Gearing up for my first post surgical appointment the night before (February 17) I was so excited at the opportunity to finally leave the house that I made sure to actually go through the motions of using hair products and picking out a very special yoga pants outfit. I was even going make sure to wear make up, something I hadn't done since January 31 (surgery day). The forecast overnight was not looking good, there was to be a wintry mix with a possible 3-5 inches of snow. We stayed up a little later than normal and watched a movie and even caught the first few moments of Jimmy Fallon's first monologue as host of The Tonight Show. Even at midnight no precipitation had begun-maybe they would be wrong? It was still cold, only time would tell.
David took the day off in order to take me to my appointment. That being said, we woke up a little later than our usual 4:50 am. The outside didn't look too bad, the cars were barely covered, but the temperature was very cold. However, it quickly went from bad to worse and the snow came down with a vengeance and schools that had at first had a delay were now cancelling classes for the day. Our street became covered in a thick blanket of snow. While I was getting ready,and I DID put on some make up and especially my favorite item-mascara, David went outside to start the car and clear off the snow. On the news there were multiple reports of accidents and increasing numbers of cancellations and worsening road conditions.
7:45 and I was suited up and ready to make it down the stairs of the porch and into the car. The snow was still coming down. The roads were TERRIBLE-Travelling in our area was at best a crawl. Since our winter season had started so early, and just like much of the country we were under the veil of the Polar Vortex and record snows and cold communities were either out of salt or on very limited supplies. As we began our journey I could tell it was going to take a while, I called ahead and let the office staff know that we were on our way. The last thing I wanted was to be counted as a no show. All in all we got to the Medical Building only 15 minutes past my actual appointment time. Not great-but much better than what we thought when we first headed out.
David dropped me off at the door and I used my walker and slowly got to the second floor and checked in. Since the weather was so bad, I think everyone was operating on a delay. The waiting area didn't look too overrun with patients at this point, so I breathed a bit of relief and found a spot and waited.
The wait was quite tolerable and probably the least amount of time since I have been going to this group. Berniece, my surgeon's nurse came out to greet me and we walked first to X-ray.
It must have been the technician's first day because both she and I had to tell him that I would need assistance to get onto the table and to position my legs. He also asked what happened and what I had done to my hips. When I told him that I had CONGENITAL hip dysplasia corrected with a PAO surgery -he looked at me and said "Oh were you in an accident or something?" Oh geez-thank goodness he just runs x-ray equipment. "No" I said politely. "I was born this way and had it corrected." Well, in cases like these I just think just get through it and move on...he doesn't know and don't waste your time. But, I will say that my surgeon's nurse just gave the technician a look and said "She has had MAJOR SURGERY-ON HER LEFT HIP-please make sure you get clear films. " I am guessing this guy is just not a morning person. He seemed nice enough, so we all have off days.
After the x-rays were taken, they are digitally captured and I was led to an exam room.
The doctor came in and said that things were looking good. He wanted me to stay non-weight bearing for at least another two weeks and come back. he would like to see some "bony bridging" before I would be allowed to put pressure or stress on my hip joint. If you look closely you can see how he recreated a new hip socket and that the screws are still doing the work. The right side is still dysplastic, but one thing at a time, one side at a time.
All in all he was very pleased with my numbers, overall health and progress. everything seemed to be on track!
The last order of business for the doctor's visit was to check the incision. The dressing was removed and Bernice removed the dressing tape. The surgeon actually used a "glue" to close up the incision! Everything looked really good, not swollen, healing nicely (well as pretty as a 10 inch glued incision can be)
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| The incision: Not conventionally "pretty" but in the wound world it is a SUPERMODEL |
So, for the next two weeks it will be more of the CPM machine twice a day. More resting, more eating right, and more positive thinking. The other great thing is that my weight and appetite are maintained at its normal level. In fact, I feel like I have actually lost a little bit of weight. Nothing of significance, but before surgery one of my concerns was that I would gain weight by being so sedentary during my recovery. Dr. Sauber was right, there is a lot of energy being used in this healing process.
~DRIVE SLOW~
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