Scraps Tag and an Update

Howdy friends!
I've been missing in action for a few days. Mostly just visiting my favorite blogs and catching up with your lives. Also kind of in a funk, just being bored with all my time spent in bed strapped to my Continual Passive Motion Machine. Oh, and spending some time watching House M.D. re-runs (Thanks to all of you who suggested watching TV shows on my computer. It's so cool!).

I went to my Dr's Follow-Up Appt. on Monday. I'm still in a lot of pain and discomfort whenever I stand up. So, I'm getting frustrated. It's 8 days post-surgery and I expected that I'd be up and about walking and feeling considerably less pain than I feel now.

The main problems aren't even my knee, but the sensation I get from an area right below my knee whenever I'm standing or sitting. It feels as if my leg is filling up with wet concrete. So heavy with such intense pressure. Not good.
Dr. seems to think that has to do with my vascular system adjusting after surgery. He couldn't tell me how long it woud take to subside, though.

The second issue is numbness in my ankle, the outside of my calf and my foot and toes. When my foot is elevated it's not so bad, just basic numbness. But when my foot drops down, for standing or sitting, intense pain begins and builds to crazy levels. Feels alot like when your foot has fallen asleep and just wakes up, or when you almost get frost-bite and the area thaws out. Terrible tingling, prickling and throbbing. It's the worst pain of all, but the Dr couldn't tell me why I'm having it and seemed confused. He poked my foot and leg with a safety pin and I just couldn't feel it at all.

Those two problems are making it difficult for me to be more mobile. Coming home from the Dr's, I just sat in the back, holding my leg across the back seat, and sobbed. It didn't stop hurting until I got home and back into a prone position in bed. Oh, and after a Percocet and Flexiril and two Tylenol. Whew.

My percocets are almost gone (1 left) and I asked the Dr. for something else for pain that wouldn't make me feel loopy or sick. He prescribed Tramadol, but I haven't tried it yet, because hubby hasn't been able to go pick up yet. I hope it works, especially since I start Physical Therapy this week and I've been told such horror stories about the pain and discomfort that happens there while trying to get mobility back. I know I'll need to take something or I'll be a wreck.

Speaking of Physical Therapy, I'm apparently a Slacker. I thought I was doing so well with my Continuous Passive Motion Machine whe I told the Dr that I had gotten up to 26 with my Flexion (lift) of my knee. He gave me a weird look of surprise and then admonished me for not being up over 30 in Flexion already! He said that most people are already up over 40 in the second week. Heck, many people are already walking some into their second week. What a loser I am! I feel like I'm so far behind, I'll never catch up. Maybe I won't even be walking by this same time next year! How awful. I'm so bummed and disappointed.
I feel like I'm standing at the bottom of Mt. Everest with no idea how I'll ever get to the top.

I did decide to push myself a lot yesterday and all last night and used my CPM basically the entire 24 hours, only getting up to use the bathroom and have a friend come over to wash my hair in the laundry tub for me. I made it up to 34 Flexion, so I feel pretty good about that, though my leg has been really achy, sore and throbbing today. I hope I can get up to 40 Flexion by this weekend, though. Wish me luck!
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On another note, I'm way far behind in participating in the "Scraps About Me" Tag that Karen, over at The Rough String tagged me for before my surgery.


So without further ado, here's some scraps about me you may not know about me:

1)I'm not a girly-girl or into into bling. I rarely wear dresses unless they are cotton, loose, long and very comfy (think MuMu. lol!). I don't wear jewelry often, and usually just turquoise and silver. And even though I have two holes in my ears, I usually forget to wear any earrings at all.
Jeans and a T-shirt are my thing. Even my saddle is very simple. Just basic barbwire tooling. I figure I'm sitting on it, so what does it matter what it looks like. As long as something does the job, I'm happy.
I usually wear Faded Glory Jeans 'cause they are only $8.00 so I don't care if they end up getting a rip or worn knees (ouch, did I just say that word?). I used to wear wranglers, but find they make my gravity-challenged butt look even flatter than it already is.

2)I love to watch talented people dance. I like dancing, but don't think I dance well(especially right now with crutches. lol!) Also, I envy people who can wear high heels. High heels look so pretty and make legs look longer and thinner. But being as I'm already 5'11, with heels I'd look like a skyscraper!

3)My taste in music is very eclectic. I Like pretty much everything but angry-rap, acid rock, and blue-grass. I lean toward Christian Pop, Alternative and Classic Country. I can never remember the names of groups or singers though.

4)My hubby and I met 20 years ago, while working for the airlines. I quit the airlines when I became prego with my twins 12 years ago, and my hubby retired from the airlines about 4 years ago. We now have free lifetime flying benefits, but rarely use them. With all the security hassles, airline cutbacks and just general chaos...the joy of flying is lost for us.
We do most of our traveling by car now. (But I have been known to just hop on a plane to visit friends in other states, at the spur of the moment....hint-hint)

5)I slept in a canopy bed as a child. My stepmom chose yellow and white for the canopy and bedspread,two of my least favorite colors. My daughter uses my canopy bed now, but without the canopy. Her favorite colors are pink and purple.
Oh! And I loved the original Holly Hobby and still have my doll. The orginal Holly Hobby reminds me of Little House on the Prairie, one of my favorite TV shows when I was younger. (This is my old Holly Hobby on the left and my daughter's favorite doll on the right.)

6)I dreamed of collecting Breyer Horses, as a young girl.
But I was given Madam Alexander dolls instead. I don't know how that started because I never liked them and I wasn't much into dolls.(

7)I must be weird. I don't get the Carhartt brand clothing obsession. I've considered buying a Carhartt jacket and coveralls, but the material used by Carhartt is so stiff and reminds me of a heavy canvas tent. Touching it gives me the same sensation as hearing fingernails on a chalkboard. The jacket my hubby and I both use for ranch work is my old Mesa Airlines issued heavy- duty, hooded, Thinsulate khaki coat. I've owned it for over 12 years, it keeps me toasty warm in below zero temps, is really tough, and is still going strong. Best of all, I got it for free from my airline job. Free is good.

8)I'm an introvert and tend to stay away from large crowds and big social gatherings. I've been told I'm a lot of fun from those that know me well, but I usually only feel comfortable loosening up and getting a little crazy when I'm one-on-one or in a small group of close friends.

9)I like sarcasm and witty humor. I don't trust people who don't know how to belly laugh, extra points for snorting. Polite laughter seems rude. Why bother?

10)I believe in God, but have never felt comfortable in a church. I feel closer to God and more spiritual when I'm hiking in the mountains or sitting beside the sea.


Well, Wish me luck. I've got my first Physical Therapy appointment tomorrow (Thursday). I sure hope they start out gentle with me and don't introduce the torture chamber too soon. I just hope I can be tough and Cowgirl Up.

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