Long lost update...

Well here I sit, nine weeks post-op, and about ready to throw these crutches out the window! My apologies in the lack of updates, but the end of the school year madness got the best of me.  I ended up back at school four weeks post-op and finished the school year (about five weeks) only missing one more day of school.  Getting back into my routine was great for my attitude and mental health, but a day chasing around middle school students led to very early bedtimes for me.  My time back at school was spent in my roller chair, moving around my classroom trying to stay sitting most of the day.  I am lucky to work with awesome people who checked on me, made copies for me, and occasionally pushed me down the hallway in my roller chair :)

Getting back to the urge to hurl these crutches out the window.  My recovery is going well, minimal daily pain (haven't taken pain meds in over a month, and rarely have to have any Aleve).  Now do I have my bad days? Yes, of course.  I went to my cousin's wedding and had a blast, but way over did it.  And I paid for it.  Then we had a field day type day at school and I spent all day outside and over did it again. I ended up taking the next day off school (my co-workers rock and covered for me) and it took me the weekend to recover.  I know my limits, and if you know me, I tend to push them a little bit.  I have to give myself a pat on the back though, I am doing a pretty darn good job of following the rules of my therapy.  While I have dreams (yes dreams) of throwing down my crutches and just taking off on a nice long run, I have yet to break the rules.

What I have been breaking on the other hand, is my crutches.  It started about six weeks post op when I broke through my first one at school.  The damage...

I ended up getting a new pair of crutches, and since then I have broken 2 more crutch tips.  I think it's just a sign I need to get rid of these things. I am SO ready to be done with them that I am going David Letterman style and making a Top Ten List...

The Top Ten Things I look forward to being off crutches....

10. Not having to wear pants with pockets all of the time to carry my stuff around

9. Not being up for an hour in the middle of the night after going to the bathroom, by the time I get up and get going on my crutches I am awake and can't fall back asleep

8. Getting around OSU's campus without getting the sympathy stares

7. Not having to start every sentence with, "Gabe, can you please bring me..." (he is probably more excited about this than I am!)

6. Not having to carry a backpack everywhere

5. Not having to use these carts (battery dies in the middle of the store every stinkin' time) at the grocery 

4. Not taking 10 minutes to go up and down the stairs

3. Being able to carry an umbrella on rainy days and not fearing for my life walking around places with wet floors

2. Getting back into the kitchen and cooking while standing on two legs, my poor left leg needs a vacation

1. Walking and being able to scratch my nose at the SAME TIME! You don't know how annoying it is to have to stop, scratch your nose, and then resume.

There you have it folks, hopefully the day is near where all of these little dreams come true!

In therapy news, I am still in the pool and doing my home therapy once a day on my own.  It's getting to the point where a lot of these exercises are easy, but given that I am non-weight bearing until I see Dr. Byrd again, I am limited in what I can do. We head to Nashville June 24 for my next appointment with Byrd and hopefully begin my transition off of crutches.  Now I know I won't be able to ditch them all together, but I am HOPEFUL that since I am young and was pretty strong going in, that once I increase weight on my leg that I can ditch them pretty quickly.   In all honesty, as excited as I am to get off of these things, it's scary at the same time.  I have been dependent on them to get around for over two months now.  I will do exactly as instructed so I don't do anything to mess up what is done.  I am hopeful that my low pain levels means successful healing, but we will see in a few weeks!

Sorry for the long update, I will update again after my next appointment with Dr. Byrd and keep you all posted! Thanks for all of your love on this long road to recovery :)