I'm so glad you could stop by. This is my personal blog of daily life and my journey through life. You will find a strong emphasis on family and friends as well as finding my ancestors through genealogy. Unlike my other blogs this blog is more of a catch-all so any topic is fair game.
I can't believe it is April already! Last week was one of those weeks that wasn't really great but it could have been a lot worse. I saw my doctor who ordered x-rays. The results weren't what I expected but I can work with it and now that I know the cause of the problems it will be easier to deal with in the long run. It really is a blessing to know what you are up against whether you like the results or not.
I volunteered at the breakfast club three days last week. The weather had turned cold to the point of putting the furnace back on. Those are the days more kids use the breakfast club so it was a bit busier. I woke in the early morning hours of Friday to being decided sick but went into the breakfast club anyway. By lunchtime I felt horrid and even worse on Saturday. Today it's up in the air as to whether the symptoms are improving or just moving deeper into my lungs. The nice thing is, it is a dull, grey and somewhat cool day so I'm not tempted to go outdoors meaning my body is getting some of the rest it needs to recoup.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2012
Last year I injured my leg when a truck door slammed into my shin resulting in a huge heamatoma that saw me on crutches for two and a half weeks. The healing process has been slow and now I still have a bit of a lump with discolouration around the injury. Last weekend I mentioned to my husband that it had been a year. Well, don't you know I jinxed it! Last Tuesday night I took a nasty fall down the stairs. We have a bi-level home so thankfully it was only down the last two steps of the first level.
What happened was I was moving rather gingerly due to a stain while playing volleyball the previous Friday night. I had just had a nice soak in an epsoms salt bath then before settling on the couch to rest had to get something from the lower level. I had my hard soled slippers on hoping they would help relieve my back. My slipper caught on the stair tread, sending me crashing down onto the landing while giving my ankle one heck of a twist. It took me a good 10 minutes to get my bearings! I literally crawled back upstairs, grabbed an ice pack then sunk into the couch. The swelling was bad! When my husband got home he wanted me to go to ER but I could move my toes so reasoned it couldn't be broke. I have emergency first aid training certification so knew the signs to look for. Early in the morning hours I got up to go to the washroom and while in the process of leaving the washroom fainted. My husband insisted I had to have it checked. A family member came over the next morning. She insisted on having it checked also.
Sitting in the ER was beyond excruciating! My back hurt bad enough I could barely walk as it was. My ankles hurt something fierce to the point I was gritting my teeth but still refusing to take the pain killers the triage nurse offered. The good news is despite the looks, nothing is broken but it is a very, nasty stage 3 sprain. The prognosis is a full recovery in 6 to 8 weeks providing I follow RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) for the first week as well as using crutches to get around for one to two weeks and support shoes when I start putting pressure back on my ankle.
In comparison to last February's injury, I am a bit more mobile with this injury and in a lot less pain after only a couple of days. I'm using one of the custom made drink trays on wheels to get things around on the upper level. I manage to get up and down the stairs, not often but I can do it. So, mobility while hindered is not at a full stop. I'm telling you though, February is a jinxed month for me. Next February, I'm going to wrap myself in bubble wrap!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2012
I am likely one of the worst sleepers there ever was. On a good night I may actually sleep a full two hours at a time. In fact if I sleep more than that it is a sure sign I'm sick. Well, with my leg injury sleep became more of a challenge. You see I do not sleep well on my back, I need to be on my side in almost a foetal position. Then I change back and forth through the night in the allergy shuffle. With my injury I had no choice but to sleep on my back with my leg elevated. It has been pure misery with me now in a constant state of sleep deprivation. My eyes have the biggest saddle bags ever that when combined with my allergiy shiners, well lets just say I won't be in a beauty pagent anytime soon.
This past week I found with the use of a pillow for support I can sleep on my right side. The left side still is a no go because I can't get pressure on my leg even with a pillow. I woke with a start Wednesday after sleeping soundly for a good four hours! Oh my gosh, that just shows how exhausted I really am. Being able to sleep on my side again just makes things right. I can't do the allergy shuffle just yet but I'm sure it won't be long now. I am just so happy to be able to be sleeping on my side again. What a blessing to get back into my normal sleeping habit!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Thanks to everyone who has asked how I am doing. I was going to post a picture on today's post of what my leg looked like shortly after the injury back in February. I decided against it because even I can't believe how horrible it looked. So on to today's leg update. The haemotoma is still quite large with bruising around it for a nice colour effect. The pretty shades of red, purple and green come and go thanks to the arnica cream that is helping with the bruising. Much of the swelling is around my ankle and foot, making it painful for wearing shoes and walking. There is still pain at the site of the injury with the bulk of it coming from the bone itself. I am able to get around the house quite nicely although kneeling is still a no go. I've been out to the doctor's, done a bit of very brief shopping (about 15 minutes at a time) and visited the kids/grandkids over the weekend where I did a lot of sitting. Other than thak I think the healing is progressing as fast as possible without any further complications.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Thank-you to all who have asked how I'm doing. It's been three and a half weeks since I injured my leg. A week ago Monday I was able to start hobbling about without crutches. I saw my doctor last week who said if I kept doing what I was doing the healing should continue all be it slow. It is still rather ugly looking and despite the length of time rather painful especially after periods of sitting or when first getting up in the morning. The swelling has increased so I am back to elevating and resting a bit more. It seems like the healing is taking a little detour at the moment. Hopefully, things settle back down!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Sorry for today's delayed post but I had good reason. I went to my doctor's to have my leg checked. After a full 16 days on crutches, I was able to put pressure on my leg enough to slowly hobble around yesterday. That has resulted in more bruising from the hematoma drainingThe good news is if I continue with what I'm doing (rest, icing, elevation, arnica cream, high dose Vitamin C) the healing should continue. She measured the hematoma at 4 cm so will be keeping an eye on how it progresses. I have see her in two weeks as she is off next week but have strict orders that if there are any negative changes before she sees me again to go to emerg. The two main concerns is compartment syndrom and clotting at the back of my leg. I am rather pleased with today's results so well I won't be dancing a jig or even going for a walk anytime soon, I'm off the crutches enabling me to putter about the house :)
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
It has been week two of healing and I am still not back on my feet. The good thing is the bruising itself seems to be healing nicely but the lump remains quite large. I'm remaining optimistic that the lump will begin to decrease but I see my doctor on Tuesday who will determine if the damage needs to be surgically repaired. It still looks like I have a second knee on the same leg. So it has been a week of continued healing, making some progress but not a much as I would like.
Garden Gnome
I injured my leg quite badly on February 18 and while the damage looked quite nasty x-rays showed no obvious fractures although there was the possibility of a hairline fracture. From the 19th through part of the 26th I was on resting, elevating and icing my leg and on crutches only if I really had to get up. Being forced to sit with an injury is not my idea of rest and relaxation. On the afternoon of the 26th I put a bit of pressure on my leg. It didn't hurt so I hobbled into the kitchen to do a bit of puttering, not for long but something to break the monotony of sitting so much, something a previous injury makes difficult. Sunday my leg still felt rather good even though it looked horrible. I hobbled without crutches not a lot but just enough make tea, go to the washroom and get to the bedroom. Monday morning it was quite apparent that there had been some internal bleeding at the bruise site so back onto icing, elevation and crutches. The pain was back as well but the most discerning complication was my leg and foot started getting cold indicating circulation was being cut off. By bedtime both were still quite cold. During the very restless night I woke several times to check the temperature of my leg and foot that remained quite cold until about 3 AM along with occasional stabbing pains. This morning it is quite painful so still on crutches but I'm not going to try pushing it. I've always maintained that using pain killers gives a greater risk of further damage because you tend to use the injured area before it is fully healed.
Garden Gnome
My gosh it has been an interesting week to say the least! I've spent most of it with my leg elevated so needless to say I have got little done. My husband has been quite attentive even during the pity fest I had on day two of being immobile. Complicating the discomfort level was a previous injury that makes it rather painful to sit for more that about 20 minutes. I have to be up and moving around something that was rather difficult on crutches.
As we age healing gets slower something I found out this past week. At the same time our wisdom or common sense usually improves with age. I was definitely less inclined to push my body through any pain. Listening to my body was good common sense as it allowed me to start the healing process without doing further damage. I also listened to the older ways as well using Arnica ointment to help the bruising heal faster. I'm not a huge fan of pain medication especially for injuries the reason being is pain medication numbs the pain that is the body's way of saying to back things down leading to a greater chance of complicating the injury. I'm a firm believer that pain medication can actually cause more harm in many cases. So as with most health care I took the natural approach.
It will likely be another good week of healing before being back to normal. My leg still looks rather ugly but the important thing is each day there are little signs of healing. That is a good thing! The body is a remarkable machine that has the potential to heal itself if given the chance.
Garden Gnome
Friday night we rode with friends to go to a community fish fry. When I went to get into the truck afterwards the wind caught the door sending it slamming into my leg. By the time we got back to their place it looked like I had a second knee over my tibia about 3 inches down from my actual knee. I immediately started icing it. As the swelling continued, I decided to go to the hospital for x-rays. Despite the horrendous swelling there were no apparent breaks although the swelling may be hiding a hairline fracture so if the swelling doesn't decrease over a 72 hour period I have to go back. I'm doing sitting with leg elevated and icing. Thank goodness for the pair of crutches that are helping be get around when I have to. With a bit of luck everything will heal nicely and I will back to my normal self shortly!
Garden Gnome
