Cate's Diary
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Cate
Long term member
Thanks, Vic, Marsia, Liza & Llama 
I got a good night's sleep. Each time I woke I had a good drink of water. In my head I had the Eagles song, "I've got a peaceful Easy Feeling" & if my brain wandered to a surgery incision I instead imagined the surgeon with a magic wand. It worked for me. I have 25 minutes to kill so thought I would quickly pop in here. G wasn't going to have any breakfast, but I insisted he did.
I got a good night's sleep. Each time I woke I had a good drink of water. In my head I had the Eagles song, "I've got a peaceful Easy Feeling" & if my brain wandered to a surgery incision I instead imagined the surgeon with a magic wand. It worked for me. I have 25 minutes to kill so thought I would quickly pop in here. G wasn't going to have any breakfast, but I insisted he did.
So glad you slept well with such great imagery of the magic wand! I was sending you some good vibes in my meditation this morning. I hope it all went well and that you are happily resting up.Thanks, Vic, Marsia, Liza & Llama
I got a good night's sleep. Each time I woke I had a good drink of water. In my head I had the Eagles song, "I've got a peaceful Easy Feeling" & if my brain wandered to a surgery incision I instead imagined the surgeon with a magic wand. It worked for me. I have 25 minutes to kill so thought I would quickly pop in here. G wasn't going to have any breakfast, but I insisted he did.
Cate
Long term member
Thanks, everyone
It felt like I had you all with me. I told the surgeon beforehand when he started telling me what he would do. "No. You will wave a magic wand over my foot & it will be done.
Then I had a total turnaround after consulting with the anaesthetist & had a general anesthetic, rather than a spinal. I'm so glad I switched as I came out of it well & I also feel it was less risky. He assured me that my immediate recovery would be quicker & he would make sure my airways were all good. I won't go into details about the op other than to say there were a few hiccups with inserting a cannula (trainee) & the oxygen gauge was playing up & a bone cracked a little inserting a screw. The surgeon said he had looked at the x-ray today & it was only very fine & should heal well. I have a Darco boot so can put my heel down, which I was hoping for. I don't think I'll be able to go down our stairs for a while.
I was able to walk to the bathroom unattended almost straight away. I think I'll have to hire one of the 2-wheeled walkers I used there as Mum's 4-wheeled one is too low for me & one of the brakes doesn't work & I think I'll be inclined to go too fast with it. I just sent T a message asking if they had one at her work that I could borrow.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting on a comfy chair with arms & my feet elevated on an ottoman with a big cushion on it. I have Mum's walker beside me. Poor Arch doesn't know where to go. I had to get G to hold him until I got settled. The stairs are going to frustrate me.
I'm so glad to be home again. The house feels freezing after being in hospital & where my chair is located it is much colder than down in front of the fire.
I have some strong pain killers if I need them (only 10 though). I'll save them for the middle of the night if I need one. I was much better off than the other 3 in my ward. I'll tell you about them another day.
It felt like I had you all with me. I told the surgeon beforehand when he started telling me what he would do. "No. You will wave a magic wand over my foot & it will be done.
Then I had a total turnaround after consulting with the anaesthetist & had a general anesthetic, rather than a spinal. I'm so glad I switched as I came out of it well & I also feel it was less risky. He assured me that my immediate recovery would be quicker & he would make sure my airways were all good. I won't go into details about the op other than to say there were a few hiccups with inserting a cannula (trainee) & the oxygen gauge was playing up & a bone cracked a little inserting a screw. The surgeon said he had looked at the x-ray today & it was only very fine & should heal well. I have a Darco boot so can put my heel down, which I was hoping for. I don't think I'll be able to go down our stairs for a while.
I was able to walk to the bathroom unattended almost straight away. I think I'll have to hire one of the 2-wheeled walkers I used there as Mum's 4-wheeled one is too low for me & one of the brakes doesn't work & I think I'll be inclined to go too fast with it. I just sent T a message asking if they had one at her work that I could borrow.
Meanwhile, I'm sitting on a comfy chair with arms & my feet elevated on an ottoman with a big cushion on it. I have Mum's walker beside me. Poor Arch doesn't know where to go. I had to get G to hold him until I got settled. The stairs are going to frustrate me.
I'm so glad to be home again. The house feels freezing after being in hospital & where my chair is located it is much colder than down in front of the fire.
I have some strong pain killers if I need them (only 10 though). I'll save them for the middle of the night if I need one. I was much better off than the other 3 in my ward. I'll tell you about them another day.
Cate
Long term member
Thank you, Marsia, Liza, Vic, Em, Llama & Fiera (nice to see you visiting my diary). I'm grateful to be back home again & I am much better off than the 3 others who were in my ward. I will be glad when I'm no longer in any pain & can move about freely. It's early days, but I can't imagine having the other foot done, unless it is 100% necessary. I'm not feeling despondent but I have had a taste of what life would be like if I was living on my own & needed an op. I don't know what I would do without G. I hate asking anyone to do anything for me. I have agreed to get help with showering for the next few weeks. That is such a big thing for me & I'm not looking forward to it, but I'm not confident that I'll be able to shower myself safely & I do not want to get my bandage wet or fall.
I went to bed about 8.30 last night but Archie jumped up onto our bed & I couldn't move. I called out to G to take him away & asked him to shut our door. When he went to be d in the spare room, Arch wouldn't settle & he ended up sleeping on the recliner in our living room with a rug over him & the dog on his lap. I slept better than they did. I had asked the surgeon if I could lie on my left side & he said yes & suggests using a pillow under my right foot. I probably got up or rolled over every hour, but went back to sleep quickly each time & I took a Tramadol & some paracetemol at about 2 am.
I'm not sure what we'll do tonight. Archie just wants to be right up next to me all of the time. I wish he couldn't jump up on the bed.
L is going to send me out a 2 wheel walker thingy with a friend on Saturday I think as the walker I have is way too low for me. I can walk up straight with the other one & it felt much more stable & slowed me down.
I go back in to see the orthopaedic clinic in 2 weeks & have the wire taken out of my straightened second toe in 6 weeks. Where is that magic wand?
My right foot is cold as it's open at the toe end. I can wear a sock on my left foot, but am a bit stumped with my right. I wonder why they left it so open. I have a rug over me at the moment & it's chilly where I'm sitting. I'll stop complaining now I think & get into another book.
I'll probably skip posting in other diaries today as I'm not at my best.
I went to bed about 8.30 last night but Archie jumped up onto our bed & I couldn't move. I called out to G to take him away & asked him to shut our door. When he went to be d in the spare room, Arch wouldn't settle & he ended up sleeping on the recliner in our living room with a rug over him & the dog on his lap. I slept better than they did. I had asked the surgeon if I could lie on my left side & he said yes & suggests using a pillow under my right foot. I probably got up or rolled over every hour, but went back to sleep quickly each time & I took a Tramadol & some paracetemol at about 2 am.
I'm not sure what we'll do tonight. Archie just wants to be right up next to me all of the time. I wish he couldn't jump up on the bed.
L is going to send me out a 2 wheel walker thingy with a friend on Saturday I think as the walker I have is way too low for me. I can walk up straight with the other one & it felt much more stable & slowed me down.
I go back in to see the orthopaedic clinic in 2 weeks & have the wire taken out of my straightened second toe in 6 weeks. Where is that magic wand?
My right foot is cold as it's open at the toe end. I can wear a sock on my left foot, but am a bit stumped with my right. I wonder why they left it so open. I have a rug over me at the moment & it's chilly where I'm sitting. I'll stop complaining now I think & get into another book.
I'll probably skip posting in other diaries today as I'm not at my best.
s for you, and a very gentle for your foot, and a warm blankie for your cold toe! I felt like you do about not asking for help until this mess I am in. Now I feel like if I need help, I ask in a way where I let it be known that I am very grateful if the person will help me. Most friendly people really like to be needed. I think we are social creatures who are meant to depend on the group for physical and emotional support and for honing in on the best ideas and refining them further. I think our society has monitized and institutionalized this natural urge, so we feel weird about it, but really it's very natural if you look to many other animal species (like the pesky, happy one in your house!). My mom felt similarly to you after her knee operation - that recovery was so hard that she never wanted to do the other knee. But also she could walk freely again without pain and do so many more things with us. I really hope the pain goes away soon and you just get the benefits very soon. I'm glad you can settle in and read. I found cast socks and waterproof leg cast covers for the shower on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JCBJYK4/?tag=trck03-20 (scroll down to the frequently bought together items for the waterproof leg cast covers). If that is too expensive, maybe you could get huge sized diabetic socks and stretch them out. Anyway, I hope you can get totally absorbed in a book and find good ways to stay warm and comfy!!!Your toe being out in the open probably means less heat and less swelling (yay!) but I can see it being a bother when you actually get cold. It's perfectly normal to feel out of sorts when all your routines have been taken away and you're in pain on top of that! I'm glad you're accepting help for the shower, even though I fully expect you to hate it. Safety first.
Sending hugs Cate
Recovery from surgery doesn't sound fun at all from all accounts. (I've never had to go through it myself but just from what I've seen)
But yes, hopefully as the recovery progresses and you get more and more able to move around it will all seem worth it in the end!
Recovery from surgery doesn't sound fun at all from all accounts. (I've never had to go through it myself but just from what I've seen)
But yes, hopefully as the recovery progresses and you get more and more able to move around it will all seem worth it in the end!
Cate
Long term member
@Marsia Thank you very much for that link because it got my brain kicking in. I have an old woollen beanie that I can slide over my Darco boot when my toes are feeling particularly cold. (Done). What I did really need to buy before this op was some baggy-legged warm pants that would go over the boot but I didn't so I have to make do & have a blanket over me. I'm not sure they exist as they would need zips along the bottom to get over the boot. I was told not to take the boot off for 6 weeks.
You're right about asking for help. I love being asked for help.
The lovely, lovely L & A, our grandson drove out last night & delivered the 2-wheel frame. It will be much better for my back. I'll still ask our neighbour if he can add new holes to the 4-wheeled walker as it would be good to be able to use it as I can put everything in it & then have a walker on each level.
@Llama - thanks. I have no idea when anyone will be coming to help me to have a shower. I really want to get properly dressed so I'm warm & would feel safer tackling the stairs (ie without a dressing gown). I think I'll go have a wash shortly & put on my spare pair of PJ pants over these so that I at least have 2 layers, albeit thin ones. It's cold where I'm sitting now.
Grammarly is throwing a hissy fit at my poor grammar today!
@liza3 - thanks for the hugs. I am feeling really out of sorts & uncomfortable today and I hope I have done the right thing having this op.
@Fiera - thank you. We had a much better night as I left the bedroom door open & we rearranged the spare room so Archie had a trundle bed next to the spare bed & could sleep next to G or get onto his bed. He wandered backwards & forwards for a while & sniffled & snuffled near me & I shushed him. When I woke next he was curled up in his little snuggle bed over in the corner on my side but well away from the bed. I had been hopeful that he would do that, but not expecting it. We all got a pretty good night's sleep. He didn't even try jumping up.
I can't get comfortable this morning so am going to go have a good wash & get into some clean PJs & something warm on top & get into my chair. I can't balance the laptop here & it's starting to hurt my back. I also hate having things all over the place. It's doing my head in.
You're right about asking for help. I love being asked for help.
The lovely, lovely L & A, our grandson drove out last night & delivered the 2-wheel frame. It will be much better for my back. I'll still ask our neighbour if he can add new holes to the 4-wheeled walker as it would be good to be able to use it as I can put everything in it & then have a walker on each level.
@Llama - thanks. I have no idea when anyone will be coming to help me to have a shower. I really want to get properly dressed so I'm warm & would feel safer tackling the stairs (ie without a dressing gown). I think I'll go have a wash shortly & put on my spare pair of PJ pants over these so that I at least have 2 layers, albeit thin ones. It's cold where I'm sitting now.
Grammarly is throwing a hissy fit at my poor grammar today!
@liza3 - thanks for the hugs. I am feeling really out of sorts & uncomfortable today and I hope I have done the right thing having this op.
@Fiera - thank you. We had a much better night as I left the bedroom door open & we rearranged the spare room so Archie had a trundle bed next to the spare bed & could sleep next to G or get onto his bed. He wandered backwards & forwards for a while & sniffled & snuffled near me & I shushed him. When I woke next he was curled up in his little snuggle bed over in the corner on my side but well away from the bed. I had been hopeful that he would do that, but not expecting it. We all got a pretty good night's sleep. He didn't even try jumping up.
I can't get comfortable this morning so am going to go have a good wash & get into some clean PJs & something warm on top & get into my chair. I can't balance the laptop here & it's starting to hurt my back. I also hate having things all over the place. It's doing my head in.
I hope you can figure out some warm clothes that work around your cast like maybe pants that are made from really stretchy material or maybe even a long skirt. If you or G have some old gardening or painting pants, maybe you could cut slits up them and have G put ties or rubber bands on them to make them stay together at the bottom once they are on? I can think just how I would sew a pair of pants that would work - harem pants with ties on the bottom would work. That's so great Archie got to sleep near you, but actually let you sleep! I really hope the pain dissipates soon so you are not feeling so worried about whether it was good to have the operation or not. My mom felt exactly the same way until she could actually walk with no pain and had a lot more stamina, but that took a while for her to experience that. Do you have a shower stool you can sit on? My mom found that way more manageable. We got her equipment in thrift stores for a tiny fraction of what it cost to get it at the drug store that stocked that sort of equipment. But it was a special thrift store known to carry those sorts of items. We ended up donating them back to the same place for the next person to use. I hope by the time you are reading this you will have had a nice shower and warm clothes and are happily in your chair where you don't have to juggle stuff!! Hugs!!!