This morning I had an appointment with my prosthethis at 8am. I put on my leg at about 7:30am and we left the house to head towards FWB. After being so discouraged over the weekend and perhaps being a little hard on myself, I am so glad that I had an appointment today. When I spoke with Dr. Jack yesterday he was so understanding and encouraging. He truly is a compassionate man and I am so thankful that the Lord once again provided me with a doctor with such expertise!
At the appointment he assured me that I was progressing well and made some adjustments to the brim of my socket. He suggested that I take it a little slower, but also urged me to ensure that I do wear my leg daily. My original plan was to come home and take my leg off, rest up, get it back on and go pick J up from school and take him to a Dr's appointment. I had so many errands to run and also had the chance to catch up with my sweet friend over lunch. It dawned on me on the way back from FWB that if I loosened the strap of velcro that fastens the socket it would relieve the pressure and pain that forces me to take the leg off. Of course, I can only do this while sitting or driving. Which is the perfect time to do so. It enabled me to keep the leg on for 8 1/2 hours!! Of course, the last hour or two I was literally dragging my leg, lol, but I made it through and I don't feel terrible..... yet.... Ok.... well when I got home and took the leg off I pretty much stayed on the couch the rest of the night. It's 10:30pm and I am quite sore. But it is manageable. I don't feel like giving up and I know that tomorrow I will put it back on :)
I start PT tomorrow at 1pm. Please pray for me! I know they are going to work me hard!! I am looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the challenge, the extra exercise and receiving some training consistently.
I am going to finish a cup of tea and watch Downton Abbey, my new favorite show! Have a great night! I know that I will be resting well indeed!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Actual Day #4
Since I didn't wear my prosthetic on Saturday or Sunday due to pain, etc. I am not going to be counting them. Therefore, Monday, January 9, would have been day #4.
I was hesitant to put on the leg after all the pain and soreness that plagued me in the previous days, but after much urging and encouragement from my prosthethis I went ahead and put it on around 2pm. I wore the leg until 4pm. I did some light housework while wearing and some work from the computer as well, so it wasn't overly exhausting.
After taking a break for a few hours I put it back on in the evening and was only able to wear it for an hour. I hated to take it off so early, especially after regressing over the weekend, but I had to do what I had to do.
It was a better day all and all. It helped a great deal that I hadn't worn it for two days, so the pain and soreness had subsided.
It is of utmost importance that I wear my leg everyday, even if I can't do it for long, I must just put it on.
I was hesitant to put on the leg after all the pain and soreness that plagued me in the previous days, but after much urging and encouragement from my prosthethis I went ahead and put it on around 2pm. I wore the leg until 4pm. I did some light housework while wearing and some work from the computer as well, so it wasn't overly exhausting.
After taking a break for a few hours I put it back on in the evening and was only able to wear it for an hour. I hated to take it off so early, especially after regressing over the weekend, but I had to do what I had to do.
It was a better day all and all. It helped a great deal that I hadn't worn it for two days, so the pain and soreness had subsided.
It is of utmost importance that I wear my leg everyday, even if I can't do it for long, I must just put it on.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Day #4
Went to bed early last night. I was in a good bit of pain. I was so excited to have no alarm on Saturday.
4am: Woke up. Lots of pain, muscle spasms and cramps. So much for sleeping in. Up from 4-9ish in lots of pain. Fell asleep and woke up at 1pm. Oops. This is taking a lot out of me apparently.
Muscle pains, spasms, exhaustion=No leg today.
Trying again tomorrow.
4am: Woke up. Lots of pain, muscle spasms and cramps. So much for sleeping in. Up from 4-9ish in lots of pain. Fell asleep and woke up at 1pm. Oops. This is taking a lot out of me apparently.
Muscle pains, spasms, exhaustion=No leg today.
Trying again tomorrow.
Day #3
Today I am scheduled to wear my leg for a total of four hours. I went ahead and put it on this morning at 10am. It was a bit easier to get on this morning, I guess I am beginning to get the hang of getting into it and it went on fairly quickly. I didn't time it, but I'm thinking that it tool about 5-10 minutes.
I have my first show of the year tonight, so I have a good bit of work to do around the house in order to prepare. That means there was not much time for sitting or taking it easy while wearing the prosthetic. So, I got in the kitchen for a little over an hour and washed the dishes, cleaned up and made brownies. After that I was hurting a good bit so I decided to sit while the brownies were baking and get some work done from my computer. After 1 1/2 hours I was so ready to get it off! The last half hour seemed to barely creep by. Finally I got to take it off at 12!
Have I mentioned how great it feels to take that leg off? Soooooo good!
I was in an awful lot of pain after I took it off, so I thought I would just lay on the couch and rest. There was still so much to get done, but I knew I couldn't go hoppin' around the house right away. I totally fell asleep and woke up at 1:45!! Oops!
Put the leg back on at 2:30.... it's 2:50 now and I want it OFF!!! Going to push through... Gotta run to pick up Jarred from the bus stop, swing by the grocery store, come home and finish making a trifle then pack everything up for my Pampered Chef party tonight. I have to wear the leg until 4:30. I can do this...... Phil 4:13.......
Came home to finish getting ready for the party. So much to do and the leg was hurting and in the way. 4pm: took it off. I'm done.
This is not easy.
I have my first show of the year tonight, so I have a good bit of work to do around the house in order to prepare. That means there was not much time for sitting or taking it easy while wearing the prosthetic. So, I got in the kitchen for a little over an hour and washed the dishes, cleaned up and made brownies. After that I was hurting a good bit so I decided to sit while the brownies were baking and get some work done from my computer. After 1 1/2 hours I was so ready to get it off! The last half hour seemed to barely creep by. Finally I got to take it off at 12!
Have I mentioned how great it feels to take that leg off? Soooooo good!
I was in an awful lot of pain after I took it off, so I thought I would just lay on the couch and rest. There was still so much to get done, but I knew I couldn't go hoppin' around the house right away. I totally fell asleep and woke up at 1:45!! Oops!
Put the leg back on at 2:30.... it's 2:50 now and I want it OFF!!! Going to push through... Gotta run to pick up Jarred from the bus stop, swing by the grocery store, come home and finish making a trifle then pack everything up for my Pampered Chef party tonight. I have to wear the leg until 4:30. I can do this...... Phil 4:13.......
Came home to finish getting ready for the party. So much to do and the leg was hurting and in the way. 4pm: took it off. I'm done.
This is not easy.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Day #2
Well, today went much better! I've just resolved to put on the leg and wear it regardless of how I feel about it. Today I wore it for a little over three hours. I was scheduled to wear it fro 1 1/2 hours twice. I didn't have much scheduled to do away from home today. I was supposed to go out to San Destin for our Pampered Chef back to business meeting and my amazing Director graciously offered to come here. That was such a blessing and a relief.
So I put on my leg early this afternoon and wore it for about 1 1/2 hours. I didn't do much. I sat down and did a good bit of work on my computer, fixed myself lunch and then I walked carrying my plate and glass to the living room to eat. I guess that wouldn't sound like much of a big deal to most people, but it was a huge deal to me. I also decided that today I would put the crutches down and just walk around without them. I know that I am bound to fall and am not scared of doing so, I mean it's gonna happen eventually and happen more than once. Well, anyway, it was way easier not to have them to contend with. When it is just me here it is easier to focus so I feel comfortable doing that. When there is a lot more going on then I need to use them for now. Or when I'm out in public. So, after my time was up I took it off and all was fine.
I ended up putting it back on around 5ish and wore it until about 7ish. I cleaned up the house a little, cooked some dinner and just stood up for a while to get used to putting weight on that side. We had dinner and by that time I was more than ready to take it off. I don't feel like I am in an incredible amount of pain today. I mean I'm sore.... really sore.... but it is tolerable at least.
I start physical therapy next week. I don't know yet how often I will go. I am hoping a lot so that I can get this down quickly.
Well, that's today's news. It was a better day. I can feel your prayers. Thank you. I am hoping tomorrow will be even better. I have a PC party tomorrow night, so I guess the question is do I wear it there or not? Probably not. We shall see though :)
So I put on my leg early this afternoon and wore it for about 1 1/2 hours. I didn't do much. I sat down and did a good bit of work on my computer, fixed myself lunch and then I walked carrying my plate and glass to the living room to eat. I guess that wouldn't sound like much of a big deal to most people, but it was a huge deal to me. I also decided that today I would put the crutches down and just walk around without them. I know that I am bound to fall and am not scared of doing so, I mean it's gonna happen eventually and happen more than once. Well, anyway, it was way easier not to have them to contend with. When it is just me here it is easier to focus so I feel comfortable doing that. When there is a lot more going on then I need to use them for now. Or when I'm out in public. So, after my time was up I took it off and all was fine.
I ended up putting it back on around 5ish and wore it until about 7ish. I cleaned up the house a little, cooked some dinner and just stood up for a while to get used to putting weight on that side. We had dinner and by that time I was more than ready to take it off. I don't feel like I am in an incredible amount of pain today. I mean I'm sore.... really sore.... but it is tolerable at least.
I start physical therapy next week. I don't know yet how often I will go. I am hoping a lot so that I can get this down quickly.
Well, that's today's news. It was a better day. I can feel your prayers. Thank you. I am hoping tomorrow will be even better. I have a PC party tomorrow night, so I guess the question is do I wear it there or not? Probably not. We shall see though :)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Day #1 With My Prosthetic
Since I have been so detailed in sharing my journey this far, I feel it is only right to chronicle this new journey with my prosthetic leg. I will try my best to update you daily for the first couple of weeks to let you know how I am making progress.
I picked up my leg yesterday and was so excited about it. I walked with it for over an hour at the Dr's office. He had given me a schedule for how often I am to wear the leg daily. I had to take it off before I left the office last night and so we threw it in the back seat, went out to celebrate and run some errands then headed home.
Once home, I put on some jeans I picked up at Sams-without even trying on and they fit! And I put the leg on of course. I walked around for a little while and decided I was tired and needed to put it away for the rest of the day. Dr. Jack told me that I would be really sore. That I would be working muscles over the next few weeks that I didn't even know I had. Boy was he right! By the time I got in bed last night I felt like I had had one hard workout.
I am supposed to wear the leg for two hours today, but break it up into one hour increments. Then I increase the time by half an hour everyday. Therefore, tomorrow I will have it on for 1 1/2 hour increments.
When I woke up this morning I was still really sore, so I decided to take it easy and put the leg on later in the day. I took it really easy because I was SO sore. Good grief. Anyway, I got really excited when I laid out clothes to wear. Pants, a pair of socks and a pair of shoes just brought tears to my eyes. Happy tears :)
Then I spent about 15 minutes trying to get A shoe on my left foot. I gave up and went to find another shoe that took about five minutes to put on it. Now, getting this leg on is somewhat similar to wrestling an octopus. I have to put my jeans on the left leg first, pull the leg over to me, try to get my right leg in the pants-making sure to put the right leg in the right pant leg-tricker than it may seem- and then get in the socket and try to pull everything together. I think it took about 30 minutes to do all that. By the time I got it on I was out of breath, uncomfortable and wanted to take it off and throw it down. I'm being honest here. I left it on though and finished getting ready then headed out of the house to pick up Jarred and run errands.
Ok, maybe running errands on day number one was not my best idea. But I promise I really didn't do THAT much. I just picked Jarred up from the bus stop, went to the bank, went to KMart and then stopped by a friends house. I think it was about 3:00pm when I put the leg on and then about 4:40pm when I took it off.... So yeah.... I wore it a little too long. I was in mid-sentence at my friends house when I stopped and said "Ive gotta go home and take this leg off!" I think I did a combination of hopping, dragging and walking to my car. I couldn't get home fast enough. I was ready to get that thing off it hurt so badly. I think part of the problem though is that I am not getting into the socket correctly. I didn't feel like it was fitting correctly or that I was in there all the way.
Now I am laying on my couch typing you lamenting the fact that I have to get up and cook. I really want to go to church tonight as well. I really want to put my leg on and wear it to church. But I really don't want to put my leg on. But I have to.
So yeah.... I know that this is supposed to be big and exciting and all those wonderful things and maybe I feel about an iota of that right now. Mostly though, I feel like that leg is hard to walk with and extremely uncomfortable. I really liked hopping around and have grown accustomed to things the way they are. The ease that I have getting here and there. Now this is just another adjustment. I know that I will get there. It is just not going to be easy. I can all ready see that there's going to be a lot of hard work, tears and determination in my future.
I'm hoping that before long this will become second nature to me. Today though, I really don't like that leg.
I picked up my leg yesterday and was so excited about it. I walked with it for over an hour at the Dr's office. He had given me a schedule for how often I am to wear the leg daily. I had to take it off before I left the office last night and so we threw it in the back seat, went out to celebrate and run some errands then headed home.
Once home, I put on some jeans I picked up at Sams-without even trying on and they fit! And I put the leg on of course. I walked around for a little while and decided I was tired and needed to put it away for the rest of the day. Dr. Jack told me that I would be really sore. That I would be working muscles over the next few weeks that I didn't even know I had. Boy was he right! By the time I got in bed last night I felt like I had had one hard workout.
I am supposed to wear the leg for two hours today, but break it up into one hour increments. Then I increase the time by half an hour everyday. Therefore, tomorrow I will have it on for 1 1/2 hour increments.
When I woke up this morning I was still really sore, so I decided to take it easy and put the leg on later in the day. I took it really easy because I was SO sore. Good grief. Anyway, I got really excited when I laid out clothes to wear. Pants, a pair of socks and a pair of shoes just brought tears to my eyes. Happy tears :)
Then I spent about 15 minutes trying to get A shoe on my left foot. I gave up and went to find another shoe that took about five minutes to put on it. Now, getting this leg on is somewhat similar to wrestling an octopus. I have to put my jeans on the left leg first, pull the leg over to me, try to get my right leg in the pants-making sure to put the right leg in the right pant leg-tricker than it may seem- and then get in the socket and try to pull everything together. I think it took about 30 minutes to do all that. By the time I got it on I was out of breath, uncomfortable and wanted to take it off and throw it down. I'm being honest here. I left it on though and finished getting ready then headed out of the house to pick up Jarred and run errands.
Ok, maybe running errands on day number one was not my best idea. But I promise I really didn't do THAT much. I just picked Jarred up from the bus stop, went to the bank, went to KMart and then stopped by a friends house. I think it was about 3:00pm when I put the leg on and then about 4:40pm when I took it off.... So yeah.... I wore it a little too long. I was in mid-sentence at my friends house when I stopped and said "Ive gotta go home and take this leg off!" I think I did a combination of hopping, dragging and walking to my car. I couldn't get home fast enough. I was ready to get that thing off it hurt so badly. I think part of the problem though is that I am not getting into the socket correctly. I didn't feel like it was fitting correctly or that I was in there all the way.
Now I am laying on my couch typing you lamenting the fact that I have to get up and cook. I really want to go to church tonight as well. I really want to put my leg on and wear it to church. But I really don't want to put my leg on. But I have to.
So yeah.... I know that this is supposed to be big and exciting and all those wonderful things and maybe I feel about an iota of that right now. Mostly though, I feel like that leg is hard to walk with and extremely uncomfortable. I really liked hopping around and have grown accustomed to things the way they are. The ease that I have getting here and there. Now this is just another adjustment. I know that I will get there. It is just not going to be easy. I can all ready see that there's going to be a lot of hard work, tears and determination in my future.
I'm hoping that before long this will become second nature to me. Today though, I really don't like that leg.
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