A lot has happened since my last post. Some of it has been chronicled on Facebook, but I don't go into much detail there. It's really not the place to ramble. I can ramble all I want here. :D
July will be 4 years since my breast cancer diagnosis and I remain in remission. Incredibly grateful for that. Just had the 6-month check-ups and all is well. Arthritis got the better of me this past spring and I underwent a total hip replacement March 21st. There were some complications, but I am past them and doing well. Getting the rest of my body to catch up has been a challenge. Years of walking, standing, sitting to alleviate pain in my hip left a lot of muscle weakness. I joined the Y and started aquatics which has been very beneficial, once I get past the soreness the next day!
Back to the hip surgery....I tried to prevent people from knowing/seeing how much pain I was in prior to surgery. The folks who saw me regularly or semi-regularly saw me at my worst. I have never had such intense pain before. It was not pretty and I hope to never experience that again. I cried, screamed in pain and walked around the house for hours at a time because sitting or lying gave me no relief. Not even strong pain meds helped. It sucked. I honestly thought I would never make it to my surgery date. At this time, I also had a roommate I invited to stay with me to help her out, but it went horribly wrong and just added to the stress. I won't go into the ugly details, but I will tell you that I was totally unprepared to be a caregiver for someone who was far more needy than I ever imagined. Ugh.
After surgery, my heart rate was elevated and I spiked a temp. That afternoon/evening consisted of blood work numerous times, a myriad of tests to rule out a blood clot and/or pulmonary embolism or infection. Going for CT scans and ultrasounds in the middle of the night did not help my level of anxiety. Fortunately, nothing was amiss. My hemoglobin and hematicrit, however, were not bouncing back and I got all sorts of concern and lectures about anemia, and that I needed to follow-up and determine why these blood counts were so low. I was not permitted to walk by myself because of this, but I was never dizzy or lightheaded.
Because of lymphedema in my right arm, I cannot have blood draws, IVs or blood pressure readings on that arm. So my left arm took the brunt of it all. I was only supposed to be in the hospital 4 days, but because of my blood counts, they kept me one day, then another. They were hoping to avoid a blood transfusion, but the day before my discharge they gave me 2 units of blood. Normally IVs sites are changed on the 5th day, so sure enough, the vein decided to collapse. Twice during the transfusion, I looked down and saw blood puddling all over the place. Not my blood, but the donor's. Lovely. My arm was so beat up and bruised that there really wasn't a good place to start another IV and I definitely didn't want a line put in. They called Rapid Response, which I understand means that a nurse from ICU will quickly appear and find a way to start another IV. Well, I'm not sure what constitutes "rapid," but my nurse got tired of waiting and just went for it. She found a spot and viola, they were able to restart the transfusion. Which, by the way, takes HOURS. Sheesh.
So, finally on Saturday, I was released to an inpatient rehab facility closer to home. I decided to go that route since I live alone and I am so glad I did. I stayed there a week and a half, returned home and had about 2 weeks of home health care. A physical therapist came to my house twice a week and a nurse once a week. At this point, my recovery was speeding along nicely. I saw my surgeon 5 1/2 weeks after surgery and he was very pleased with the implant. He released me to most activities and I continue to improve. I dumped the walker shortly after I returned home and used the cane for about two more weeks. I am walking unassisted and doing things that normal people do. I have been told that it takes about 6 months for the hip, associated muscles and tendons to heal. I have virtually no pain, except for the other muscle aches I've experienced since resuming a more active lifestyle. I am so happy I was able to have the surgery.
My sister-in-law was an incredible blessing, staying with me the first two nights I was home and doing so much for me that I was unable to do. And, of course, the prayers and support of my family, church and friends were essential to my recovery. Thanks to you all!
I wanted to mention that my brother John passed away two years ago today. He was a wonderful brother and I miss him very much.
