Broken Leg Update

Hi everyone!  Sorry for the no updates lately.  I've been enjoying my convalescence - actually I've been spoiling myself, lying in bed, writing, reading, organizing paperwork, crocheting, and watching Netflix, while someone else cleans my house and keeps the kids in shape. ;-)  (This is about where my sister throws things at me!)

I realized this morning that I hadn't updated my blog in a while so...here I am!

---------------


I had my surgery 9 days after my injury and it went off without a hitch, even though my blood pressure gave everyone a good scare.  I hobbled into pre-op with a BP of 210/122....I gave a few nurses a heart attack with that one!  I had to keep explaining how super sensitive my blood pressure can get - pain, injury, and stress can make my BP go waaaay up...nevermind the good dose of  "white coat syndrome" I get everytime I walk into a hospital.  The anesthesiologist decided to go ahead with the surgery - she guessed correctly that once I went under, it would bottom out, which it did.  It started rising as I came back to consciousness (hi!  hurt leg!) but once they started getting my pain levels  under control, it went down again. 

I had a nurse tell me as I left, "You should make an appointment with your doctor to get that looked at."  What is he going to do?  It's perfectly normal when there's nothing wrong with me! I'm sure he'll just tell me, "Don't break your leg and you'll be fine."

Pain wise, I'm doing okay.  I was on 2 percosets every 4 hours right after surgery, which I reduced down to one after a couple days...and then to one-a-day-right-before-bedtime a week after the surgery.  Now, I just take one whenever the pain makes me grit my teeth and curse under my breath.  My friends will tell you that I'm not a big fan of medication, especially addictive pain medication...

I had my 2 weeks post-op appt yesterday and I seemed to have passed with flying colors.  The doc says that everything is healing well and that I should be out of a cast in 3 weeks.  That means that I will have only worn a cast for 5 weeks after my surgery, shaving one to three weeks off of his estimates.  I was switched over to a grape-purple fiberglass cast (I picked that color in hopes that my son would see it and stop tripping over it!) and advised to keep doing whatever I was doing - that I was healing fast.

--------------------

I have heard a LOT of horror stories from friends and family about how they gained weight when they broke a leg.  Well, I can attest that that isn't always true.  Since my surgery, I've lost almost 8 lbs and 1-1/2 inches from around my waist...and the most exercise I got in the last 3 weeks is going from my bed to the kitchen.  Weird, huh?

I think it has helped that I've tried to stick to a low-carb Paleo-style diet these last few weeks (mainly meat, veggies, and fats with a little dairy (calcium) and fruit tossed in).  I've also been taking my daily vitamins (which I rarely do when I'm well) and taking extra-absorbent calcium pills to kinda help things along, if you know what I mean.

---------------------


My wonderful sister (who comments as Creakinator on the blog) drove the 8 hours from So Cal to stay with me and the kids for the 2 weeks post-surgery.  She was a god-sent - she fed us, did the shopping, kept up with the house, and stopped the kids from killing one another (or me) while I was convalescing.  She understands about the whole Paleo-Diet thing and was more than willing to help me stick to it .... even though I am picky about how my eggs are made in the morning.  ;-)  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Creaks - you were a lifesaver!

Now my mom is here to keep an eye on me...and considering her definition of cooking is to open up a can and pour it into a microwave-safe bowl, Chef Anne is back at work once again.  Thankfully, I was able to borrow a rolling walker from a friend which as a bench seat in the middle, so I can get around pretty well and cook while sitting down.  It can be....well, interesting some times, but at least I know we're eating decent food. ;-)

Anyway, that's the update for now.  Talk to y'all soon!!!