Week 2-3

I'm on my own this week. The parade of visitors, helpers, and well-wishers has finally ended, and it's just me, my books, and my cats. I started working from home part-time, which has been difficult. I hate to admit it, but the thought of going back to work just drains all my energy. The work itself is pretty easy - since I'm not in the office, people don't really know I'm back, so they leave me alone. I'm using the time to get caught up on the backlog of email that came about during last year's project from hell.

From a recovery standpoint, I'm doing well. Still no pain, and the stitches have finally come out. The redness was definitely due to the tape - once I took the tape off and left the incision sites open to the air, things started to calm down quickly.

Time for my third rehab appointment! Sam told me not to get too excited, because even though it's been 3 weeks since my surgery, and the protocol has me doing more weight bearing in week 3, from a rehab perspective, I'm just coming into week 2. What? I really don't get this new-fangled counting scheme. Anyhoo, I get some new exercises.

I can now bike 20 minutes a day, broken into 2 pieces. Woo hoo! Also, I get to remove internal leg rotations on the bed and replace them with standing internal leg rotations. Also added:
1. External leg fall-outs - essentially just letting my operated leg fall outward (controlled falling, anyway) to the point where the hip brace stops it.
2. Quadruped rocking - this one is both fun and embarassing! I get on all fours, and just slowly move back and forth, stick my rear end back as far as I can. Fun because it's a different kind of movement and I'm not laying on my back, and embarassing, because I can only think of one activity that uses this type of movement. (!)

But regardless, things are going well, with one exception. I was given some leg lifts to do while lying on my stomach, but they produced a kind of twangy sensation that left me a bit more nauseous with every rep. Dr. Birmingham told me to knock those off immediately, as that sensation could indicate tendonitis was getting ready to kick in.

I'm able to do more things around the house now, like run into chairs with my hip brace and knock things onto the floor with my crutches. I know how much my husband appreciates the extra work I'm creating for him as I assert my independence. But I seriously can't take much more of this sitting around. My leg wants to walk - it keeps doing it all by itself, with no prodding from me.