Thursday, March 24, 2011

Surgery Info

Details for Monday:

I am having a bone graft done on my shin. They basically go in, file down the bone that is kind of sticking out away from the rest of the bone, fill in any splits in the bone, sew me back up and I'm done. I will have to wear a "bone stimulator" around my leg for six hours a day. Not really sure I know exactly what it is - I stopped listening at "expensive."

At first, I was told I will not be able to bear weight for 2 weeks and then will be on crutches for 8-10 weeks. Now, he is not sure, and he will let me know after he goes in and sees everything.

Monday, I have to go to the out-patient center at 5:45 AM! That might be the worst part about the whole thing. The surgery will begin at 7Am, and I should be home in the afternoon.

I am taking off one week from school (the week before spring break) and then will use spring break as another week to recover. After that, I will be back in the classroom, and depending on what the doctor says, I might be in a chair teaching for a few weeks or the rest of the semester.

That is the update for now, but I will be sure to keep posting all next week to let you all know how I am doing.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Lazy-Boy Swimming

Yesterday, Ally and I took Aidan swimming at the pool at WA. Thought it was going to be heated, but apparently they turned it off for the weekend...did not phase little man a bit.

He absolutely loved watching Ally do laps and watched her go up and under the water. So, he wanted to be like her. I had him on his belly kicking around and he kept dunking his face right in the water on purpose- because he saw Ally doing it. It was hilarious.

Ready to go in brand new swimming gear.

"Seriously.... is this a joke?"

Lounging around in the pool

He thinks everything he sits in is like a Lazy Boy chair

Ready to play

Lazy-Boy


Hello paleness....
My son (who never GOES in the sun) is tanner than me... fabulous!
Update: I will be having a bone graft (surgery) 3/28 which is next Monday- will write up the details in a few days. We are graduation test testing so I will have some free time!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Waiting Game

For those that might not be fully in the loop... I had a tibia rod put in my shin in the summer of 2005 right before I went to NC State for a really bad stress fracture. They went through my knee to put the rod in and it took me 3-4 months to really get back to normal.

Insert cute picture of Aidan when I have nothing else to show....
It has been giving me some trouble lately so in the past month I have had an x-ray and an MRI - both of which were unable to be read because the titanium in the rod messes with the picture. I have had a bone scan and galium bone scans (one tests for stress fractures and one tests for bone infections) and I have had blood work done. Hello out-of-pocket maximum, here I come!
Good news and bad news as of today:
Dr. Wilkes (best orthopedist EVER- my sister and I have frequented his office) is going to "look over everything more thoroughly this weekend" but as of right now, he thinks that there is no bone infection- but there is an unhealed stress fracture in the tibia. I was already prepared for him to tell me that the rod has to come out (he has been talking to me about that for a while- which means essentially knee surgery- not fun). He says that the rod cannot come out because my bone is not strong enough right now to go without the rod.
Instead, he tells me that they are going to (most likely) go in and shave down the bone where there is an unhealed fracture and do a bone graft that will replace the missing bone. So no surgery for the rod- but now have a different surgery.
At least this surgery will not go through the knee and I will not have to worry about rehabbing the knee. But, I will have new scars and new problems.
He said that he will call me on Monday and let me know for sure and we can schedule the surgery. Fabulous! Can't wait! Oh well, maybe I will be able to walk/run/jump without pain afterwards... we shall see.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Good Morning Sunshine :-)

I had to wake Aidan up for one of the first times this year when I was heading to school. Usually his lazy bum gets to sleep until 8 every day- but 6am came early this morning. His philosophy: if she can't see me I am invisible... He usually sleeps with the blanket totally covering his head and this is where I found him this morning.

Face down with the blanket over the head.

s Aidan in his old-timey FSU outfit. Too bad his tummy was sticking straight out and the jacket wouldn't cover it.

I told him that I think he used to be in Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" music video.


Bath time. Now we have learned that we need both hands to crawl so the mouth is the third hand right?