictures soon!

- Vanna

I'm on the Move!

I promised myself that I would keep up the blog with my recovery progress, but it's been a busy few weeks!

First off, on April 22nd, I was un-booted. Woohoo! Wellllllll, kind of. Dr Arndt gave me an ankle brace to wear with a gym shoe while I recover. I still wear the boot when I go out. It provides A LOT more protection for me, and I can stand on it comfortably, and go through the motions of walking.

I moved about two weeks ago as well. I can now say I live in Chicago. Beardo boyfriend and I moved in together. Our building has an elevator, which is great for me. We also live half a mile from my new Athletico office, and everything else I need is just a 2 minute walk. So far, we have not killed each other, and he has been a super big help for me.

Let's talk physical therapy. While I loved Liz at Bloomingdale, my new girl Lindsay at the Gold Coast location is just as awesome. Liz referred me to Lindsay specifically after they went on a mission trip to Honduras together. They have similar styles, but Lindsay has really amped up my sessions. Now that the majority of the swelling has gone down, I have a little more mobility and we have moved on to strength training.  My balance is getting a lot better, and I am no longer leaning to the left as much. I can stand on my own with no crutches (in the boot, in the brace, and barefoot), but I am still not walking.

This was my routine at PT today:
10 minutes on the stationary bike. I did 2.5 miles on a 2 difficulty. Can you tell I miss the gym?
15 minutes of manual work with both Lindsay and Anna, a student from NYC.
35 minutes of exercise. Today was toe strengthening, ankle rotation on a balance board, squats using a stability ball against the wall, ankle pumps on the shuttle, and step-downs.

...Insert Vanna's breakdown. I've had a few breakdowns since the beginning of all of this. Some minor, some full on screaming blow outs. Today was a minor cry from frustration. The step-downs were my breaking point. The step-downs have me put all my weight on the bad side and step down off a two inch wooden platform. I stood on the box for a few minutes just THINKING about the movement. I had to really concentrate in order to even get that motion to process. I was holding on to the ballet bar behind me to balance myself. The pain was unbearable once I tried. While my dorsiflexion is almost back to normal, putting all 150 pounds of Vanna on a virtually unused ankle was the WORST. I lost it. I hit the wall I was afraid of since starting physical therapy. Lindsay was very comforting, and I knew I was being a baby about it, but I couldn't help it. I want to walk so bad! She explained to me that it will happen, and I need to give it some time. She said that it will take some time for the pain to subside and for my brain to register the motion of walking.

After my breakdown, I iced down the ankle and crutched it back home. I'm a little sore and am currently icing my ankle some more as I write this.

OH! Let's end on a positive note. The best news out of all of this! Yesterday I had my first pedicure in 6 months!! It was a great feeling, even though the water was barely luke warm. The bad foot is still a little temperature sensitive, so I couldn't have my normal hot water. I am happy that my feet no longer look like garbage!

I will update with a few pictures soon. Promise. :-)

- Vanna

All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

I forgot to mention a few good things that have also happened in the last week.

yes, I am wearing shorts you pervs.

I stood up sans boot for the first time! I only did this for a few seconds though. My balance is way off from favoring my left side for so long. That is not a cast you see. It's actually what they put on you before you get a cast. I can't tolerate wearing a regular sock yet, and this is thin and has zero elastic in in. It was definitely a weird feeling standing up on two feet. I do it a little bit each day to get used to it. It's nice to be able to stand up at the bathroom sink to brush my teeth instead of sitting on the toilet or tub ledge.

You can really see the size difference of my legs in this picture. I do a lot of leg exercises in physical therapy, and I am starting to get a little muscle tone back in my quad. I've actually started to do leg raises on my left side to start balancing my butt out. I'll be able to bounce a quarter off it come summer.

So what else happened? OH YEA.... Anyone who has had any sort of leg surgery or an ex-fix knows that pants are a tricky thing to wear. I spent the last 4 months in cut up pajama pants and pants with the snaps on the side. The day I stood up on my own, I decided to be extra ballsy and put some real pants on. JEANS, PEOPLE! I PUT ON REAL DENIM JEANS.

It felt different, that's for sure. I have to really strap the boot on tight to compensate for the extra bulk of the pant leg.

Now I am all caught up.

I will be getting measurements taken on Saturday at PT to see if the swelling has gone down. I see Dr. Arndt on the 22nd as well. Let's hope he sees some improvements!

Thanks for reading,
Vanna

Catch Up!

Ok ok ok. Every time I turn on the iPad, I see the Blogger app and realized I haven't written anything in over two months. My bad. It has been a CRAZY few months.

My doctor had warned me about pin-site infections, and so did my home nurse. I cleaned the sites as instructed, and kept my leg covered at all times outside of showering. It still got me though. One of the pin-sites got a nasty little infection. It was bothering me a bit one night, so I cleaned it again before I went to sleep. By the time I had woken up, it was red, puffy, and leaking god knows WHAT out of it. I could barely move my entire leg because of the pain. I made a call to my nurse to see if she would come check it out, but she told me to call Dr. A immediately, and that she would follow up. I thankfully did not need to go in and see him, and he just sent a prescription over to Walgreens for me. Augmentin was a bitch. They were huge horse pills that made me very ill. I still can't even look at blue Gatorade without remembering projectile vomiting blue. Two weeks of pills later, the infected site finally started looking and feeling better.

This was just in time to take an emergency trip to Florida with my sister to take care of some family business. I don't recommend flying with an ex-fix. First off, we had to fly Spirit because the trip was booked 4 days before we left. They had next to no leg room and the seats were uncomfortably close. The cabin pressure left my foot swollen for the entire time I was in Florida, which left me bed-ridden.

my poor swollen leg in Florida.

Oh, I almost forgot that right before I went to Florida, I had another follow up visit with Dr. A. I had some X-rays taken and everything looked great. He said the infection site was healing nicely and that I shouldn't have any more issues with it. I also got to set my ex-fix removal surgery! MARCH 19th! (spoiler alert...) What a relief to have an end date in sight!

So now let's fast forward. Since that appointment I have:
Gone to Florida
Spent countless hours apartment hunting, and found a place for my boyfriend and I to live
Had my ex-fix taken off, my bone spurs shaved down, and my ankle scoped
Helped my sister's boyfriend propose to her
Had the most excruciating post-op visit to have my boot put on
Went to my first Chicago Blackhawks game
Started physical therapy (I'm actually starting week THREE today)
...and most importantly............shaved my leg!


My removal surgery was out-patient so I was in and out and home before I knew it. I still cried like a baby before surgery though! At least I am consistent. Thankfully the anesthesiologist gave me a bit of Versed before I went to the OR so I wasn't screaming again. I remember him staring at me waiting for it to kick in and then telling him I was floating. When I woke up from surgery I finally got those damn Teddy Grahams that I didn't get the first time around!! I took some time to recover before they told me to get out. They sent me packing with a prescription for more Norco and more Augmentin. Yay..... :-/

Taken a day or two before my removal. Look at that dry skin!

Post-surgery Teddy Grahams! Look how excited I am!!

NO MORE RAGE CAGE!

A week and change later, I was back at the doctor's office to have my dressings removed. Dr. A had been on vacation since my surgery so his office was PACKED. My sister and I got to see a kid from juvie come in shackles and an orange jumpsuit to have a cast taken off. That was pretty funny. What WASN'T funny was my appointment. To start, having to look at bloody bandages is disgusting. Even my sister was sick. Then Dr. Arndt comes in and just starts bending my ankle every which way he wants. After 3 months of not moving it...I can't even describe the pain. I was screaming and crying and sweating like crazy. Then I had to have my stitches removed from the scope sites. Then I had to have my boot fitted. I was so sick and light-headed after my hour long appointment that I had to take a wheel chair out. It was awful.

the boot

so much velcro!

So like I said earlier, I am starting week THREE of PT today. I do a lot of range of motion exercises and stretching in my sessions. My therapist also gives me foot massages to help the swelling in my foot/ankle/leg. The best part of therapy is this machine that flows ice cold water through a wrap around my foot. It's called the Game Ready. It is very relaxing. I highly recommend Athletico for PT if you are in the Chicago-land area! Everyone at my office is super friendly.

We are all caught up now. I'm going to end with some pictures of life, PT, and my foot.

post ex-fix removal. nice and swollen. The really dark mark in the bottom right pic was the hole that was infected.

Freeze&Squeeze/Game Ready

Beardo and I at the Hawks game

Taken before they lost. We both need hair cuts.

That Time I Fell Down the Stairs

Ok, "fell" is being A little dramatic. I slipped. I was scooting myself down the stairs one afternoon when my good foot clipped a step and a went sliding down about 4 or 5 steps. I landed right on the heel on the bad foot. I was hysterical. However, my home nurse was coming by any moment, so I wasn't about to rush off to the ER.

My nurse Linda checked everything out. My foot and ankle were a little swollen. I still had full feeling in my leg and foot so she didn't think that anything moved inside. She did tell me to call the doctor though. It was Friday, which is when he operates, so I couldn't see him that day. I had to wait until Monday. I iced and elevated all weekend per his order to keep the swelling down.

I went into the doctor's office with my head hung low. I felt pretty silly for falling. He was really nice about it though. I had my X-rays done and awaited my fate.....

I DIDN'T SCREW ANYTHING UP!!!!!

Dr. Arndt said everything looked great. The frame is very sturdy and there is nowhere for the pins to go, so it would take a lot to really break it. Now, I'm a complete idiot because I only snapped a pic of my a current x-ray. When I go back in at the end of February, I will try to get the "before" x-ray.

 

You can see that beautiful crescent-shaped space!

Like I said, my next appointment is at the end of February. At that appointment I get to schedule my removal surgery! WOOOO! I am getting pretty restless being home all day. There is only so much TV I can watch, social media I can check, and iPhone games I can play. I am impatiently waiting for the day this thing comes off...

Thanks for reading!
- Vanna

Christmas and the Unwrapping

I'm doing my best to catch up to present time. I'm officially 3 weeks post-op. At least I am as I write this. Woohoo!!!!! Actually, I am now 4 weeks post-op. I had an issue with Blogger and had to repost my entries.

The first two weeks were nice because Christmas and New Years Eve/Day happened. My boyfriend took some extra time off of work, and my sister was on Winter Break (she is a high school teacher). I knew everyone was getting me recovery stuff for Christmas. My family had been hounding me for weeks about what I wanted for Christmas. I didn't want them spending money on stupid shit. Plus, I was just happy to spend my first christmas home in two years. So I finally asked for practical things. Cheap sweat pants that I could cut, sudoku/word search/puzzle books, and socks. I asked, and I received! My fam got me different kinds of pants including a pair of Red Sox yoga pants that I REFUSE to cut. My sister got me socks with rubber grips on them and an iTunes gift card for time-consuming apps for my phone. My best friend Bobbie Ann crocheted me a headband that I wear almost every day to keep my hair out of my face.

Surgery #1

December 21st came way too fast. I had been off of work since the 14th. I went to Florida for the weekend with my boyfriend. I saw Every Time I Die with one of my best friends. I also spent some quality time with my family.

I had to be at the hospital at 530 in the morning on Friday the 21st. I had the first surgery of the day so I was super happy about that. 530 though? Shit, that is early! I slept for about 3 hours the night before. That was a bad idea because I get very nervous and cranky when I'm tired. Not exactly a great combo when you're at the hospital.

The Story

Welcome! I feel a little silly writing this, but I am trying to find something to occupy my time while I recover. My name is Vanna, I recently turned 29, and I have arthritis. Before you even think of saying, "But you're so young!" let me just say... It can happen to anyone! Also, hold the Vanna White jokes. I've heard them all.

Let's start from the beginning. When I was 5 or 6 I had surgery for an infection in the bones of my right foot. I was in the ICU for several weeks after as well. I don't remember too much about the ordeal, but I do remember being very afraid of the cast saw. Anyway, the doctors said that osteoarthritis would hit me in my mid to late 20s.....and boy did it!