Now what am I supposed to do!

I have continued to struggle with the crutches and my left knee is quite sore. I was stretching up to undo a door lock and the back of my knee complained quite noticeably. I had noticed that it was difficult to straighten the leg fully. It was the weekend so I headed to the A&E to get it checked out. It may have been mishandled during surgery, who knows! With my hyperextending joints it would be quite easy to twist it the wrong way.

I waited for three and a half hours with only Australian rugby programmes to entertain me. My fusion was getting very sore and it was difficult to elevate it. My pain relief was overdue and I was not feeling happy at all. I decided to pull the plug. I went to the desk and told them I was leaving.



I tried to book an appointment with my GP and could only get an appointment in four days time. So I took it and tried to baby my knee in the meantime. It was very difficult to use crutches if I needed to and even using my knee crutch put extra weight on it. I’d finished all the nice pain relief and I was just taking regular paracetamol and that was not helping my knee.

Finally my appointment came around. I’d also managed to twinge my back somehow so I was truly the walking wounded. I explained what was happening and the doctor felt it was most likely a Baker’s cyst (named after the discoverer not because they are common in bakers.). It’s where the synovial fluid in the knee increases due to an injury or inflammation and it fills the bursa at the back of the knee and bulges out.

She said there wasn’t much I could do about it apart from pain relief and it will hopefully resolve. She was against draining it because of the risk of infection. To correctly diagnose it I need an MRI. I booked one in the soonest possible slot....in two weeks time!

In the mean time I’m taking my regular medications and tramadol. It makes me a bit sleepy but since I’m supposed to be recovering it’s probably a really good side effect.

Looking up how to treat a Bakers cyst it recommends good pain relief - ticking that box, strengthening exercises - doing those, and using crutches to rest it until the pain is controlled. Well I am using crutches but not to rest that leg! My poor left leg is supposed to be responsible for moving me around and now I find it needs to rest. The cyst is supposed to dissolve back into the body but I didn’t think it has much chance of doing that since I still need to use it. There is a risk that the cyst might rupture and the fluid would drain into the calf and cause pain very similar to a DVT. If this happens you’re supposed to see a doctor urgently. Hmm good luck with that.

So my knee is complaining a bit but I’m trying to rest it as much as possible - I crawled into the shower instead of hopping. The good thing is my back is much happier with the tramadol. Hopefully that’s all I need for it. I don’t want to go back to the osteopath again. I both love and hate the cracking and I really don’t like being picked up off the table to stretch it out. It works, which amazes me since I’m a real sceptic. Hopefully all this rest will sort it out too. 

Time keeps on ticking...

After clomping around a week I had my bandage removed to check what was happening.

The wound looked really good. There was no sticking to the dressing like when I had my calcaneal osteotomy so that was a relief. The external stitches were removed and the rest are dissolving stitches.

The nurse told me that my surgeon would come and look at it and then I could put my moonboot back on. Horrors! I did not want that heavy, hot unwieldy thing on if I didn’t have to. It looked ridiculous wearing a moonboot and a walking crutch. I said I’d been expecting a cast. The nurse said to tell that to the surgeon....and I did. Got my cast! The nurse then told me only the patients who can be trusted to follow instructions get offered the moonboot option. I took that on board - I’m a trusted patient 💖 and then I got my cast put on! Not as bright as I’d have liked. She was out of all Fluoro colours sadly.

When she checked my foot the surgeon moved the ankle nicely up and down. That was reassuring. While the cast was being put on I had to keep my foot at right angles to my leg and push my toes flat. My toes don’t do flat they do a weird curling so it was a real mission getting the foot just right.

I had to use crutches to leave because the knee crutch might dent the cast. This was not fun, I couldn’t seem to get the motion right. I was glad to get to the car. It was nothing like when I’d previously had crutches. I struggled around at home and then decided I’d google how crutches should be adjusted. It turns out the crutches that the nurse thought were a perfect height for me were way too high. No wonder I was literally leaping around. I adjusted them correctly in anticipation of my next journey.

Unfortunately even with the correction of the height I still struggled with the crutches. I tucked them in the corner of the room for emergencies and went back to solely using my knee crutch.

I have only summited our driveway three times since my surgery. The first time I used my crutches and my knee crutch and resembled some sort of mantis like creature. The second time I weaved

 backwards and forwards and it took forever. Then it came to me - use your walking stick! I set out on a trip to the train station to check I could get there for work and then to have a nice lunch and maybe some shopping. There are two very steep walkways to the station but with my walking stick I made it relatively easily. Success! I had lunch and walked home. Halfway there I suddenly remembered to hold the grip on my knee crutch when going up and down hills and it will be no problem. And so it was! After lunch and shopping I was able to put my walking stick in my bag and trundle home. I was thrilled by the fact that I beat an old lady to get up the hill.

It’s the small things that make your day! Now I just need a tripping hazard sticker and maybe a safety flag for my foot!

It’s been over a week!

Thankfully I am experiencing very little real pain. I don’t need to take the OxyContin any longer but I’m taking all of the other medications I’ve been prescribed on top of my usual pile.

My biggest issues are my toes and the incredibly annoying itch. My toes go very numb and feel like I’ve been out into snow.The moon boot isn’t too type, I don’t think that the bandage is too tight because it wriggles around a bit when I’m putting on or taking off my cast protector to shower.

I open up the moon boot so my heel is still protected but my toes get some fresh air during the day. No moving though! I just have to focus on the itching being a sign of healing but it is very distracting.

I’ve made an effort to escape from the house. Friday was a lovely day and I really wanted to be out in it so I set myself the challenge of getting to my local cafe. If I couldn’t make it back then I’d just have to Uber.

We have a very steep driveway:

It doesn’t look it in the photo but it was like climbing a very steep mountain. I 

used my knee crutch and both of my elbow crutches to walk because I didn’t  want to have my foot slip and have a disaster. So looking like something a kin to a praying mantis I walked 1.5km to my local cafe.

Once I’d filled up on yummy sticky black rice and tea, I actually felt quite confident on achieving the return trip.

Shore Road Cafe - beautiful presentation.

I made it back alive and well. Hurray. I feel much healthier and I was making  goals to help me move through my recovery mentally and physically well.

Nauseous!

Today is not a good day. It’s my I feel sorry for myself day. Having surgery has triggered my MS to flare up. My left leg feels like someone has whacked it and since it is the one carrying the load it’s making moving around pretty hard. My hip also hurts and I’m not sure if the bursa that I had a steroid injection in is not happy or it’s an MS thing. 

I have to take the oxycodone to cope with the pain at the moment but it’s making me nauseous. It’s easy to say nausea is better than pain but when you’re not feeling the pain but you’re definitely feeling the nausea it’s hard to remember that. I’ve been using crutches to go to go to the bathroom because it’s easier than having to put on the knee crutch, walk to the bathroom, take the knee crutch off, manoeuvre to the toilet, try to get up off the toilet with no rails, get the knee crutch back on, make it back to my bed and take it off again. They are fine to go down stairs but I still can’t get my head around the getting up the stairs - getting my good foot up to the next step while balancing on the crutches. Crawling up the stairs seems easier until you reach the top and have to get from the floor to standing. 

I had a wobble last night and nearly landed on my foot but fortunately broke my fall with my head against the corner of the wall. I think the problem resulted from leaning back too far on my crutches. There’s upright and then there’s oh shit.  I’m hoping at two weeks I’ll get a cast because moon boot and bandages feels so vulnerable. Plus my toes are really screaming with nerve pain. Hopefully the gabapentin will hit that on the head. I ended up opening up my moonboot and putting an ice pack under my toes last night to get some relief. 

Having missed the physio has left me a little on the back foot (ha ha). I’m having to use dr google a lot to check to see what I should be doing. Elevation seems to be a big thing. I’ve got a pillow in the bed and so far it has stayed where it is supposed to and not ended up on the floor.

I’m still quite woozy and ready to fall asleep without warning. No good when you’re trying to drink a cup of hot tea. I’ve come to just in time to see the cup just about tipped sideways enough to pour tea all over my abdomen. A burn is just what I don’t need right now.

I really need to be more vocal about my MS making it more important to stay in hospital a bit longer. I’m always tossed out before the little old ladies who’ve had the same surgery. I think they focus on my age and forget that my brain is Swiss cheese. I’m also technically home alone, my sons are here but they are hard to get hold off when I need them. My husband had a running event on an island so camped over there. At least it meant I could wake up during the night and not have to worry about disturbing him.

Hopefully my nausea will settle and I’ll get a better hand on moving around and then I can settle down and read or watch Netflix. Nausea makes doing that harder. It is very preoccupying. Especially the possibility of having to get from my bed to the bathroom quickly. That’s just a recipe for a whole bunch of nope.

The deed is done

Yesterday was surgery day. I went in at 11:15 to find out I wasn’t on the day list because someone ballsed up and put me down for the day before! It was all sorted out in the end  and I made it to the admissions ward. It was a bit of a rush there because I’d been so long in reception but everything got completed.

I walked to theatre admissions next. The surgeon came and marked my leg and discussed the surgery including where she’d take a bit of bone to graft if necessary. It was the top of my tibia and the first place I looked after surgery was there. No dressing so no graft, yay.

Then the anaesthetist came and discussed my anaesthesia. He decided since I had MS a general was the best option. Funny how it differs from doctor to doctor! I told him I needed to avoid overheating so he promised they wouldn’t put the heat blanket on on top heat.

Once they were sorted I was walked into the theatre. It was freezing! The operation table was so narrow but they had arm rests so it wasn’t too bad. The anaesthetist said he was going to put a cannula in my hand and I thought “you’re welcome to try.” He obviously looked at the veins and decided that my one drain pipe vein in my left elbow was a far better idea. The last thing I remember was him saying he was giving me a relaxant and looking around at the theatre noting I did feel relaxed.

I woke up in the recovery room in full MS blow out. My legs were spasming like crazy and my teeth were chattering. I had the usual fight about it being a normal side effect of a GA and the nurse wanting to warm me up and me saying if she did I’d get worse. We worked out a compromise. 

I had local in the site in theatre but when it wore off it was very painful. They kept topping up my morphine but it was still sitting at a five (someone has hit me very hard with a hammer). The anaesthetist was called and he ordered oxycodone. I was warned it would make me drowsy and it did but it hit the pain beautifully. I don’t remember anything more in re overly,I just magically appeared in my room.

I had a pump on my left leg to help prevent blood clots. Every three minutes it would feel like someone had grabbed my ankle. I also had my moon boot on! I thought they were a bit confused taking it to theatre with me but no, they were right. When I had the calcaneal osteotomy I had a soft cast but this time it’s just bandaged so the moon boot forms the support.

Pump on the left and moonboot on the right.

It’s really weird trying to sleep with a moonboot on. I was a bit drowsy but watched some tv and waited for dinner since I hadn’t eaten since 6:45pm the previous day. They have fabulous food at Mercy but not after a GA. After a GA you get a light meal. It wasn’t bad at all and if I hadn’t seen the full menu today I’d have never been the wiser. Dinner was good but breakfast was cold toast and porridge with stewed apple and apple juice. Since I’m allergic to eggs I couldn’t have the hot breakfast which was scrambled or poached eggs. On the full menu the cooked breakfast included delicious offerings such as French toast with bacon, banana and maple syrup as well as the cold toast and cereal. I had the chicken salad for my main meal with pumpkin soup and the entree and creme brûlée for dessert.

Delicious salad but not the best for someone with an egg allergy!

I struggled a bit with pain during the night but tramadol and paracetamol seemed to ease it. I was really tired but the foot pump kept waking me up when I drifted off. I had a book and I found reading a paragraph or so sent me off to sleep. That worked until 4:15am. From then on I was wide awake and unable to even snooze.Fortunately the night nurses were characters and entertained me. They also gave me another oxycodone when I said it felt like someone hit my foot with a hammer. One of them joked that it was a baseball bat. We decided the other night nurse had done it and hidden the weapon. 🤪

I was being closely monitored and once they got over the fact that 100/50 is a normal if even slightly high blood pressure reading for me they settled down. The real concern was my oxygen saturation’s. I was sitting at 93% so I spent a fair bit of time with first the mask and then the nasal prongs delivering delicious oxygen.

I was released just under 24 hours after I arrived. I had the surgeon and anaesthetist visit but didn’t see a physio so I’m struggling to go upstairs if I’m using crutches. The I-walk is no problem but it’s a bit difficult to put on in a hurry. I remember good leg goes to heaven but I’m not sure how everything else fits in. When I went down to do something in the kitchen then I ended up crawling back up the stairs. Not the best when our house is accessed 

So that’s about it for now. Once I get a clear head and stop sleep typing I’ll do another entry.

Practising with my knee crutch

I’ve got my Knee crutch out of storage. I lent it to a friend who was a bit shorter than me, had a cast on her left leg and didn’t have knock knees like me. So I had to readjust it completely. I rewatched the videos to get me re-clued in again.

It’s set up perfectly and I’ve been round and round the house and up and down stairs, including carrying a cup of tea. I just have to buy my parrot, striped shirt and eye patch and I’m set!

I’m being fused!