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Monday, January 7, 2008

Day 5 post-op: Progress and accessories

Ahh, my first day home alone. Nice and quiet, good opportunity to catch up on home office things like tidying up the room a bit!

G-Shaft and Mrs. Shaft are back at school and work respectively. I'll be waiting until at least next Monday before I head back to the office, want to see if I can return without the immobilizer brace.

Yesterday and today I've been able to move around the house without a walking stick. The brace is a necessary evil, yes, but it's close to the point of getting in my way walking! I also hope after my visit with Dr. K on Friday to remove stitches that I can at least lose the brace while sleeping.

Last night I returned to the 2nd floor bedroom as well. It was awesome sleeping on the adjustable firmness mattress again, away from the squeak of the hamster wheels.

My auto-chill feature should show up via UPS this afternoon. That'll make my ice sessions so much more convenient after PT. And speaking of PT, I go tomorrow afternoon--we'll see how things sit at that time. I also have a shower bench showing up that a friend is loaning me this evening, that'll be nice--along with the new hand-held shower that Mrs. Shaft installed Saturday!

A few of my favorite recovery accessories:


Useful for PT, for calf muscle stretching, for a neck roll.


This one keeps me entertained!


Several of these kept me company while sleeping on the couch downstairs.


These keep my crutches from taking flight in the land of ice and snow I live in.
First pic is the ice grip retracted, second is engaged.
Had to modify them slightly as well as notch the rubber foot of my crutch, but they work like a charm!

Wishing continued healing and progress to Black Belt Mama who had a bit of a setback last week..

6 comments:

Blackbeltmama said...

You sound like you're doing so well. We both have PT tomorrow so hopefully they'll be good news to report.

Although I don't have a cryo machine like you do, my husband bought me a cryo pack ice pack with a cover and velcro that I've been attaching to my knee for longer stretches. I think I have my swelling under control. Now if I could just figure out a good way to work on flexion since my legs are too damn long for sitting in a normal chair and I'm past the 90 degree mark. I'll have to ask tomorrow.

Blackbeltmama said...

Oh, and thank you for the well wishes. ;-)

Bob M said...

That ice grip is awesome, I've never seen one on a crutch before!

Michele said...

I am glad to hear that you are doing so well. The cryo machine sounds fantastic especially with the auto-chill feature.

Hack Shaft said...

BBM,

Just find some extra cushions to sit on, making the chair taller.

Another method my PT recommended is a rolling office chair. Plant your foot, and roll the chair gently forward to work on flexion.

Blackbeltmama said...

My PT told me to get on my stomach and work my flexion that way. It works nicely since I can distract myself with a TV show while working through the pain. ;-)

All the chairs in my house have bars so I can't go back far enough and our office chair is a beast! Thank you though.