Tuesday, October 25, 2011

My Left Hip

I have been overall very satisfied with LPAO. It will never be perfect. I can say that I am able to walk without it giving out. This to me is wonderful. I no longer have horrible left hip pain, just the right now which is soon to be fixed up!
I have NOT been to physical therapy here in town. I was given a referral to Wesley Rehab. to go 2-3 times a week over 4 weeks. I really dislike excuses but once school started back in for the older kids, scheduling surgery, soccer practices, and just finding daycare for the 3 younger ones. I just decided to wait until after I have my RPAO. It will work out. Dusty will get a new round of vacation and leave so that will be HUGE help. I do on occasion do the exercises I was sent home with from my 12 week postop appt. The only one I still struggle with is the one leg drop. My left just won't go. That muscle or whatever it is just is stubborn.
Which brings me to now. The groin is giving me issues. Not all the time. But when it does, I have trouble leading with my left up stairs. It is almost like it just doesn't want to lift. Other times I can dart up no thinking involved. I do have trouble lifting the leg close to me to put on my sock. It seems to be a very weak muscle. I have great confidence that the left will carry me through the RPAO but will definitely need some PT with the right hip.
The screws most days are fine. But when they want to be noticed they do!!! Just yesterday I was wearing my jacket around my waist and the little weight around my waist was very irritating on the screws. It must be time to say goodbye to those.
Sometimes when I sit too long my left will get stiff. I am still adjusting to the new adjustment but I am very happy that it is stable and I can walk without horrible pain!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Final Blood Donation

Yea!!! I was ready for this donation.
The finger stick hurt quite a bit this time. Almost like the needle poke was just a little too deep or something. I bled really easy and my iron level was still up and good. Thank goodness too especially since this time I didn't have the week rest in between. The actual giving went really fast. I felt good but on the way home felt like I was going to pass out. Removing my jacket definitely helped.
No nap this time around to recover. I had to pick up the kids and drop my mom back off at her house. Then hurry home to have Arianna change her clothes because the junior band was invited to play with the high school band at the Friday football game. I dropped her off and stopped to get a bite to eat before returning home. All I have to say is that I think I would have been better off laying down and just taking it a little easier.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Blood Donation Time...Again

Yesterday I donated 1 unit to myself. It does make me feel a bit squeamish but it collects pretty fast. I did leave with a small headache but I think it was more related to nerves and being squeamish. This time around I did feel blah the rest of the evening. But nothing that a night sleep couldn't help with. And since I was pounds lighter then the first 2 previous donations could make a little difference.
But all went well so that is all that matters to me!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Catching up

It has been awhile since I last posted. Oops! But I will admit I have been busy. The kids started back to school in the middle of August. Emma wanted to jump start her preschool. I find it easier to just homeschool preschool. It worked out well with Hannah. We actually say " let's fill our brains" when it is time to sit down and learn. She is a fast learner!
Since starting school comes along all the extra activites---Little Flowers, Boy Scouts, Soccer practice and games. Nothing too much there ;)
I have scheduled my RPAO for Monday 11/7. But to add a bit of a twist my oldest daughter Arianna will be having her left hip corrected. As suspected she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia but instead of waiting for pain to occur, as suggested by the ortho doctor here, Dr. Millis had the idea of doing our surgeries together. So I scheduled her left hip to be done for Friday 11/4.
I have been talking to her about this since I had my first surgery. I have explained many things of what to expect. She seems to be ok with it all. Unlike me who was scared of the unknown.
I took her to Hobby Lobby and let her pick out fabric for her crutch pad covers and we will bring them with us to put on the crutches. For her birthday she got a wheelchair for her American Girl doll.
I have been busy these last couple of months organizing the house. I have donated 3 bags of clothes and 2 bags of toys! The family room downstairs is finally set up and functionable! Before it was just full of boxes and toys. I seperated out the toys and grouped together so it would make for easy cleanup. Still much to do but overall hubby should be able to keep the house up.
I was able to schedule my 2 pints of blood donation. At first they weren't sure if I could donate since I was underweight this time. I have lost some more of the baby weight but it put me under the recommended weight by just a little bit. But by the end of the day I was able to schedule both donations. The first will be Wednesday 10/12 and then the second Wednesday 10/19.
We will be ordering out plane tickets very soon. Arianna and I will be flying together on Wednesday 11/2 and Dusty will fly out on that Sunday. To make it easier on me, we will leave from Kansas City and directly fly into Boston, so no switching!