Things have improved a little bit since last week. My overall pain level has decreased. Pain is no longer a part of every minute of every day. It only hurts at night or when I'm actively exercising it. The nighttime pain isn't as bad as it used to be, so I'm sleeping a little bit better. I don't think the pain actually wakes me up at night at this point. Instead, I'll wake up for some other reason (to pee) and the leg will be hurting from being in the same position for too long. I'm not sleeping all that well, but at this point I think that has more to do with my activity level than anything else. I'm doing a lot of sitting around, so I have no reason to be tired. I never really thought about it, but cycling is a great sleep aid. There's something so satisfying about crawling into bed after a long day and sleeping like a baby. I miss that feeling.
My flexibility is getting better. I have a long way to go, but things have definitely improved. I can do all of my ROM exercises without a whole lot of pain. At first I was scared that if I stretched too far I would hurt my bones, but now when I get closer to my limit the pain feels normal. It feels more like a pain in the muscles than a pain in the bones. It almost feels like a normal stretch on my good leg, just a little bit more painful.
Here's the big news: I started doing the elliptical trainer late last week. I was working out my upper body on Thursday and I just took a look at the elliptical and decided to give it a shot. To my surprise, I could actually do it without a "limp," if you could call it that on an elliptical. It started off somewhat difficult and I was only doing 5 minutes at a time at a very slow pace. I started with a 5-minute block, then I'd take a rest and do 5 more minutes later. Since then I've worked myself up to 10 minute blocks and I even do 30 second intervals every once in a while. Granted, the intervals are weak, but they're something.
I've felt much better since Thursday. Is it because of the elliptical? Has it made me stronger? Or was I just healing with time, which made it possible for me to do the elliptical? Either way, it's a big mental win for me to be exercising again. At the same time, I am trying to be careful not to do too much.
Meanwhile, I finally got a medical bill in the mail. Before insurance, the 3 days in the hospital plus the surgery would have cost over $30,000. How much will that be after insurance? I wish I knew. Unfortunately, the whole process has been painfully slow. I have a whole bunch of claims listed on my insurance, but they're all pending and I can't look at them yet. The ambulance ride appeared this morning, 3 weeks and 2 days after the fact. The bills are going to hurt. I can promise you that. I just don't know how much they are going to hurt yet.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Two Weeks After Surgery
Surgery was two weeks ago. I've had some ups and downs and a mixture of good news and bad news.
Things progressed rapidly at first. I felt better every day and I was able to get off of pain killers in less than a week. In fact, I felt worse on the pain killers than off of them. They made me tired all the time, yet I couldn't get in a good night of sleep. The relief from the pain (not much) just wasn't enough for me to keep on taking them.
Small progress seemed like a victory: putting more weight on the left leg, gaining more flexibility, being able to completely dress myself, etc. However, things slowed down around the one week mark. Walking on crutches was no longer a struggle and I just didn't feel like I was making progress. In reality, the progress was probably just too small for me to notice. At the same time, I wasn't ready for physical therapy yet, so I got a little discouraged and felt like I had no control over my situation. On the first few days I could push myself to walk and that felt like progress. Now I was stuck doing nothing but sitting around and healing.
Meanwhile, my work situation was a mess. I recently switched jobs, so I don't have any vacation time saved up yet. My manager was super understanding about everything, but the problem is that we simply don't have "light duty" in our department. I'm not necessarily qualified for desk jobs in another department, either. As a result, my only real option is unpaid leave. I love not working as much as the next guy, but I know a big bill will be coming in the mail soon.The good news is that my insurance went into effect in January. Things could have been a lot worse if this had happened in December.
On the 16th (12 days after surgery) I decided to go on a hike. I was getting restless just sitting around and it was a beautiful day outside. A short hike might have been a good idea, but a short hike turned into a 2.5-hour hike. I felt fine while I was out there, but as soon as I made it back home and sat down for a while, the pain began to set in. As simple as a hike may seem, it took me 2 days to recover from it.
I had my 2-week followup on the 18th. The good news: (a) the X-ray looks good and (b) it didn't hurt at all to have my staples removed. It may sound weak, but I was dreading having those staples removed. Ever since I took off my original bandages and saw those little metal bastards in my leg, I was scared about how they were going to come out. I thought about trying to take them out myself on the 17th, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have no idea why I was so scared of them, but I was. I feel much better now that they're out. I don't think my incisions are bothering me at all.
The bad news: (a) I'm still not ready for physical therapy and (b) they won't clear me for "full duty" for at least another 3 weeks. That will be at least 5 weeks off of work when it's all said and done. 5 weeks of no pay plus the medical bills is going to do some damage. If not for my wife (who makes all the money anyway), I'd be screwed.
I was really hoping I could start physical therapy. I think I learned my lesson from the hike, but I do hate just sitting around doing nothing. I feel good enough to start working out my upper body, which I will start today. I'll keep trying to make progress with my walking (I put less and less pressure on my crutches as time goes on) and I do some ROM exercises here and there, but I don't know what else I can do. Maybe the Dr. is right and I'm just not ready yet, but it just feels wrong to me.
Enough complaining for now. I do have my concerns about the long-term implications of all of this, but I'll whine about that some other time. Until then, stay safe out there and enjoy your two legs and the freedom to ride!
 |
| My new left leg |
Small progress seemed like a victory: putting more weight on the left leg, gaining more flexibility, being able to completely dress myself, etc. However, things slowed down around the one week mark. Walking on crutches was no longer a struggle and I just didn't feel like I was making progress. In reality, the progress was probably just too small for me to notice. At the same time, I wasn't ready for physical therapy yet, so I got a little discouraged and felt like I had no control over my situation. On the first few days I could push myself to walk and that felt like progress. Now I was stuck doing nothing but sitting around and healing.
Meanwhile, my work situation was a mess. I recently switched jobs, so I don't have any vacation time saved up yet. My manager was super understanding about everything, but the problem is that we simply don't have "light duty" in our department. I'm not necessarily qualified for desk jobs in another department, either. As a result, my only real option is unpaid leave. I love not working as much as the next guy, but I know a big bill will be coming in the mail soon.The good news is that my insurance went into effect in January. Things could have been a lot worse if this had happened in December.
On the 16th (12 days after surgery) I decided to go on a hike. I was getting restless just sitting around and it was a beautiful day outside. A short hike might have been a good idea, but a short hike turned into a 2.5-hour hike. I felt fine while I was out there, but as soon as I made it back home and sat down for a while, the pain began to set in. As simple as a hike may seem, it took me 2 days to recover from it.
I had my 2-week followup on the 18th. The good news: (a) the X-ray looks good and (b) it didn't hurt at all to have my staples removed. It may sound weak, but I was dreading having those staples removed. Ever since I took off my original bandages and saw those little metal bastards in my leg, I was scared about how they were going to come out. I thought about trying to take them out myself on the 17th, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I have no idea why I was so scared of them, but I was. I feel much better now that they're out. I don't think my incisions are bothering me at all.
The bad news: (a) I'm still not ready for physical therapy and (b) they won't clear me for "full duty" for at least another 3 weeks. That will be at least 5 weeks off of work when it's all said and done. 5 weeks of no pay plus the medical bills is going to do some damage. If not for my wife (who makes all the money anyway), I'd be screwed.
I was really hoping I could start physical therapy. I think I learned my lesson from the hike, but I do hate just sitting around doing nothing. I feel good enough to start working out my upper body, which I will start today. I'll keep trying to make progress with my walking (I put less and less pressure on my crutches as time goes on) and I do some ROM exercises here and there, but I don't know what else I can do. Maybe the Dr. is right and I'm just not ready yet, but it just feels wrong to me.
Enough complaining for now. I do have my concerns about the long-term implications of all of this, but I'll whine about that some other time. Until then, stay safe out there and enjoy your two legs and the freedom to ride!
Monday, February 10, 2014
I broke my hip
Long story short: I crashed during a commute on February 3rd. I landed directly on my left hip and ended up breaking it. I went to the hospital Monday morning and had surgery first thing Tuesday morning. They let me go after noon on Wednesday.
I should be able to ride again in 3 months. My instinct is to try to get back on the bike ASAP, but I'm going to try to be smart and take things slow. For now my goal is to take my first ride on May 15th and work up to my first century by October 15th. I'll have a meeting with my surgeon on the 18th and kind of go from there. I'm hoping I can start physical therapy soon.
For now I'm just trying to eat right and walk around on my crutches as much as I can. Progress has been slow, but I do notice that things are getting a little better every day.
I'm not sure what will become of the blog. I'll try to post an update here and there, and I'll definitely post when I'm back on the bike again and when I ride my first century in October. One thing's for sure: I will be back to riding a century per week again in 2015.
I should be able to ride again in 3 months. My instinct is to try to get back on the bike ASAP, but I'm going to try to be smart and take things slow. For now my goal is to take my first ride on May 15th and work up to my first century by October 15th. I'll have a meeting with my surgeon on the 18th and kind of go from there. I'm hoping I can start physical therapy soon.
For now I'm just trying to eat right and walk around on my crutches as much as I can. Progress has been slow, but I do notice that things are getting a little better every day.
I'm not sure what will become of the blog. I'll try to post an update here and there, and I'll definitely post when I'm back on the bike again and when I ride my first century in October. One thing's for sure: I will be back to riding a century per week again in 2015.
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