Posted on March 30th, 2008 by michael
Time for John Adams after a busy day. Took an excursion to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy a shower chair. Then to the supermarket for groceries. Then to a local park for a sunny but chilly crutch walk, Then a shower (plastic bags and tape for the leg). The chair worked very well and the shower was a pleasure. Then out to dinner with friends. All in all, a fairly normal day for a guy on crutches and a cracked rib. At this point, the rib is much more annoying than the leg. I’m trying to limit the Percocet because its doing a number on my digestive system. Started taking Dulcolax in an effort to get things moving.
My bracket is pretty good. Have 3 of the 4 in the semis. Was pulling for Davidson to upset Kansas because the only person ahead of me in the pool picked Kansas to win. But he didn’t pick Memphis for the semis. At this point, if UNC wins it all, as I have it, I’ll win my firm pool (60% 0f $850). Go Tar Heels!
I’ll check back in tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good week. Those going to PT, work hard. Those, like me, still NWB, I wish you (and me), patience.
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Posted on March 29th, 2008 by michael
With the help of the Percocet I was able to sleep alright and make it to the bathroom with out excessive pain from my mishap yesterday. Today the back is sore in the vicinity where it struck the railing but I’ve been able to manage the pain with Motrin. As an experiment this morning, with the Percocet still in my system, I managed to do 40 pushups. However, as I promised my wife, my doctor and myself, I’ve basically been taking it easy today. I did take a half-hour walk on the cutches with my wife to take advantage of the clear but quite cool weather. I see the doc on Tuesday for my first official post-op appointment and I’m sure he’ll inspect the incision; that’s why he put me in a splint and not a cast. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the healing is going well. The faster the wound heals the sooner I can get back in the pool. I hope everyone is having a good weekend and that all of your brackets are intact.
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Posted on March 28th, 2008 by michael
Everything was going well until about 4:30 pm when I arrived home. The day started with my morning pushups (did 120) and crunches. Had a good, if abbreviated, day at the office and beat the rush hour home. As I was crutching from the driveway to my front door I have to negotiate a rather high single step up onto my porch. I lost my balance, struggled to keep my right foot elevated and stumbled backwards falling onto the top metal rail of a four foot high fence landing on my side toward my back and probably causing a hairline fracture of one of my lower right ribs. How do I know that? My orthopedist’s office is just down the block. He was there. He examined me. He thinks that’s what it is. It hurts a hell of a lot more than my AT. He told me to use the Percocet that I haven’t been using for the AT. All I can say is s**t! It will probably hurt even more tomorrow. It’s not going to make crutching around any easier. I’ll wait until morning to see how much it affects my ability to do push ups; I’m not optimistic. It looks like I may actually take it easy this weekend after all.
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Posted on March 27th, 2008 by michael
My first day back at work with no ill effects other than I’m exhausted. Got home a little after 4 pm, looked at the mail, answered some email, had a little dinner, did a second and briefer workout (pushups, shoulder presses and bicep curls) and collapsed on the couch to watch some b-ball. Feel asleep until now with WVA and Xavier tied at 72. Good game. Leg well elevated. I’ll head to be when game is over. Don’t even remember who I have in my bracket. I’ll be back tomorrow. Keep up the words of encouragement - they help,
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Posted on March 27th, 2008 by michael
Yesterday my wife and son took me on a late afternoon excursion to Costco. I was looking forwar to using one of the electric carts and drag racing down the aisles. The catrs were all in use. I was relegated to a mere wheelchair which I soon tired of. Got up and made why way on the crutches. The best par about the outing, besides doing something ordinary and normal, was that I didn’t seem to have any ill effects - no pain, no swelling, really, no nothing. So, when I got home I called my doc and asked him if there was any reason that I shouldn’t go to my office. He said that if I felt all right that I should go for it.
So, here I sit at my desk in my office in lower Manhatten blogging away. At some point I’ll actually try to do some billable work. And, I’m not going to push it; I’ll go home on the early side. The most amazing thing thus far (and I hope I don’t jinx it) is the absence of pain. I was expecting signficent discomfort if not outright pain. How can you have a 3-4″ incision on the back of you leg and not feel it? All I can say is, so far, so good.
On the excercise front, I just spoke with a colleague who , a number of years ago, was in an accident resulting in among other things, a broken leg, broken ribs and collarbome. She wasn’t even able to use crutches. Her doctor told her that you lose 5% of muscle tone and strength every day you lie in bed and do nothing. She started lifting weights with her good arm and leg almost immediately. Last night I did a bench workout with weights; dumbbell presses, pectoral flies, seated shoulder presses and bicep curls. I used lslightly lower weight than before the ATR but did more reps. It felt great.
I have also found that my appetite has decreased since the injury. I guess that it is a function of a lower activity level. All in all, I want to come through this process without gaining weight. Six and a half years ago I lost almost 100 pounds and have maintained my weight ever since. I don’t want to head back to all of the problems associated with being overweight.
Time to do some productive work. I’ll try to update the blog later.
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Posted on March 26th, 2008 by michael
Made it through night 2 uneventfully. Actually took the Percocet at bedtime and slept fairly soundly. Made a 4:30 excursion to the bathroom on crutches and was able to fall right back to sleep. Had a little discomfort after awaking and took some Motrin. If I can manage the pain/discomfort with Motrin and avoid the Percocet it seems sensible to do so. Now all I have to do is figure out how to fill my day; long days lying in bed or on the couch are not my cup of tea. I am used to being on the go all the time. My typical day (pre-ATR) would begin with an aerobic workout - either swimming, biking or the elliptical. I then commute to my office or court via railroad and subway. When not in court my day is generally a mix of working at my desk and attending conferences with clients and/or colleagues all geared to bringing cases to trial or some acceptable conclusion without a trial. The are often lunch or other meeting out of the office. Needless to say, for the next number of weeks life is going to be different. I’ve never been good at having my routine disrupted. I guess I’ll just have to deal with it the best that I can. One thing I intend to do is try to keep in shape the best that I can. That’s what the pushups on Day 1 were all about. Besides, with the crutches I want to maintain as much upper body strength as possible. I’ll probably do some weight lifting later today using an adjustable bench. What I really looking forward to is eventually getting a waterproof cast (fiberglass and Goretex) and getting permission from my doc to swim (not kicking with the injured leg, of course). Has anyone out there in ATR land gotten a waterproof cast? How long does it take to dry after it gets wet? Has anyone been able to swim with such a cast? If so, how far along in the process were you at the time? I’d love to hear and learn more about these waterproof casts. Any info will be most appreciated.
I’ll update Day 2 later.
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Posted on March 25th, 2008 by michael
All in all not a bad day. Nerve block still slightly working. Took some Percocet at 4 pm upon onset of slight discomfort. Actually went out for a walk with my wife to take advantage of nice weather and get a little exercise. Walked for about 1/4 mile on the crutches. Even stopped by my surgeon’s office which is located down the block. He was a little surprised to see me and reiterated that he was happy with what he described as a “clean anatomic repair”, meaning that he was able to reattach everything to where it belongs.
Well, Dancing With the Stars is almost over and I’m going to get ready for another night of elevated leg. Can one of the more experienced ATRers out there tell me how long the elevated leg thing goes on?
I’ll be back tomorrow.
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Posted on March 25th, 2008 by michael
The nerve block in my right leg seems to still be working because I have not yet experienced any pain. The anesthesiologist said that the block cold last for 24 hours, maybe even a little longer. He seems to be on the money. Getting around on the crutches borrowed from a fellow tennis player who ha the surgeryis easier than I expected. I attribute it to the specialized crutches called Strutters. They are made of tubular aluminum and are a rectangular design with a flat rectangular base, rather than simply a small rubber tip. The base is attached to a hinged spring mechanism that allow the base to be in full contact with the ground even when the cruth is placed out front or to the side. The spring helps to bring the crutch back to an upright position. As a result, the Strutters are much more stable than ordinary crutches. Additionally, the under-arm portion is U shaped and very padded; it stays in place and puts less force under the arms. The only drawback is that they are quite expensive. My friend bought them online for $450. He was kind enough to loan them to me.
I was able to do pushups on the floor this morning and my wife and son will bring my bench and weights down from my workout room later today. The big mystery is what will I be able to do for a cardio workout. Between the weights, puhups and moving around with crutches my upper body should be fine. The question is how to keep my left leg and upper right leg toned. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Before surgery I was using the rowing machine with just my left leg. It seemed to work ok. That may be the ticket for an aerobic exercise, although I’m not relishing the thought of sweating under the splint. A lot will depend on the pain situation, I suppose. I’ll keep you informed.
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Posted on March 25th, 2008 by michael
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