I guess it's time for an update on my rebuild...
October 14th I went to see the surgeon who was going to do my aortic aneurism repair and he mentioned that he might want to have me in a day early for an alternate procedure. Sure enough, they called me and asked me to be at the hospital on Monday October the 27th. I went in and they showed me to my bed, told me not to eat anything after midnight and the next day they wheeled me into the OR.
The procedure they wanted to do involved blocking off one branch of the artery that had a smaller aneurism on it so they wouldn't have to do it with the main repair. I was in the procedure room for approximately 2 hours and in pain for roughly the same length of time...there was not enough anesthetic in the world to stop the pain as they shoved a thin wire into my pelvis and navigated over to the artery they had to block off...
Finally though, they completed the process and sent me back to my room to rest up for the main bout the following day...
October 29th they inserted an epidural drip line into my spine to numb my lower body for the surgery. This took a bit longer than initially described but it was over and I was out before I realized what was happening. I awoke about 6 hours later...which was a good thing considering the survival rate of the aneurism repair wasn't that high...about 50%...
The recovery was slow going initially but around day 3 things started moving along better...that was when I decided that being stuck in a bed and not able to move was getting older than myself...so I asked to have a commode moved into my room and for help with the delicate task of landing on one upright without too much pain...my incision was about a foot long starting just below the center of my rib cage and traveling down to just below my waist. Moving around too much usually reminded me of the term "scar tissue"...ouch!
Anyway, I was determined to start moving as the nearest Tim Horton's was on the lower level and I'd had enough of hospital food...even though I did not eat anything for the first four days and wasn't able to keep down what little they were feeding me. If I ever have to eat orange jello again I may consider legal proceedings for cruel and inhumane treatment.
I survived the ordeal and gradually got enough food down to start the healing process...I was discharged on day 11 after the surgery and spent the next three or four days sleeping at home pretty much around the clock...then I started eating a bit more and was able to enter into my long awaited prosthetic rehab.
Upon entering the rehab program on December 11th, I was measured for my new leg and sent to my room for some real hospital food...this place was actually somewhat closer to matching my own cooking, but mine was still better...and I was rewarded five days later with my first chance to stand upright under my own steam in over 4 months...I'd almost forgotten how tall I was!
The leg rehab was only five weeks but in that time I managed to gain more control and balance and completed an amazing 200 meter walk with only a walker support every other step or so...I was ready for the big time...
They released me this week on the 13th and it took me a few days to get used to not being served three meals a day or having someone constantly by my side or behind me with every step I took...and have made considerable progress with walking...I even had my first "upstanding citizen" shave today...
My next phase involves a few months of Out Patient rehab but I'm still not quite sure what that will cover. Probably more focused on getting away from the walker and crutches and building my strength/confidence to navigate more challenging terrain. Right now walking down a slight incline is a bit scary...especially with the ice and snow covering the walks...but I'm sure it will be a better learning experience without the winter mess...
And that is it...just under six months to go from having two legs to having one and a prosthetic and walking around...pretty amazing when you experience it first foot...er, hand!
Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register
for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts. 
