Each Day I Feel Stronger - Day 12 Post OP

Before I get out of bed to start the day each morning is the best time to gauge how much improvement I feel. All day today I only felt something around the new hip. I say something because it's not pain, it's not discomfort, it's not numbness, it's just there ... as expected. Right side was stronger and I found the swelling around the incision had decreased even more. It wasn't until I started to walk did I know my right foot and ankle had also lost some of it's swelling overnight.

I slept pretty well and the time I could not get back to sleep I got up. I wasn't going to fight it and I wasn't going to lay there in bed hoping to get back to sleep. I went to the computer room and did the latest MacOS update for my iMac. Headed to the kitchen to do the latest iOS 13 update for the phone and while I was at it ... why not do the OS6 update for the watch. By the time I went back to bed for a few hours of solid sleep ... all Apple toys were updated. Except the iPad Mini which the update is not released until September 30th.

I officially called it the start of the day a little after 5am and headed for the patio a few minutes past 6am to get the sunrise photos. Every morning is different but just as beautiful as the morning before. I had big plans for the day as far as walking goes, so I passed my idea to my PT friend. She said it seemed fine based on what I had been doing ... waking to the mailbox across the street, around the corner and down a half block with the walker ... walking a little inside without the walker using counter tops, tables or furniture if I needed to balance myself, with the walker nearby.

My neighbor made his daily morning trip over with my mail delivered the late afternoon before. We always talk a little before he either does stuff for me or himself before it gets too hot. I have not had much for him to do besides picking up the mail. Amazon Prime is delivering right to the front door and the dog feeder brings those in and unpacks them for me.
 

Since I have not been able to feed the hounds due to my instruction not to bend more than 90°, Stella and Heidi no longer get fed breakfast at 4am and lunch by noon. "The Pet Nanny" is a very busy person in her business and she has to feed the clients with horses first. That puts the hounds eating somewhere between 8am-9am and their 2nd meal between 3pm-4pm. Every morning when Stella realizes that I cannot feed her ... she lays down and sleeps until 8am.

When I take this picture directly into the rising sun it never comes out as awesome the real thing is.

With the internet read, coffee gone (1 cup) and no plans until the hounds are fed, I pulled into my chair on the patio sitting in the shade. This is my view from the corner of my small patio. There is just something different about the wide open western skies.

With the temps in the 60-70 range, Heidi is spending more time outside sniffing the whole edge of the backyard. The stones are not nearly as hot as they were a month or two ago. I still plan to install some artificial turf for her, so she has some grass to lay on.

Stella doesn't seem to mind her new routine of sleeping until breakfast is served. She will move from spot to spot depending on the heat from the sunshine.

Heidi decided again this morning that the warm sun was better than back in her bed.

The both show more excitement when MJ shows up to feed them than they did when I returned from the hospital. They were probably a little confused when I walked in with that weird walker thing whereas they know when MJ comes in they are going to get food. Stella howls and Heidi barks every morning when she shows up.

That doesn't mean their routines change much. They are back to sleep unless they hear noise in the kitchen that may relate to food.

Heidi thought she was going to get my lunch today .. Alfredo Fettuccine.

I keep this house open in the morning as long as possible but once I see Stella's tongue hanging, it's time to turn on the air conditioning. It was the same rule back in Indiana.

It only takes a few minutes before they feel that cold air and they are out like a light for the rest of the afternoon.

Heidi was sure the FedEx man was outside but when I opened the door to check ... nobody nor any boxes were on the porch.

So I got off track about the story of my plans ... changing.

I told Gerry this morning I wanted to use the walker and walk to the mailbox which for me is across the street, around the right turn and down about a half a block. It would be my longest walk yet. HE DIDN'T HESITATE telling me that I was NOT going to do that. He warned me that if he saw me doing that he would take my walker away and force me to stay inside all the time.

I am his 3rd "patient" in 3 years that he has taken care of after they had knee or hip replacement. He knows that I could hurt myself and have to start over if I were to get to overzealous in my rehab. He already told me last week that I was the type that cannot sit still, always have to be doing something.

My other plan was to do as much walking INSIDE the house without my walker. I relayed my plan to my PT friend, suggesting that I use the hallway and the walls for balance if needed. She said she preferred I stayed in the kitchen to do that so I had counter tops and a table to use if I needed to balance myself or my legs got tired.

I did walk some around the kitchen from the fridge to the counter and back without the walker. Or to open the back door for the hounds. Without that walker I don't feel as strong. In fact it feels like Day 3 or 4 without the walker. I'll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning before I decide what to do. Most friends feel that I need to just take it easy and let the surgeon tell me what the next plan is after my appointment on Tuesday.

Not only does Stella like yogurt but she likes cottage cheese also.

The excitement of the week happened last night. I received an unexpected package from Omaha Steaks. I usually receive a gift from them sent by my three college friends every Christmas. I thanked them before looking at the message on the shipping paperwork. It wasn't from them but from Denise, my sister. So I texted her thanking her for the surprise.

She replied "I didn't send you anything from Omaha Steaks."

Hmmmmm she is the only Denise that I know. Was it from a blog reader? Lurker? How did they get my street address? It's not hard and you can get that address for anybody for a $1.99 most places. This kept the brain cells active for an hour or two, still I was happy with the contents. Very happy.

My sister replied an hour later that she had sent some meals to me from SendAMeal but I didn't make the correlation, and she didn't either. After looking at the shipping document closer, down in the lower left, there was our answer. SendAMeal.com used Omaha Steaks to fill the order. They are probably one and the same.

So with that puzzle solved Stella was more than happy to start her overnight shift of being my nurse. She waited patiently for me to finish my yogurt container.

Finally she could not wait any more and decide she would move into the "on call" mode ... If I needed her I could hit the 'nurse' button on my tv remote.  HaHa. She never gets too far away from me since our move. Still adjusting I guess.

Besides feeling better I can tell things are getting back to normal. I changed my browser again from Safari to Firefox on my iMac, and the MacBook Air. I like the security each provides when on the internet.

The second strange news is with my Canon G9X with the black spot on the sensor. It's gone but not for good. Some of the photos above were taken with the Canon and I did not edit out any block spot. Yet when I went outside to use that camera, there it was in the upper left part of the screen ... the black spot. So I guess I'll keep that camera and use it only when I don't see the black spot.  LOL

My new daily protein drink is now: Gold Standard Whey Protein, Sports Research Collagen Peptides, Sports Research Complex Turmeric Curcumin all mixed in Silk Almond Milk. This should help in the healing process and building muscle from those damaged in the wreck and surgery. I found the Turmeric soft gels easier to take than adding the powder to food.

I will let you know of any negative or positive results from that daily drink.

I feel good every day but by late afternoon I am tired. I'll usually go lay down anytime day or night when I am tired. Some of it might be for a 30 minute rest with right leg elevated or an all out siesta for an hour or two.

I took Tom's suggestion ... no schedule sleep when you can.

Today was good, fun  in the Wild West.

Another Day Closer To Normal

Just like the lizard, small steps take you a long way. Another day of feeling better, stronger and range of motion. I think today the only thing I feel is the incision area where it is itching on the outside but feels like something on the inside. I just noticed the swelling had really gone down since last night. I always apply ice on those areas when I sleep. Which I will get into later.

All three of us had a pretty solid night of sleep. Stella slept in the corner of the computer room until 4am. Heidi slept all night until 4am and I had some solid sleep in the range of 2 hours at a time. I felt a lot more rested when I woke up at 4am. That is when Stella nudged my hand where her nose letting me know she had to go outside. Heidi woke up and thought it would be a good idea to join here. I swear they still must be on Eastern Time.

I felt like being outside yesterday afternoon so it was the perfect time to walk next door to return two cleaned food containers they had given me on Sunday night full of great tasting food. That meant I had to walk down and up two different driveways. Plus I was able to maneuver around the potted plants they had on their sidewalk. No pain, no signs of weakness nor dizziness.

This morning you could tell it was going to be another great day. The highs will be mid 80's and I might not even have to turn on the AC today if the breeze through the house continues.  I grabbed my iPhone to take photos and moved outside to sit on the patio for a while. Both Heidi and Stella joined me outside.

A friend suggested some supplements to take in powder form. An orthopedic surgeon had recommended the Collagen and I am trying to get a lot of protein to build up the injured area. While I was on the Amazon site I searched "Hip Replacement Rehab" and found a few things I can use. Like a 4" padded seat cushion, those kitchen chairs are hard as a rock and my butt is sore.

Since the two ice packs the hospital gave me leaked badly in the middle of the night on two successive nights, I bought two ice packs with great reviews by customers and an Amazon Choice. Being 10" long and 5" high they will be perfect to slide along my thigh at hip at night. That was the same shape the ones from the hospital gave me. Walking up to ice cold water everywhere is never fun.

My morning smoothie was a cup of Silk Almond Milk, the packaged 8oz bag of Dole's frozen berries, a handful of fresh spinach, 1 whole banana. Add that to the vitamins I am taking and I think my diet is off to a good start for the day.

All exercises I did this morning were painless and there was more range of motion in a few of them, while only going as far as the first sign of discomfort. I can now sit in a chair on do leg lifts on the surgical size ... meaning ... I can lift my lower leg knee high and hold my right leg straight out without pain.

It did not take long to realize the faster both legs became stronger, my life was going to get a lot more easier. It would give me the ability to get out of bed easier because I could move the legs from right to left toward the edge of the bed. I have no doubt the trips I make in the middle of the night has helped in this healing process.

Heidi came out to join Stella and I and it did not take her long to see a lizard on top of the fence about to sunbath.

I am not sure what she would do with a lizard but she was keeping a keen basset hound eye on it.

Both hounds have seemed to have adapted to having the walker around.

To hot, time for some shade.

Not quite the perfect spot.

She waited here until "MJ The Pet Nanny" showed up to feed her breakfast.

Last night's cloud show was pretty awesome.

As I improve each day I have to really pay attention to what I am doing so I don't put my rehab back months and start over. I still follow the protocol rules that were given to me but I am stretching the window just a little. Nothing drastic. Maybe spend more time outside walking or sitting.

Right now though, it's time for a siesta .... I'll be back later to finish this post.

The afternoon wasn't much more than sleeping, peeing and fitting lunch in there in-between. I am not sure the reason but today the bladder has been in full operation mode. At least it was giving me some time to fit in some naps between 1.5 - 2 hours. Of course while I am sleeping the hounds are too, right there in the bedroom.

While I was having steamed broccoli and cauliflower with some cottage cheese for lunch, Stella thought it was the perfect time to spend outside. Those naps don't last much longer than 10 minutes but she is in the dream state while sleeping.

I don't feel bad today but the body told me to go back to bed about the time I tried staying up. No pain but the inside of my hip feels like one big glob of something. The swelling continues to go down around the incision. This is the strongest I have ever felt since surgery and many times I have thought I could put this walker away in the closet for a different time.

I didn't and won't until I hear what the surgeon says on the 24th, next Tuesday.

Stella has decided at least during the day she needs to sleep right by the bed but on the side where I put my feet when getting out of bed. So now I have to wake her up first and let her know I am swinging my feet over to the edge of the bed ... then slide the walker over. She is usually up and walking away by that time.

I wish I could pin point for you the one thing that is helping my leg and hip but I think it's a combination of things. The PT of course is making my legs stronger, knees stronger. Once you have strength in those you can do about anything. With additional vitamins and fresh veggies and fruit, grass fed beef and eggs ... I'm sure the muscles are getting enough protein and nutrients to rebuild themselves after the shock they have been through.

My friend sent me a text today telling me NBC in the morning is checking Al Rorker's progress as he had hip replacement a couple of days ago. I guess I'll tune in tomorrow to see what stage of activity he is at, although everybody is different and will recover at different speeds. What makes it interesting is that he has been on the strict Keto Diet for a long time. Is that type of eating good for recovery?

It will be a night of baseball and some NFL football tonight. Then prepare for another day. Time is passing fast I will say that. Tuesday will be here before I know it and he will recommend my next plan of action.

A beautiful day here in the Wild West.

Heidi's Secret Admirer Suggests Blanket For Heidi

For years the hounds have had a secret admirer going as far back as Winston. I don't know who loved Winston more, him or me but I know I loved that basset hound more than anything. So the "admirer" has always had a keen eye when looking at the photos of the hounds. His thoughts are relayed to me through emails and shows me just how much I miss in the photos I take. So last night there came a suggestion.

He thought Heidi looked great in her new bed but he is also familiar with Arizona weather and believe it or not our nighttime temps are dropping into the 50's now. He suggested I bring out her blanket in case she needed it. So with with temps in the 50's instead of single digits, Heidi is starting with her fleece blanket with the wool Mexican blanket cleaned, folded and ready to go when those temps drop to the 30s at night. We sleep with the windows open at least through the 50's.

Bloggers ... you never know who is reading your blog. This "special admirer" of the hounds has always kept me on my toes.  HaHa

I know I am suppose to and I really am when I tell you that I am improving every day. I may not be sleeping any better but I am feeling better and getting stronger. Tuesday I needed to take a book back to the library and I needed to go to the bank to get some cash, something I rarely carry. The cash is for tipping the grocery delivery and my pizza place only takes cash for deliveries.

Soooooo I decided it was time to expand my horizons.

I told Gerry to park his Jeep Liberty at the curb because I would be walking (with walker) down the driveway and would let myself in. I think he was more nervous than I was.

I opened my front door, felt good on the front porch (no steps anywhere) and then took my time walking 'down' the driveway. Every driveway is slanted downward for the monsoon rains to clear to their gutter system in the street which makes the curb just a little higher than normal. I remembered to step with my good leg first off the curb, the bad leg followed.

The Jeep Liberty seats are the perfect height for me to stand with my back toward the door, holding my bad leg out straight as I sit, as I was instructed to do every time I sit down. Just like getting in bed, I slid into the seat that was all the way back with the back of the seat tilted back a little. Swung my feet into the passenger side and we were off. He folded up my walker and put it in back.

I felt no pain getting in and out of the car, nor walking 'up' the driveway when I got home.

I forgot to tell you, with "the grabber" I am able to change clothes and put on my left sock. The right foot and ankle is swollen so much that with the compression sock I had to have help putting that on. Shoe??? I took the shoe laces out of the flat soles, rubber grip New Balance shoes when I left the hospital on Sept 9th. With the grabber and the long extended shoe horn  I can get both shoes on with no trouble.

I wanted to concentrate on taking less steps during the day and adding more of those 30 minute rest periods flat on my back even with my eyes open. By doing that, by the end of the afternoon I felt much stronger on Tuesday than any other afternoon. By the end of the night I still had over 1,300 steps for the day.

During my afternoon siesta I was in a weird dream and either pain or the dream woke me up, only to find my bad leg raised in the air with that swollen foot higher than it had been in any exercise. I just waited for the pain in my hip to hit me but it never did. The only pain if you call it that, that I had all day, was a numb feeling deep in that hip that was replaced. To be expected of course.

I did spend some time walking around the kitchen and around the table when I needed to pick up something without the walker. I'd have one hand barely touching the table or a counter or a wall while I walked. I am still following the rules they gave me for making turns, moving laterally and reaching for things. I may have broken the 90° rule a time or two when I was bending over but it was a slow bend.

I am suppose to sit in chairs with straight backs and a seat that is a little high. The kitchen chairs work for that but they are hard and almost uncomfortable without some sort of seat pad. I tried putting a couch pillow on them but that was even more uncomfortable. I also remember every time I sit either in a chair or on the bed, to keep my bad leg straight out then bend it once I am seated.

I know I cannot just turn and pivot when walking or making a turn. I have to turn in short increments keeping my feet parallel with the side of walker and my knee/foot straight. Like I said yesterday, there are many times I am sitting at the table or computer and forget that I am using a walker. I still would do anything to be able to sleep on my left side instead of my back. I remind myself when moving to get in bed or out of bed not to go fast and follow the protocol. I can feel how much stronger my right leg and hip is each day by the exercises I do.

I was able to do all 10 of the leg slide outs this morning for the first time. That's the toughest exercise of all I think. The most discomfort. When I walked down the hallway toward the kitchen my right leg was walking normal and felt normal !!!! So the thigh muscles are getting stronger just doing those with 10 reps each and no weight or resistance of any kind, just normal movement.

Stella seems to think she can help me and will follow me from room to room. The only "close call" was last night when she planted that 85# front paw of hers right in the middle of my swollen right foot. It was so swollen that it did not hurt and I figured she was trying to move the fluid around. I have been extra careful that she does not fall, rub or lean into my right leg when I am petting her.

With my lack of activity I can feel the weight I lost coming back. I am eating healthy food but it doesn't take long to add the pounds when I am not doing anything. It should drop just as fast as it did before once I start walking, hiking and biking.

I tried my first online grocery shopping and delivery this morning.  I bought 32 items online, using my Fry's discount card, paid online and less than an hour later he was at the door bringing my groceries right to the kitchen counter. He picked the order just like I ordered, not missing a brand name nor size. It was well worth the $9.95. I did ask him if the local store really did give him the 5% tip automatically added at the checkout and he said he did but since he was fast and accurate I had to give him an additional tip.

Later in the day I started feeling so good it was scary just how good. I moved around the kitchen putting the groceries away, in some cases without the walker but it was nearby if needed. The times I have intentionally walked the hallway, the stride felt normal with very little to no discomfort. My standing marching leg lifts (slowly), my right leg had never gone higher. I am only moving that leg to the point of discomfort and then backing off.

I had a few 'rest periods' and was having a pretty solid siesta until my twitching left leg woke me up. That the non-surgical side. The hounds didn't do much outside their normal routine. It's been warm this week so they spend most of their time inside enjoying the cool air conditioned room.

Of course Stella always finds time to get a little sunshine therapy in.

Another good day in the Wild West.