Sunday, March 30, 2014

Six Word Saturday...on Sunday -- March 30

I'm doing my Six Word Saturday on Sunday :)

Spring cleaning has finally begun here!

We started a bit of cleaning yesterday...figured I'd start in the kids rooms.  Four hours helping my daughter clean up her room and 3 trash bags later...even though we just started spring cleaning, I'm already exhausted!



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Six Word Saturday is hosted by Call Me Kate at Show My Face.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, then describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. 


Friday, March 28, 2014

Celebrate The Small Things -- March 28

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I celebrated a big thing...my birthday :)  The best thing was being around family and friends.  I got to have company at my house, which I don't get to do too often, for our first celebration.  Yes, I had more than one!  We also went out to a great restaurant a few towns away for a second night of celebrations (this was supposed to be on my actual birthday night, but my daughter was sick that day, so it got postponed to the following day).  I had the most delicious chicken and was so full by the time we left.

What is your favorite way to celebrate your birthday?


If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, head on over to Scribblings of an Aspiring Author, by VikLit, for more information.

 

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Total Ankle Replacement: 16 Weeks Post-Op ROM Measurements Ankle #2

While at physical therapy today I asked my therapist to take some measurements since it's been a while.  The following are my passive range of motion (meaning my therapist can push my ankle to these measurements) numbers for my right ankle:

Plantarflexion                50
Dorsiflexion                  12
Inversion                      35-40
Eversion                       12

The inversion number shows a range from 35-40 because Jenn, my therapist, wasn't writing the numbers down as she did them and she remembered it being 40 and I remembered it being 35.  She said there is a +/- 5 degree error on the measurements anyway.


The biggest difference between my numbers from seven weeks ago is the increase in my plantarflexion measurement.  This doesn't surprise me.  I've been working hard to get the flexibility back and even when I'm pointing my toes on my own, I can get more motion than my other foot (I know this is because I was able to start physical therapy a lot earlier than I was for ankle #1).  Hopefully, as my leg and foot muscles get stronger, my active plantarflexion (how far I can bend it on my own) will get even more.  If not, Jenn assures me that all my measurements, for both feet, are within the “normal” range.

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To read about my full ankle replacement journey, please click here.


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Total Ankle Replacement: 16 Weeks Post-Op – Ankle #2

So today is 16 weeks since I had my total ankle replacement on ankle #2 and things are coming along pretty well.  I still don't feel “normal” in either of my ankles (ankle #1 is approximately 9 months post-op).  But there's a very really possibility that I might not ever get to “normal”.  I'll settle for pain free and working :)

Physical Therapy
I'm still going to physical therapy twice a week to regain the strength in my legs and feet.  At physical therapy I'm doing between 10-12 minutes on the treadmill...still at a snails pace.  I'm up to 45lbs on the hip machine, 15lbs on the knee machine, and level 6 on the total gym.  This is all with the aircast ankle brace on ankle #2 (for pics of my aircast click here).  My therapist also has me doing some weird exercises on the reformer (pilates machine) with my shoes and brace off.  I guess this torture is supposed to help strengthen the smaller muscles in my feet.  And last week the rebounder was added into the mix...that's the one where you throw a weighted ball at a mini trampoline and it bounces back and you catch it.  What does this have to do with my ankle?  Yeah, I have to do this exercise while balancing on my bad foot.  I've yet to master just one toss.

My range of motion is pretty much the same as it was a couple of months ago...seems like I got it all back pretty quickly (click here for my last post with measurements).  The biggest difference is that when I flex my ankle up, I can make it go further now on my own (this is my active dorsiflexion...for those that know all those fancy pt terms).

'Round the House
My gait is continuing to get better, although I'm still walking with a bit of a limp, even with the aircast on.  Without the aircast, the limp is much more noticeable.  I wear it whenever I go out, but when I'm at home I don't.  The one exception is when I had company over for my birthday...I wore my aircast in the house since I thought I would be up and about a bit more.  It definitely gives me a bit more stability than without it.  And, thankfully, it isn't as annoying to wear as it was in the beginning.

Out and About
Yesterday was the first day that I went out in the afternoon after having pt in the morning.  Usually on pt days, I don't schedule anything for the rest of the day because I'm so sore.  But yesterday we went out to dinner after I took my son to the orthodontist.  By the time we got home last night I was pretty sore, especially since I drove.  But waking up today I was okay.

If I'm out for the afternoon then by the time I get home both my ankles are swollen.  To be fair, this was like this even before the surgery.  I was hoping it was going to get better, and maybe it still will, but it hasn't yet.  I've yet to make a grocery store run...that's my biggest goal...to go the grocery store and not regret it for days afterward.  It's the little things!

Immediate Goals
Over the next month my biggest goals are:  to go to the clothing store with my daughter for some needed items, and to go to the elementary school to have lunch with my son.  The clothing store run will have to be short and sweet...luckily my tom-boy daughter would rather be doing just about anything else but shopping with her mom.  And I have to get in all the school lunches that I can with my son before he goes to middle school and wants nothing to do with me :(

I wonder just how far behind I am than the average person having this type of surgery...if there's anyone out there who can compare, please comment below!

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To read about my full ankle replacement journey, please click here.


Monday, March 24, 2014

My Birthday

Today is my birthday!  I had some friends and family over yesterday to celebrate and had a really nice time, even if I ended the night very achy...it was worth it.  My husband did all the cooking and bought me a delicious chocolate cake, and flowers...grocery store kind, of course!  Even the little ones played well...we had a 3, 4, 5, and 6 year old, plus my kids.  At one point, all the kids were downstairs and not one of them came up to us crying...I call that a win!

Even though today is my actual birthday, there were a couple of reasons why we celebrated yesterday.  One reason is because I figured it would be easier for everyone to have a Sunday night dinner, rather than a Monday night celebration.  Another big factor was the weather...yes the weather.  Seems like every time there is a big change in weather my body gets very grumpy.  My arthritis flares up and I end up with aches and pains in all my joints.  And since my neck has been on the fritz (gee, I sound like a broken tv or something), that gets worse too.  The past few weeks have been so bad with weather ups and downs, that I thought it might be a good idea to check the weather ahead of time.  So last week when I was looking ahead, I thought Sunday would work better.  And I was right...today I feel worse than yesterday.  It probably doesn't help that it's also supposed to snow again tomorrow.  Even though they're not calling for a lot this time, my body is still affected.  Today is just another day of living with chronic pain...even if the day is my birthday.

On a creepier happier note...Google wished me a Happy Birthday...