Aside from sitting in a recliner and watching TV, I didn't do much for the summer of 2018 other than an outing every now and then or MD appointments. Some milestones were:
Putting on my own socks and shoes - as trivial as this sounds, it was damn near impossible to do. I discovered that I truly loved and understood why the OT gave me a sock tool. I still use it some mornings now when I'm stiff. My left foot stayed so swollen that often times I couldn't get my shoe on and if I did, I couldn't reach my foot to tie it. There's a lot of limitations following a hip fracture.
Shower by self - I have a great Mom - for weeks, she would not let me even attempt being in the bathroom alone - no balance, blood thinners, only using one leg made the most dangerous room in a home more so for me. Eventually I snuck off into the bathroom and did my solo shower (sitting on transfer bench of course).
Sleep in a bed!!!! I think it was late July or even August before I made my way back to my bed. Since my first surgery I had been more comfortable being semi-erect, laying flat pulled on things and was painful. So I slept in a recliner in my living room. Hell I spent my entire life in that recliner. It was the easiest thing to get up and down from. I ate there, slept there, watched TV and played on the computer all from the recliner. I have always been a left side sleeper so going back to bed was going to be a challenge. We even asked the doctor if it was safe for me to lay on my side or flat. Given the ok, one Friday night I had had enough so I eased into bed. Oooowwwww. This wasn’t going to be easy either. Why would I ever think that? I wound up having to put pillows under my knees to bring my hip up. I wedged my body pillow behind me to keep me from rolling left. I'd snooze a while then my left knee would begin to hurt terribly - as we would discover this was most likely due to muscle imbalance. OW. To this day I still can not lay on my left side due to pain and luckily I’ve gotten to the point where I can sleep on my back or right side. Occasionally I forget and try to roll left. My upper half and brain are like yes! My hip is like not so fast there sport!
Actually get in and sit in the bathtub - This didn't come for a long, long time. I don't remember when I pulled this off, but I do remember it was hard as crap to get back out. HAHAHA
Going out to eat - My first meal out was at Logan's - it's not far from home and we went early. They stashed us in a booth near the front. The food was as typical for them average, but the seating go uncomfortable fast. The cushion in the booth wasn't great so the wood was cramming into the back of my leg. I remember just wanting to go home.
Riding in the front seat of the car - July 8th - I picked front seat riding a a goal pretty early on in this process. I've always gotten car sick riding in the back seat and even short rides around town that mom would take me on, I'd start getting nauseated and have to go back home. Once I got to the front seat, we could go farther - one day after my doctor's appointment, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bedford to eat at Liberty Station. This was one of my favorite outings! :) I love eating there, but I love the BRP too! One of my favorite places to ride is along that ridge!
Going to the grocery store - ~July 8th - When the only place you've been for weeks is either a hospital or a doctor's office, anything sounds fun. I was so excited at the prospect of going to the store. My first outing would be to Walmart market near my house. The first trip out, I used a wheelchair, but soon discovered, the mart carts were the way to go. I used them frequently often to the disgusting looks from others who obviously couldn't see my jacked up hip, but were too rude to ask. Occasionally I ran across a helpful customer or worker who would offer to get something from the high shelf or low or offer to pick up the heavy stuff. Mostly people just stared. I will say Walmart's mart carts are faster than Kroger's but less reliable. We were at the big Walmart in Bonsack one day and the cart I was on kept dying and stalling out. A friend Sean found me dead in the water near the deoderant aisle, and offered to go get a replacement; about the time I consented to his help, it started back up. It would die two more times, but finally made it out. Mom and I were constantly amused. She found me one time backing up down an aisle... just because I could and it made a lot of noise. HAHAHA
Putting on my own socks and shoes - as trivial as this sounds, it was damn near impossible to do. I discovered that I truly loved and understood why the OT gave me a sock tool. I still use it some mornings now when I'm stiff. My left foot stayed so swollen that often times I couldn't get my shoe on and if I did, I couldn't reach my foot to tie it. There's a lot of limitations following a hip fracture.
Shower by self - I have a great Mom - for weeks, she would not let me even attempt being in the bathroom alone - no balance, blood thinners, only using one leg made the most dangerous room in a home more so for me. Eventually I snuck off into the bathroom and did my solo shower (sitting on transfer bench of course).
Sleep in a bed!!!! I think it was late July or even August before I made my way back to my bed. Since my first surgery I had been more comfortable being semi-erect, laying flat pulled on things and was painful. So I slept in a recliner in my living room. Hell I spent my entire life in that recliner. It was the easiest thing to get up and down from. I ate there, slept there, watched TV and played on the computer all from the recliner. I have always been a left side sleeper so going back to bed was going to be a challenge. We even asked the doctor if it was safe for me to lay on my side or flat. Given the ok, one Friday night I had had enough so I eased into bed. Oooowwwww. This wasn’t going to be easy either. Why would I ever think that? I wound up having to put pillows under my knees to bring my hip up. I wedged my body pillow behind me to keep me from rolling left. I'd snooze a while then my left knee would begin to hurt terribly - as we would discover this was most likely due to muscle imbalance. OW. To this day I still can not lay on my left side due to pain and luckily I’ve gotten to the point where I can sleep on my back or right side. Occasionally I forget and try to roll left. My upper half and brain are like yes! My hip is like not so fast there sport!
Actually get in and sit in the bathtub - This didn't come for a long, long time. I don't remember when I pulled this off, but I do remember it was hard as crap to get back out. HAHAHA
Going out to eat - My first meal out was at Logan's - it's not far from home and we went early. They stashed us in a booth near the front. The food was as typical for them average, but the seating go uncomfortable fast. The cushion in the booth wasn't great so the wood was cramming into the back of my leg. I remember just wanting to go home.
Riding in the front seat of the car - July 8th - I picked front seat riding a a goal pretty early on in this process. I've always gotten car sick riding in the back seat and even short rides around town that mom would take me on, I'd start getting nauseated and have to go back home. Once I got to the front seat, we could go farther - one day after my doctor's appointment, we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to Bedford to eat at Liberty Station. This was one of my favorite outings! :) I love eating there, but I love the BRP too! One of my favorite places to ride is along that ridge!
Going to the grocery store - ~July 8th - When the only place you've been for weeks is either a hospital or a doctor's office, anything sounds fun. I was so excited at the prospect of going to the store. My first outing would be to Walmart market near my house. The first trip out, I used a wheelchair, but soon discovered, the mart carts were the way to go. I used them frequently often to the disgusting looks from others who obviously couldn't see my jacked up hip, but were too rude to ask. Occasionally I ran across a helpful customer or worker who would offer to get something from the high shelf or low or offer to pick up the heavy stuff. Mostly people just stared. I will say Walmart's mart carts are faster than Kroger's but less reliable. We were at the big Walmart in Bonsack one day and the cart I was on kept dying and stalling out. A friend Sean found me dead in the water near the deoderant aisle, and offered to go get a replacement; about the time I consented to his help, it started back up. It would die two more times, but finally made it out. Mom and I were constantly amused. She found me one time backing up down an aisle... just because I could and it made a lot of noise. HAHAHA
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