7 weeks post PAO!

Whew! I finally made it. Tomorrow I go back to IA City for X-rays and hopefully be told I can begin to weight bear. I hope I can, because I have been cheating. (Shhh, don't tell my doctor's office.) I don't recommend for everyone to cheat, but I have been feeling pretty good, haven't even needed to take tylenol for the past week. I have quite a limp, but I can take little steps. I am not confident to do it a long distance from my walker though! I even stood during my shower today, taking small steps around the tub to get clean. It went pretty well, but after cheating for the past 2 hours I can tell I am tired and I have some discomfort.
Today will be a short post, I will have more to report after my appointment tomorrow. This weekend my family and I will travel to Okoboji after my appointment in IA City. It will be a lot of driving, but I am so excited to have a mini reunion with my college friends. So stay tuned, the next post should be good!

6 Weeks PAO - Belated

It has been a little over 6 weeks since my surgery. I was unable to post on the exact date due to the fact I was at a state pharmacy meeting over the weekend. I was a little nervous about the weekend, I would have to stay in a hotel and be on crutches for the entire time. Fortunately the hotel had a great handicapped accessible room complete with transfer bench. My husband was able to travel with me. I still can't put on my own socks!
Everyone at the meeting was really friendly and many helped me open doors and pull out chairs for me. I am glad I live in Iowa where the people are so friendly. I don't know if people would help me out as much if I lived in New York, for example.
I do wish I had a dollar for every time I had to say periacetabular osteotomy. Even in a room full of pharmacists I still got looks of shock and "periacetabular what?"
I must say I can not wait until next week. I go back to Iowa City for follow up x-rays. Hopefully I will get the all clear to bear weight on the left. I have been so ready to walk I gave it a shot last week. Just a little step to see what would happen. Unfortunately my muscles are so weak that I almost fell over. I have been trying to stand on both legs to try to put a little more weight to strengthen those muscles. I don't feel any pain and it almost feels normal.
For my final note, being that today is Father's day, I have to give a big thank you to my husband. He has taken very good care of Caleb and his one-legged wife. We have had a few frustrating times due to my controlling type "A" personality, but we always get through it. We both can't wait to get life back to normal.

5 weeks post PAO

It is hard to believe that it has been five weeks since my procedure. Today I have not taken any narcotic pain medications, only tylenol. I still have some minor pain, but it is tolerable so I may not need to take any more percocet. Last week I had a couple of days where my pain increased, my back hurt so bad and my muscles felt so stiff, but today I am feeling pretty good.

I reached another milestone in my recovery journey - I put my own shoes on by myself! I am as excited as my two year old!

I thought I would share about some of the useful items I use in my daily activities. I have been able to shower by myself about a week after I came home. I attribute this to my awesome transfer bench. It comes out of the tub so I am able to back on to it to sit and then turn around into the tub. I also have my shower head on a hose so it is very easy to shower. I have a long handeled "poof" that has allowed me to wash my legs even in the early days when I could not bend forward. I also bought a shower caddy that sticks to the wall to hold my shampoo and soap at a handy level for me. I bought one made by OXO, the suction cups really hold very well. I also purchased some rails for my toilet. It was very easy to install. I never bought an elevated seat, I find the railings have worked fine for me. Lastly I think my walker is great for in the house. I like it more than my crutches for in the house, mostly because when I put my crutches anywhere they fall down. So I use my crutches to go up and down the stairs in my house and out in public. I did purchase a grabber, but I don't really use it. I was able to order all of these items from my pharmacy. Most pharmacies should be able to order them, I just paid cash from my medical flex account and didn't try to turn it into my insurance because I didn't want to bother, but I think some insurances will cover these home health care items. Some of these items might even be able to be rented, such as the transfer bench.

My toilet rails

Shower caddy that attaches to wall

My transfer bench

My shower scene

4 weeks post PAO

My scar a little over 3 weeks post PAO

It has been 4 weeks since my PAO. I didn't get last week posted, I wish I could say I was too busy, but that would not be true. I just didn't feel like doing too much. I would say that has been one of the hardest things for me, keeping motivated. It is very easy to fall into moods that cause me to feel like doing nothing. I am going to try to keep busy from now on. I have tons of journals and CE that I could get a jump start on, plus I have boxes of pictures to put in photo albums, so I do have things to keep me busy. Besides, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In 22 days I will be back at IA City and hopefully will be told I can start weight bearing. So, I will catch everyone up to speed with my progress thus far. A little after 2 weeks post PAO, I was able to put my own pants on without devices. I am getting better everyday with movement, I can lift my left leg and turn my ankle inward to get my clothes on. I then have to sit on my bed to put my right leg through. I can bend down to pick things up, as long as I kick my left leg out. I am pretty good with my crutches. My walker is my mode of transportation in the house. I have a small plastic container that my husband made into a basket for me. It allows me to carry things from the kitchen and around the house. I have been left home alone for the past 2 days and it has been ok. My husband is able to help with meals during the day, but I could do it on my own if need be.

I take about 2 percocet per day. I try to get by without it, but when I am in pain, I don't feel like moving. I would take Ibuprofen, but I am still on coumadin and these two medications don't go well together. (I hate Tylenol!) I tried to see if my doctor would let me take Ibuprofen, but they do not. I don't see the issue, I have to get my blood drawn twice a week to monitor the coumadin dosage anyways. Oh well I will play the game. I am not wearing my TED hose anymore. I am supposed to, but they don't feel tight anymore and I don't think I am at risk for a clot. I move a lot during the day and my last INR was 2.0. (Normal is 1.5-2.0) Plus I hate those socks! They are so hot and itchy! I couldn't sleep with them on!

My scar area is healing very well. I still have some numbness around the scar and the top of my thigh is tender, but it isn't too bad. I am able to wear my old underwear and jeans.

All in all I think I am doing pretty well. I am worried about when I am finally able to weight bear. I hope I can get back to my old self as soon as possible. I am not allowed to do physical therapy until I can weight bear on my left. I am also trying not to gain 15 pounds! I can't wait until I can get back into the gym.