Hello Happy Pitbulls

Tweeting through Recovery

Before I had my ankle surgery, someone suggested via Twitter that I would be dealing with a different type of "recovery.gov" -- a bit of Government 2.0 humor which made me laugh, but I wonder if most people were as amused as I am.

First, an ankle update
I guess we're on day 5 or so, and things are going well.  I'm still having some incision pain that the vicodin and ice are doing a good job of handling, so that's good.  This time around, I haven't been spending a lot of time in the boot, since I have my ankle wrapped up pretty good.  I went to the doctor yesterday and had all the dressing removed and the big reveal showed a clean incision, much shorter than the one on the right, and hardly any swelling or bruising.  Again, I am a total rule follower.  Ice, elevation, medication, and this time - coumadin.

Have any of you ever taken blood thinners before?  I guess this is a new protocol for foot and ankle surgeries due to the frequency of blood clots. I am taking coumadin daily and have to go in to the doctor to have my blood clotting factors monitored weekly, at least until I am up and running around again.  Comes with lots of warnings, including the fact that if I get a bloody nose I have to go to the ER.  Crazy.  No papercuts for me!

So the surgery went really well and overall, there was less issues with my tendons on this foot than on my right foot.  This one had more of the issue with the extra freaky muscle.  They removed 3 cm from that muscle to give my tendons more room to move and then fixed the subluxation so I don't have the snapping over my ankle bone any more.  Depending on how things progress, I'll probably be able to start getting back to weight bearing in about 3 weeks, rather than the 6 weeks originally thought.  This is good! 

I am trying to be careful not to overdo it.  Just because I have been through this before and it's a bit easier this time, doesn't mean it's smooth sailing, so I am trying to take it easy this week.

Next, Gov 2.0 Update
I had the extreme pleasure and honor of appearing on Government 2.0 Radio on Blog Talk Radio with Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist.  First of all, this was Sunday, and I was very hoarse from the anesthesia and groggy from my painkillers, but I was doing my best to stay in the conversation.  Craig is an amazing supporter of the new open government initiatives in the Obama Administration and is looking for cues on how to help promote transparency in Government.  You can see from his blog that this has become a recent focus.  If you have some time to spare, check out the show from Sunday, then listen for future shows.  Host Adriel Hampton is a real mover and shaker in the Government 2.0 community, as well as a candidate for US Congress in California District 10.  He's doing great work in bringing government to citizens of the web and I have a lot of respect for the work he's doing!

More later when I'm less foggy.  Enjoy.

Wide awake

So now that I have slept pretty much through the weekend, I am wide awake at 3:30 in the morning on Sunday.  I am wiped out, but also wide awake.

Even though I have slept all day, Mike insists it's time I sleep now, so he put the TV remote over on his nightstand where I can't reach it.  Which is kind of silly since I'm going to wake him up to ask him for it once I get irritated with Robot Chicken or some other Adult Swim show that's on.

I'm still having a lot of pain along what I think is the incision on my ankle.  As much as possible, I am keeping my foot outside of the boot, unless I start moving around.  We'll see whether I end up in a cast on Tuesday or Wednesday.

So...time to try to sleep again.  Mike's snoring and that's going to be enough to irritate me if I don't fall asleep soon.

Day 2: Foggy

So time for post-party wrap up from my surgery. Here I am...made it through.

I was scheduled to report at 9:30 yesterday and when I got there, I found out there were running 30 minutes late.  They came and got me pretty quick after we arrived and asked me a slew of questions, including the ones about whether I feel safe at home or if I have any domestic issues.  No, she wasn't asked about whether I could cook or not.  After the questions were over, we got sent back out to the waiting room and were told that the case before me was an hour behind.

It wasn't until about 11:30 that I actually got called back to get all changed into my hospital gown and prepped for surgery.  They started an IV and then my doctor came over to talk to me.  Mike and I were taking all kinds of pictures while we waited, killing time with the iPhone.  I actually ended up with the same anesthesiologist from the first surgery (Dr. Hughes) which rocked, because I came out of that one with no nausea.

Eventually they wheeled me back to the OR and they had me participate in the whole physics about how they were going to position me on the table and all that good stuff.  Then I got to hear how Dr. Starkweather almost failed his poetry class and how he was the only guy in the class and how he took it because it was easy.  I was a little too stressed out to follow where that whole conversation came from or was going, but then suddenly I felt that sting in my hand and they put me under.  Thankfully, I missed the rest of the conversation.

Next thing I knew, I was in recovery and my husband was on his way to pick me up. I don't remember talking to Dr. Starkweather at the hospital, but I know I did.

They literally poured me into the car about a half an hour later and then I was home.  I crawled into bed. Mike put an ice pack on my ankle and I popped a couple of vicodin, had some mac & cheese, then fell asleep.  I haven't really slept straight for any long period, kind of drifting in and out of sleep.

Today I am in a lot more pain, probably because they numbed my foot during surgery and it just wore off.  So, I am icing, and vicodining.

The other thing is that I have to take coumadin because they have new protocols for foot and ankle surgery to prevent blood clots.  Not sure if it's the vicodin or the coumadin, but something is making me really itchy.  What I wouldn't give for a nice hot shower.

It's gonna be a few more days before I get that lucky.

More later.  And pix coming to flicker shortly :)

Countdown to Surgery: T-minus 12 hours and counting

I guess it's official.  I have a time to report for my surgery tomorrow morning at 9:30.

I'm trying to remember all the things I did now over a year ago when preparing for my first ankle surgery.  I actually went back to my blog posts from a year ago and it all came rushing back.  The first few days were pretty rough.  I stocked up on snacks, ginger ale, applesauce and all the good stuff for coming off of anesthesia.

It's ironic that my dad is having surgery at the same time (although his is in the hospital and mine is in the surgery center). For those of you wishing me luck, send some luck to my dad.  This is his second surgery this week!  He's been having issues with his dialysis access.  Poor guy.

I will try to keep this blog current with news of my ankle angst, so stay tuned.

I give up, fix me.

With my left ankle now going through the same thing my right ankle did just over a year ago, I've decided it's time to fix it.  I have been hobbling around for the past month or so, and the last two weeks back in Das Booty.  It's not getting any better.

I have an appointment wiht Dr. Starkweather at Woodland Health Care on Wednesday to schedule a surgery date.  Today the weather was in the 90s, so the thought of spending the next few months in a boot is not all that pleasant, but I'd prefer that than not being able to walk.

Zero's surgery is scheduled for April 27th, so we'll know more about his situation shortly too.

A new chapter for frankenankle and the Happy Pitbulls

It's time to reopen the story of my ankle angst.  For the past couple of months, my left ankle has been bugging me.  It started when I was training for the Shamrock'n Half Marathon, about 9 months out from my ankle reconstruction for peroneal tendon subluxation.  The familiar pain started up in my left ankle and kind of came and went.  I have to admit I think my Wii may have not helped.  It's really been hurting the past few weeks.  Oh no!  I have a Wii injury!  How embarrassing!

I went to the doctor today and he could feel the subluxation and he feels pretty confident that the tendon is split like it was on my right ankle.  So, I am back in das booty, which is not exactly fresh and new anymore, but I'm going to see if I can get the pain to calm down between now and the end of the month.  At some point I have to figure out when to get it fixed.

Now, as for the Happy Pitbulls,we're on pins and needles.  Fifi developed two patches where her fur started falling out and upon closer inspection, we found a couple of ominous looking dark patches.  You can see one here.  We took her to UC Davis for a check up and to have them checked out.  She tested negative for fungus and ringworm and mange and that type of stuff so they recommended we do a biopsy on each site.  We're still waiting for the results.

Now Zero, also due for his check up, had another squishy spot that we found on his neck.  We thought it was just another lypoma (a benign fatty tumor that we're familiar with from our old dogs), but they found some suspicious cells on closer examination.  They decided to take some larger samples and send them to their oncology department.

The next day, we received an email and a voicemail telling us that Zero most likely had thyroid cancer.  Now I can tell you from experience that I know it's a teaching hospital and all, and I know UC Davis has an amazing reputation for complex medical cases, but this is not the kind of news you want to get via email.  Next steps are to do more test to see whether this has spread to his lungs and to make sure he's okay to go under surgery to remove it.

No results back for Fifi.

Not what we expected at all. 

This blog was started with the passing of the original happy pitbull, Blauser.  And so the story continues.  Keep Fifi and Zero in your prayers.

Closing the loop on Ankle Angst

On March 26, I had an ankle reconstruction to repair my peroneal tendon subluxation.  It's now been just over six months and I'm happy to report that my ankle is at 100%.  In fact, I even did a 5K race a few weeks back and am considering another training cycle to do the Shamrock'n Half Marathon in Sacramento in March.  That would be a good way to celebrate a being a year out from the surgery.

It's definitely been a long haul.  I remember back the first few days after surgery I wondered if I made a big mistake.  It was so rough.  Incredibly rough for the first month, really.  But all in all, I had a great experience with my doctor and with my recovery.

If I have one piece of advice for anyone who is considering this surgery: Follow your surgeon's instructions during recovery!  Exactly as directed!

The Ankle: 3 months post surgery

After a long haul through this ankle surgery experience, the news is all good.  On Thursday, I was released from formal physical therapy.  After completing 3 weeks of fun balance, rubber band, and other exercises, I got my range of motion within the normal range, I can walk up and down stairs, I got my normal speed back, and I've been off crutches for a while. 

Friday, I went back to the doctor for the first time since the end of May.  I'm not fully released, but I'm free to roam the streets sans brace, with my lovely scarred naked ankle!  It's a joyous thing!

I'm allowed to get back on the treadmill as tolerated, for walking, but not running yet.  I am going to see how that goes.  I follow up in 3 months.  That's all the way in September.  So my doctor says that if I am pleased with how the ankle is now, I'll be really happy in 3 months.

Overall, despite the first two really crappy weeks, this was not a bad experience, relatively speaking.  Considering I had an ankle reconstruction and tendon grafts, I am quite pleased with the speed and success of the results.

Thanks for following the journey!  More to come as I start to see if I can get back in form for some fun half marathons coming up next fall!

Fading fast...my scar, that is.

Ankle update,
originally uploaded by marlinex.

On Wednesday, it will be 12 weeks since my surgery. Zero told me it's time for an update. My scar, as you can see, is fading. My flexibility and strength are improving. My walking is amazing. I can cruise along, sometimes without even limping!

I still have a spot that feels really tights, and I'm guessing that's the spot where the ligament and retinaculum got sutured down to my bone. My scar is still really sensitive, so I'm doing the massage thing on it to help with that. I'm still having swelling that prevents me from wearing most of my shoes when I wear my brace.

But considering 3 months ago, I was expecting to still be in my boot, I couldn't be happier. I feel like I'll be back to normal within a few more weeks, and Zero couldn't be happier about that. He wants his walks back.

The perfect comeback

The next time someone asks me how my ankle's doing, I have the perfect response: swell!  Partially because it is doing swell. I am chugging along without crutches, relatively painfree, and getting stronger by the day.  But...my foot is SWOLLEN!  It was actually swollen before I put my shoes on this morning.  I think I need to find some different shoes that allow a little more movement and room for swelling throughout the day.  And I need to ice.

Confession time: I ordered a new pair of shoes from Zappos.com: The Superga Portofinos. Don't tell on me.