I’m now at the five-week mark of my second hospital stay.
I was finally allowed to use my crutches to go to the bathroom by myself. But I was strictly forbidden to go outside of my room.
The doctor removed my splint and bandages after a little more than three weeks. I was able to see my new surgery scars clearly for the first time. The new scar is about two inches longer than it was originally.
With the removal of the splint came the ability to lay on my side and the ability to sit up straight. Sitting up and limited movement allowed air to flow between me and the bed. The sores on my butt and back could begin to heal.
I left the hospital at the five week mark last time. I’m clearly not ready to leave yet.
Although the splint and bandages were taken off, the muscles in my leg were in much worse condition than they were the first time I had surgery. Basically, the muscles in my right leg were frozen in place. I could not bend my knee at all.
Removing the splint, using the crutches, walking around are all signs of improvement. However, the difficult part was just beginning. I was told to hang my leg over the edge of the bed and let the weight of my leg naturally start the stretching process.
After a few days of that, I was told I would have to start bending my leg on my own. I was to bend it as much as possible as often as possible.
Up to this point, my hospital stay had only been mentally exhausting. Now, the physical pain would start. On top of all of this, I had to start doing more office work from my bed.
Over the following week, I got to the point where I could bend my knee approximately 45 degrees. It is difficult to sit in a chair or on the edge of bed if you cannot bend your knee naturally. Because of this, my leg was always hurting and it was very difficult to do office work on my computer. I would work for 15 or 20 minutes and then lay exhausted on the bed for thirty minutes or so. The result of this was that things that would normally take me an hour to do ended up taking two or three hours to do.
Yesterday, it was time to take recovery to the next level. The doctor said it was now time to strap me to some equipment in the physical therapy room and have my leg muscles stretched for me.
In the physical therapy room, I lay down on a table and they strap me into the machine that I can only call “The Rack.”
The nurse pushes a button, and the The Rack contracts and forcibly bends my knee.
The pain is incredible as The Rack unbends and then bends a little further…Over and over again.. For 30 minutes. The pain doesn’t go away. I am in constant pain now. When not suffering the pain of bending my knee, which I have to continue doing even out of the physical therapy room, I am suffering from horribly painful muscle aches from the stretching and tearing that took place. Today, my leg was stretched to 80 degrees. I have to get to 120 degrees before they will release my from the hospital.
The mental exhaustion of sheer boredom, the stress from doing office work while bored and in pain, and the constant, throbbing, aching physical in my leg has made me pretty unsociable these days. Constant pain doesn’t make me happy. I don’t feel like seeing anyone. I don’t feel like talking to anyone. My temper has grown incredibly short. I’m not nearly as tolerant and easy going as I was. I feel like a wounded animal in a cave.
Apparently all of this is a sign of improvement, but I wish it was over.
