I'm so Tired...

I am so tired today. I went to the gym & rode the bike for 40 minutes. When I got home, Chloe wanted to get her science fair board done. So, we worked on that ALL DAY!!!!!
Trixie is worn out too. She is laying beside me asleep with the tip of her tongue sticking out of her mouth. And she is snoring!!!
I need to go upstairs and practice the piano. That's part of my goals for this new year..I am going to improve my piano playing skills. I bought my own copy of Hanon "Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises". I've been told those are very boring to play but I am finding them fun and challenging. I guess I am enjoying them now because I never had to practice them in all my 10 years of lessons as a child. When I think back to those lessons, I can't see what I learned. I think it was all spent learning hymns and pop music of the late 70 & 80's. I have found a cool website that I can download on my iPad or print off sheet music. That is cool because I can view the sheet music on my iPad and not have to print them off. :) I have ordered me some new piano books and they should be here in a few days.
Well, I must go and practice. More tomorrow!

Hello 2011

I have figured out how to post here using my iPad. I hope that this will make it easier for me to post more regularly during 2011. I enjoy writing about my crazy life. Sometimes I actually sound funny. So my goal is to post once a day this whole year. Let's hope I can do it!

Test

Hello! Goodbye 2010!!!

13 Stitches!!!

Finally, I got the 13 stitches out!!!

I couldn't believe how busy the doctor's office was at this visit. I mean I had to wait for an hour and a half to see the doctor. It took 3 people to take out all 13 stitches! The first nurse got 9 out and the second nurse got 2 more out BUT... the last 2 were a pain! The skin had over grown the knots of the last 2 stitches making removing them very difficult. They had to call in the Physician's Assistant to come in to remove those stitches. I have to say I didn't mind that at all. See, I like the Physician's Assistant. He is really nice and not to mention easy on the eyes! :)

So, all the stitches are out and I can take showers now. YAY!!!!! I did find out that I do have a little bit of cartilage left in my ankle and that this last surgery should buy my another 2 to 3 years of hopefully "comfort". I will still need to have the back side of my ankle cleaned out eventually. I hope that I can put that surgery off a little while longer now.

2.5 Weeks Past Surgery

I'm still not putting any weight on my foot and I still have about 10 stitches. I have been able to wash my leg to get the iodine and writing off of it. The skin has gotten very dry and is peeling. I'm glad to see that the pressure sore is looking a little better and that the top of my foot is less sensitive. I'm not wearing my BIG BLACK BOOT while I am at home and sitting around. I use it for when I have to leave the house. I'm trying to keep all pressure off the back of my heel & top of my foot. I have found that I need to keep it wrapped in a small ace bandage. I do that for the swelling as well as it just feels good to have it wrapped.

I am tired of the sitting all day. I do get up and help get dinner going or fill the dishwasher. I even make it into the laundry room (when the floor is clear) and fold clothes. I can't really get a load going in the washer too easily. I leave that for Courtney to take care of. She's pretty good about it even though some times she does it on her schedule and not mine. Ian has become a lot of help lately with fixin' dinner. He loves to make fresh tea! Chloe is my go get it girl as well as dog walker most days. I try to make sure Ian takes Trixie out at least once every day. I.B. has actually started making both Ian and Chloe go out together after it gets dark to walk Trixie. I.B. has done OK as far as helping out. He has had to do ALL the grocery shopping. I'll make a list and he goes to the store. I have to say I do miss going to the store and strolling the isles. Usually, I.B. will come back with exactly what is on the list and whatever junk he sees and is in the mood for.

I know that all this is good for my family. I mean good as in the sense of they all need to know how to do everything that I do on a daily bases. I am so ready to be back to being able to jump up and do as I please. At least I go back in 3 days to get the stitches out!!! AND it will be time to start putting a little weight through my foot!

Pressure Sores

I have been very happy living without that hard splint. It's nice to have it where I can see my foot and move my foot & ankle. I have a nasty although not open pressure sore on the back of my heel. I also have the beginnings of one on the top of my foot. It's along the long bone going to my big toe.

I have no feeling on the skin but I do for deeper pains along the top of my foot. My heel is completely numb. It's like my foot is asleep in most areas. It feels very odd. I'm hoping that the feeling will come back as I exercise my ankle. I will have to ask the doctor about this next week.

The Splint is Gone!!!

I finally got the hard splint off my leg!!! I found that my leg did shrink in size and that the doctor wrote a lot more on my leg than I remembered him writing. It was so nice to get that thing off and see what was done.

Here is what my ankle looked like when all the bandages were taken off. If you were wondering, I am not purposely holding my foot cocked-eyed. It's just how my foot looks. :/ I haven't counted the stitches yet but I think there are close to 10 nylon stitches.

Here's a closer view of the stitches. I will have to keep those in for 1 more week. So that means I will have to keep it dry and no showers until after next Weds. Yes...I will be bathing...in the tub until next week. The doctor was able to remove the large bone chunk, bone spurs, damaged cartilage and the second "deck screw" from this one incision.

In this view, the doctor made a small incision to remove that "deck screw" that was working its way out. Luckily, dissolving stitches where used here. I use the term "deck screw" because on the X-rays these 2 screws looked very big like deck screws!

Here is the surprise I found when all the bandages where gone. I knew my heel hurt very bad after surgery and during that first week. I still think that initial pain was from the surgery and all the trauma I have done to my ankle. I do remember my heel hurting in a different way sometime during the last part of the first week. Now I know what "Pressure/Bed Sore" feels like. It is very OUCHY!!! It's like a bad bruise that is always being poked. Needless to say the doctor was not very happy with me. He told me I should have called and come in the office and not have lived with the pain. Luckily for me this looks to be very superficial. However, I am to keep a close eye on it and if it starts to look infected then I am not to wait until my next appointment, I am to go into the office immediately.

So I am still in a non-weight baring mode for another week. I can take off the boot for sleeping and to do my exercises. I have to keep a gauze pad over the stitches and keep my heel very well padded so that sore can heal. It looks like I will be in my boot for the next 3 weeks. I will gradually start putting weight back thru my leg a week from today. I know that it is going to take more time than I want to get back to walking without the aide of anything or anyone. I am just happy to be on this side of the healing. I hope by March that I might be able to get back on my bike!