After Surgery

I was prepared for everything except for the news I got after surgery. Apparently MRIs and Xrays are not all that reliable for showing what actual conditions are inside the body. My leg was much more damaged and much less healed than we thought, so instead of a 3 hour surgery, I had an 8 hour surgery with the attendant slower recovery. I had two big worries - how was I going to take care of myself when I had to stay at a 60 degree angle in a brace and was the femur ever going to heal (we thought it had been healing but it has not). Thank goodness the rehab center was able to teach me how to take care of myself. The answer to the second worry will come in time.

My plan was to get out of the hospital in 3 to 5 days, and then in about 3 weeks or so, start learning to walk. Instead I was in the hospital 3 weeks, and I'll not be walking until/if the femur heals. It took a few days to accept the change. My future plans will have to be based on the possibility that I'll be living a wheelchair lifestyle for the forseeable future. I can accept that. I was independent enough to do pretty much whatever I wanted, and I should be back to that in a few more weeks. I'm not crazy about being in a wheelchair for a long time, though. I'm always thinking about what the alternatives might be if my leg doesn't heal in a year or so.

I was glad to get home and be able to take care of myself! My lifestyle is still pretty dull, but I'm not suffering from boredom. I read, write, watch re-runs, pet the cat and occasionally go out with friends or have friends over. I am a lucky woman to have so many fabulous people in my life!