Surgery- 2.5 weeks Post Op

"How are you doing" is a common thing I hear these days- and while I'm no where near 100%, I'm happy to say that I'm getting much closer then I was two weeks ago, shoot then I was 1 week ago.

The first week home, I pretty much looked like this:
That would be me, on our couch, with my trusty ice machine (AKA: My Best Friend EVER). I came home late Friday afternoon (after a moderately easy overnight stay at the Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital). The first 24-36 hours home were the absolute worst. I didn't start on oral medications until about 30 min until I left the hospital, so for the ride home I still had some of my IV meds in my system. Those QUICKLY wore off, and around my first trip to the restroom, Aaron found me balling in tears not knowing what to do. I had no idea what else to do- so I called my doctor's office and thankfully he was on call. He explained that this was the pain we had talked about and there wasn't too much more we could do- he told me to start on IB Prophen, and he upped the amount of pain medicine I could take. For the first day and a half, I was pretty much oblivious to the pain, because I'd only be awake for about 30-45 minutes of a 4 hour period, long enough to eat a small something and take my medicine. Poor Aaron- he slept by my side and woke up every 30 minutes to alternate turning my ice machine on and off. I couldn't have imagined doing this without him.

Aaron stayed with me Friday-Monday, and Monday night my mom came down to stay with me through Tuesday. We found out on Tuesday that Aaron would have a long day ahead of him at work on Wednesday, and while he was suppose to have Thursday/Friday off there was no way I could sustain myself alone on Wednesday, nor could his Grandma help me out. We decided it'd be best for me to head up to my parents house, since my sister has a few classes a day, but I'd only be alone for a few hours at a time at most- and both my mom and dad would be close by to come if I needed them- so Miley and I headed up north with my mom in some intense rain Tuesday evening.

I opted to skip removing my bandage on Tuesday- since we got up north late, and instead we did this on Wednesday. I apologize for those of you with weak stomach's- while the photo isn't too bad, it's certainly not enjoyable.
So that's my knee- I know it barely looks like a knee given there's no definition with all the swelling- but considering there's a broken Tibia and 3 new screws- I think it looks pretty dang good!

After finally making it home (there was fear we wouldn't with the storms coming in) I started feeling better. I learned to find my way up the stairs (and back down) and can now shower almost completely independently (only needing help getting in and out).

This evening, I climbed the stairs alone while Aaron was at the grocery store. I even managed to get myself into and out of the car alone so if I have to get somewhere, I can. I can even walk short distances without my walker.

I can't start Physical Therapy for another 2 weeks, and I know that in itself will be another very rough rode- for now I'm trying to do what I can to keep some range of motion with the few exercises the doctor released me to do.

There are 3 individuals however who have enjoyed my couch-recovery time: Simba, Budders, and Miley. I have no idea what they'll do when I finally return to work: