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.

My new left leg

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!