Saturday morning=5 days post op

There is a magical quality to recovering in the presence of animals. At least two members of the golden nursing team are with me all the time on the bed.Once again, this experience has given me the opportunity to learn about how incredibly sensitive dogs can be. No one has even stepped into my path or brushed up against me since I have the walker. Everyone is extremely helpful, laying in positions that don't make me uncomfortable. Last night Chelsea and Temple went out for a drink, and for three hours all three dogs stayed with me. Nobody even moved! They were working away, guarding me and making me feel safe.

I have cut out the Vicodin, although I'm still on the oxycontin. I don't have a lot of pain, but my leg is still swollen around the surgery and thus everything feels tight when I walk.

The home health nurse came today and drew blood for my INR levels (how much clotting propensity is in my blood). Thank goodness my level was 1.9, a number only significant because it means I don't have to give myself shots of Lovanox(another anti-clotting drug) in
the stomach all weekend.

I've gotten pretty good at picking things up off the floor with the grabbing tool: socks, phones, pieces of paper. The only thing I can't pick up is the tool itself, which falls over constantly if I stand it next to the bed.

I have also gotten good at dressing myself. If you lay on the bed, throw your panties up in the air with your good leg and raise the bad one slowly and carefully to meet them in the air (only lift about 30 degrees), you can dress unassisted. Here the grabbing tool is also useful.

Also got a good piece of advice about wrestling with the TED socks (another anti-embolism precaution) that I have to put on every morning. The socks have a hole in the front by the toes. What you do is put a 1-qt freezer bag over your foot, start the sock by sliding it over the bag beyond the foot and pulling the bag off your foot through the hole.

It is amazing how much we do by bending over more than ninety degrees or raising our legs more than ninety.