So, why am I sharing this story with y'all? Well, I
needed to read a personal story so I would know what to expect and there just
weren't any real, personal stories, so here I am.
A little back story: I have ridiculously lousy joints; runs
in my family. My mom and only brother have the same lousy joints. I’ve had
osteoarthritis for many years. (FYI: I’m 48) The problem is that I didn't know
just how bad they were until it was too late. If I had known how quickly I
would wear them out, I would have done a couple things.
1. Never run! I used to run several times a week and felt it
then but you know the old adage: “No pain, No gain!
2. Maintain a healthy weight. I've always been a fluffy girl
with occasional years here and there of being really fit.
3. Be kind to my body and realize that I'm not a man. I've
always prided myself in being able to climb the mountain (literally) faster
than anyone, or Lift anything I needed to regardless the weight. It's really a
pride thing, I don't like to say, "I can't".
So, hindsight really is 20/20 and I can't go back.
Sadly.
So, it started like this. Last year for my birthday my lover
man took me to Krka National Park to see the waterfalls and to do a little
hiking. Keep in mind, we were coming off of total Covid lockdowns here in
Croatia and we had been completely stationary for several months, which I think
had something to do with my injury.
Now, this section is strictly to throw in a few gratis
photos of Krka, keep in mind bad things can happen in beautiful places.
Now, was it worth it or not?? Okay no it wasn’t but it sure
was fun. Anyhoo, at the end of that trip we decided to hike down a mountain to
see a waterfall at the base.
I didn't take a photo from the top of the mountain, but this
was almost to the bottom and let me tell ya, totally NOT worth it!
On the way up, I felt a little soreness but that's kinda
normal for me. It wasn't until the next day that I couldn't walk, I mean at
all. So, I thought that maybe if I let it rest, it would get better but it
didn't.
So, I made an appointment for a specialist in the capital,
and he said that more than likely it was most likely Jumpers Knee and they
suggested physical therapy. I found place close to our town.
(Just FYI, Croatia has social medicine and the care in many
cases, not all, but many isn't the best.)
Anyhow, the only private place I could find around us was on
the third floor and no, there wasn't a lift! No kidding! So, I used my crutches
and limped up those three flights of stairs twenty-six different times for
therapy. Close to the end of my therapy I wasn't getting much better and the
therapist said that most likely it wouldn't get any better until I had meniscus
surgery. I was in shock. What? Who said anything about a meniscus?? I mean,
where did that even come from? So, I went back to the specialist and he said
that more than likely I needed surgery for a torn meniscus. I went and got a
third MRI, (apparently all MRIs aren't created equal, they all showed something
different). After getting the last MRI
my doctor told me that I actually had bone on bone in my knee. I was in shock,
I was 47! I mean, isn't that an old lady sickness? Is 47 really old? No! It's
not old but my joints sure think it is.
So, my doctor said I needed microfracture surgery and
following the surgery I would be off my leg for a full 6 weeks. I was so ready
but in the meantime we had a scheduled trip to the States that couldn't be
delayed. So, I headed to my Dr. and he gave me a corticosteroid shot and it did
help for a couple months but I was still limited how much I could walk and I
couldn't walk on any uneven ground without popping, catching and pain. Also,
standing was extremely painful and as missionaries, we spent hours standing and
fellowshipping. Sadly, during that time did a lot of excusing myself so I could
sit, made me feel really old.
We headed back home the beginning of December and my surgery
was the first part of January. I'm
sitting here blogging about this a day before my 6 weeks is up. Tomorrow is
officially 6 weeks for me and I thought to myself, “I've made it this far and
someone needs to know what I know. “.
January 11th, I checked into the private hospital
and got ready for my surgery that morning. I was quite scared about the whole thing,
but the surgery wasn't too bad. This is my scared face! And am I being real
here or what? That's a terrible photo!
The nurse got me all IV-ed-up and then it was all just a
bunch of waiting --- scared waiting, but waiting.
Then it was go-time, and I was off. The surgery only
required a spinal block but I requested something to help me sleep. BTW, the
sleepy stuff worked until they actually started drilling the holes and then I
woke up, but I still couldn't feel a thing event though the banging was a
little disconcerting.
Btw, this was the third spinal I had ever had and it was the
most painful things ever! If it hadn't been for the nurse restraining me, I
would have jumped off the table.
Okay, so some honesty here. The hardest part of my time in
the hospital was using the bedpan! I mean it! It was terrible and since I had a
roommate and no divider, it was a little embarrassing too.
Okay back to the important stuff, I had tea and some
breakfast and then they brought in the machine in the photo. It was a CPM
(continuous passive motion) machine for my knee, looked a little mid-evil
torture device-ish to me.
They strapped me in and off I went. The machine just
basically slowly moves your leg back and forth. It can be set anywhere for 0 to
130% and I'll tell you, it's not the most comfortable thing to use. Start
out slow! This thing is priceless when it comes to healing and not getting
stiff. Plus, it’s awesome to get to take your leg out of that brace so there’s
that.
Oh, and I'm going to throw this one in just because. My lunch was....delicious, yummy, edible and probaly healthy.
I left the hospital in a leg brace that went from my upper
thigh to my lower calf; kept my leg completely strait. When I was sitting
I would prop my leg up on a pillow. Let me stop here and say: Do not put the
pillow under your knee, it needs to be under your foot. One of the things that’s
been hard is getting my leg to straiten to the point that my other does and if you
keep your knee bent with a pillow it’s going to make it even more difficult. When
I had my leg all propped up and stationary, I would loosen the Velcro on the
brace and it made it much more enjoyable to sit in that thing 27/7.
Guess what! I also had to sleep in it! Let me tell you,
getting used to sleeping in that bad boy wasn't easy but eventually I forgot it
was there. The only real issue I had is that my back hurt alot at night from
constantly being on my back. You can roll onto your non-operative leg with your
brace on top and supported with a pillow but the little metal ring in the middle
kinda gets aggravating after a while.
So, here are my scars after I got my stitches out. It was
pleasantly surprised that they were more gross. Below is exactly 6 weeks
post-op and my scars and not very noticeable at all.
So, at this point, I'm gonna stop here and give you a list
of things I discovered in the last 6 weeks and maybe they'll calm your mind a
little when they happen to you.
1. Pain is completely normal. I took a pain pill prescribed
by the doctor for the first couple days but after that I really didn't need
them. There were a few nights as I was just relaxing on the couch, foot
elevated, my entire leg just ached, I mean so much that I had to take a pain
pill but I think that was only 3 times.
2. Do what the doctor tells you. If he says elevate, then
elevate. Ice it per instructions. Don't try to get around too much for the
first week. I was a little unstable on my crutches until my arms got used to
them --- I actually fell twice so be careful!
3. USE THE CPM machine! That thing is seriously invaluable
when it comes to recovering. I read everything I could find and the thought on
how often to use it and for how long runs the gamut from 1 hour to 24 hours a
day, not kidding. I managed in the beginning to use it several hours a day,
mainly at night. I would start out at a very low bend percentage and work up.
Don’t attempt to start at 75%, you will regret it. Start small and work up and
don’t work past the pain. Also, I didn’t
figure this out until 5 ½ weeks: The leg length on the machine is adjustable. I’m
only 5’3 and it was so hard to keep my foot in the little footie place on the
machine until I realized that the machine was adjustable. I would suggest that
you try to get in at least 3 hours in a day and the more the better. They say
to sleep in the thing and believe it or not, it is possible. The movement is so
slow and gentle that it you get comfy and warm, it just may fall asleep. We set
my machine up on the end of our big sectional so I would be in the living room.
Don’t neglect this part. Oh yea, and per my research, it’s normal in the States
to be sent home with one of these machines when you leave the hospital.
4. Learn to bathe like an old person. We have a step-up
shower and so I had to bathe in the tub on one of those old-folk stools. I
would sit on the outside edge of the tub and slide back onto the stool leaving
my operative leg on the edge of the tub so it didn’t bend. We have a sprayer
attached to our shower head so I used that to kinda shower on my old lady seat.
It was humiliating but it functioned.
5. Lotion, lotion, and more lotion. Even though I bathed
almost every day, my leg got extremely dry. I'm talking about a snowstorm of
dry skin when I would take off a sock or leggings. So, this is how you remedy
it: I used Gold Bond Healing lotion and I slathered my foot in it, seriously
SLATHER, and then I wrapped my foot in cellophane and then put one of those
really cozy, fuzzy winter socks over that and left it for at least 5 hours. It
actually wasn't as uncomfy as you would think. I took all the junk off and
really wiped down my foot and the blizzard was gone. I repeated that twice and
didn't have another problem with it.
5. Dont freak out when you notice that your legs are different colors. Your leg is NOT dying! I don't know why it does that but apparently, after researching it, it's normal. Actually, today is my 6 weeks point and my PT has started me walking with one crutch and it is still a little purple but it's starting to get back a normal shade.
7. Apparently loss of muscle in your operative leg can cause
your legs to actually look different from one another. I normally have large
calves, (HATE IT) but it is what it is; I started noticing that my calf in my
operative leg was starting to thin out and it kinda worried me and delighted me
in a strange way. So don't freak out, it's all normal.
8. Just because your doctor tells you that you can start
walking after 6 weeks, don't think it's going to be instant, unless you're like
20 and buff. I thought I would be able to just set the crutches aside and take
off but that isn't the case. Last Thursday my PT told me I could lose the
brace, (if I could have, and knew how, I would have broken out in dance), but
he allowed me to walk with both crutches and put 20% weight on my leg. Then
Monday, he allowed me to walk on one crutch with 50% weight on my leg. I won't
lie to you, it's not easy or painless but at least I can carry coffee now! That
being said, be patient, you just had a huge surgery --- give your body time to
recover. It's better to take it easy than to injure and have to start
over.
9. Why do you have to wait 6 or 8 weeks? What determines the
time? I asked my PT and he told me that it all depends on the size of the
deformity. The larger the area of cartilage and microfracture, the longer it
takes for the fibrocartilage to develop and heal.
So that's basically it for the first 6 weeks. Yesterday at
PT, my guy allowed me to try to walk with one crutch and it actually went
really well. By that night, I had some serious stiffness, swelling, and pain
but as of this morning that's gone and I'm doing pretty okay. I can tell you
thought, it's no walk in the park. It's gonna take time and patience, so
buckle-in for a somewhat long ride.
If you guys have any questions, feel free to comment and I'll do my best to answer you.
I'll be back in a couple weeks for part two. Good luck
y'all!
PART 2
