Occupy Crippie

Yo!

L'shana Tova to all my Jewish readers out there!

Alrighty, Fanny meets her demise the day after tomorrow. I might be a teensy bit nervous. My tummy was a little upset today, one of the signs that I'm kinda nervous. That being said, I'm still very much looking forward to this surgery. Fanny has been killing me the past few days, the pain in my hip has traveled up my back... boo. I am really not looking forward to Tuesday, I know it is going to suck sooooooooooooo much. But this time next week I'll be on the mend. I just have to keep reminding myself that it will be over before I know it.

In terms of final preparations, I just finished pimping out my polio crutches (pictures tomorrow), and I STRAIGHTENED MY HAIR!!! My unruly mane got an at home keratin treatment because my hair is a bitch and a half to maintain, straightening it makes it easier to take care off. I came to realization that I look like I'm 16 when my hair is straight like it. Luckily it got a little wavy overnight, so it looks better now (another picture tomorrow I reckon).

The pre-surgery jitters were kept at bay today by the theatre! I went to see an incredible production of "The Sound of Music" with the family. "The Sound of Music" is without a doubt my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, and "Edelweiss" is probably my favorite show tune. It's absolutely haunting, especially considering it is the last song Oscar Hammerstein wrote.



Surprisingly this was the first time I'd ever seen "The Sound of Music" on stage. Boy howdy was it marvelous. The production was astounding, it's in a black box theatre, so the space is crazy limited. Yet they were able to craft fantastic sets and they still managed to make the theatre seem huge. The actors were terrific, I absolutely loved Maria and Mother Abbess, and of course the children were freakin' adorable. The only problem is that I can't get "The Lonely Goatherd" out of my head. The piggies seem to enjoy it when I whistle it though.

Crippie's Tippie - All my local readers should check out Just Off Broadway's production of "The Sound of Music" in Newburgh 

Oh Have A Heart

Yo!

Happy Wednesday everybody, hope it was a good one. My day was certainly eventful to say the least. Today was pre-op day. Usually my pre-ops are a breeze, a quick exam with relatively quick clearance. Alas, wasn't so simple this time around.

It appears that my heart is kinda special. Ya see, there have been times after surgery where my heart rate has either been high or irregular. It wasn't a huge deal or anything, I was just kept in the recovery room for a little while longer. When Pointy was removed my heart started racing while I was in recovery. A nurse woke me up to tell me this. I don't remember exactly what I said to her, but it was something along the lines of "that's great... NOW LET ME SLEEP". Ultimately my heart goes back to normal and I'm on my merry little way. I tell my doctors about it, but I really don't think anything of it.

Well, today I mentioned to my doctor that my heart will occasionally spazz out during recovery. The doctor did a quick examination and discovered that my heart is on the fast side... grrrrreeeeeeaaaaaaaatttttttttttt. At this point he makes me have an EKG and more blood work done to rule out a thyroid issue... super dooper. The EKG also said my heart was fast. I was starting to get nervous, I thought I wasn't going to get clearance. My mind was probably racing faster than my heart at that point (and if anyone is wondering, I don't feel my heart racing or anything, I had no idea my heart rate was high).

Fiiiinnnnnnaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyy the doctor came back in and gave me my clearance... HALLELUJAH! BUT he's still concerned about my heart. I need to take some heart medicine before and after the surgery to slow it down a little, I'm also gonna need to have an echocardiogram one of these days. Funness. So yeah, definitely a whirlwind appointment, but I got my clearance for surgery. That's all that matters.

So, factoring in the potential heart problems, am I nervous yet? Meh. I doubt that there's anything "wrong" with my heart per say, I think it's just quirky. My dad is the same way. I'm kinda glad that my doctor is gonna try to fix the quirks for surgery sake. Hopefully the medicine will prevent any nurses from waking me up in the middle of my nap this time!

Crippie's Tippie - Tell your doctors about your little "quirks", they kinda need to know about 'em

I Vant to Take Your Blood!

Mwahahahaha

We're inching ever closer to the one week point peoples! Fanny is starting to feel the pressure, she was hurting like a bitch today.

I started the whole pre-op process today with the ever traditional ceremony of the taking of the blood. Usually my veins cooperate with the lovely technicians but I've had times where either the person sucked (lol vampire pun) or my veins were being stupid. The person who took my blood did a good job  and I hardly felt it. Although the main reason I didn't feel anything was because I was rather distracted. Ya see, the room I was in was completely plastered in pictures of kittehs. Being the internet female that I am I just kept thinking of how hilarious kittehs were (and one of said kittehs looked like one of my biggest fans Mario). I was completely mesmerized with kittehs and the blood was taken before I even knew it. So thank you internet, you made that whole experience very much bearable. My arm was kinda sore for about an hour or so after and I hardly bruised... all in all... not bad.

Since Fanny's removal is inching closer and closer, I'm starting the final preparations... tons of practice on the stairs, crutches around the house, filing for disability, making sure the piggies are content, make sure meds are in order, and a tiny bit of grocery shopping (I'll get into that when we actually do it).

My actual pre-ops are scheduled for Wednesday morning, usually at this point I get a teeeeeeennyyy bit nervous. My appetite starts to decrease and all those sorta fun things. I haven't noticed any symptoms of anxiety yet :D We'll see what the rest of the week brings, I wouldn't be surprised if I royally jinxed myself with all this "I'M NOT NERVOUS LOL" speak. Alas, only time will tell.

On a completely random note, everyone in my house was watching "The Voice" tonight. Helen was facing the TV and she appeared to be "watching" it. All of the sudden they mention "TONIGHT IS THE START OF THE BLIND AUDITIONS" and Helen starts barking like a mad woman. Helen is just easily offended I guess, either that or she hates Carson Daily (distinct possibility there).

Crippie's Tippie - If you have pets, make sure that someone will be able to take care of your pets, and that you have enough supplies to keep them happy.

Lucky #13

Howdy Y'all!

13 Days til Fanny's departure! W00000000000t

Even though my surgery is less than two weeks away, and my pre-ops are a week away... STILL NOT AFRAID! Maybe this will be the first surgery in a long time where I don't make myself sick beforehand :D I'm continuing to practice moving around like an ever bigger cripple, I've almost mastered the whole walking thing. I did try to walk up the stairs, that's definitely gonna be a challenge. It's hard to really tell though, a lot depends on if my leg will be able to move and if I can put some weight on it. Either way I'll probably need someone behind me to hold my waist as I go up. We've got most everything about recovery figured out. The one thing I'm not sure of is the whole "how am I gonna use the bathroom" thing. Fanny's location will probably make for some interesting post surgery dressings. I have no idea what to expect there... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will just be a simple dressing around my waist. Oh well, I know how to physically get on the toilet seat, which is all that really matters I guess.

I was a teensy bit worried that all the anxiety would kick in today, but surprisingly it was quite the opposite. I found out that I qualify for temporary disability, so that relieved a tooooooooooooooon of anxiety for me. My superiors at work are being super awesome about this whole surgery thing, they were totally cool when I said that I might have be a little late to work on the days when I have pre-ops... so muccccchhh anxiety lifted off my shoulders there. Gotta love having burdens removed from you instead of adding them... YAY ME!

I think this whole Scenty Fundraiser is also helping me drive away whatever feelings of dread I might have. Planning, setting up, promoting, etc make for very worthwhile distractions. My fellow cripples and I are spreading the word of how awesome Scentsy products are. Remember to spread the word my fellow comrades! Also, if anyone else is having a fundraiser and want to spread the word just let me know, I'll be happy to advertise it here :)

I reckon that's it for tonight folks, I promise I'll post animal photos tomorrow to make up for the shortness!

Crippie's Tippie - Spread the word about my fundraiser please! 

Crippie (Tries to) Walk The Line

Hola!

I hope all my crippled comrades had a fabulous Friday. I got home from work at a decent hour so I got in more practice with my "polio crutches". Building up the strength in my arms a verrrryyyyy wise decision to make. If I wasn't doing this I would definitely be struggling post-op. It feels like it takes the rest of all eternity to get from point A to B currently, I don't even want to think about how much that would suck struggling to walk while dealing with post-op pain 0.o 

I do have some tippies for y'all who might have to practice using a new mobility aid. Play music, preferably something with a beat so you can move with the music and get a steady pace going. "We Will Rock You" makes for an excellent pace setter. Of course pump up music like "Eye of the Tiger" could also do splendidly. At the moment I'm doing laps up and down my driveway so I can get used to walking for an extended period of time. As the surgery draws nearer I'll practice more in my house so I can master navigating it. Also, don't be surprised if practice tires you out... it's basically a work out. And as always, stop if it's really painful to practice. If you have no clue what you are doing or what do expect, see a physical therapist, they'll help show you how to move and all that jazz. 

In other pre-surgery prep news I've scheduled my pre-op appointment, and I'm still not nervous about this surgery. I know the first week will suck a lot, but I'd rather deal with a week of hell than a lifetime of Fanny. 

Well, that's about it for tonight folks, I guess I really tired myself out practicing. I'll make it up to y'all with piggie and puppy pictures tomorrow... I SWEAR.

Crippie's Tippie - The Eye of the Tiger is the greatest pump up song EVER

Surgery Pre-Gaming

Greetings!

I hope all my readers had a fabulous Friday. Mine went pretty well, I went to work and I managed to get home before another massive rainstorm. Luckily I was able to just lie down with my heat pack before and during the storm so the pain was rather manageable.

I don't know if I've mentioned it, but in one month and one day I'll be having Fanny removed. While I am beyond happy about this event, I have to remember that I am having hip surgery, and I need to prepare for that. What do I have to do? The first thing I have to do is practice walking with two crutches. Me thinks I won't be able to put weight down on my leg for two weeks or so, so I need to make sure that my arms are prepared for the task at hand. I usually use a forearm crutch on my right arm, so that arm is pretty strong, now I just have to make sure my other arm is ready for task. If you're gonna be having a surgery that involves using a new mobility aid afterwords I totally recommend practicing walking with those aids BEFORE your surgery. It's not a great idea to try out those new crutches when you are in pain and higher than a kite. Also, walk around your house to make sure that you can. I hate using my walker in the house because my house is just not built for walkers, lots of tighter corners. I have to walk sideways when going into my bathroom, not fun.

We're also making sure that we have all the other little things that I will probably need while recovering, at least for a few days. These things include a toilet seat lift, one of those nifty breakfast trays so you can eat in bed, etc. We figured out where I'll be situated in my house for those first three days of hell after surgery. I'll be living in my room because of it's location to the bathroom, height of the bed, proximity to others, and comfort. I try to see that there are several trash cans in the rooms for those first few days of recovery... cause that's when I tend to get sick.

Since Fanny is located right around where a waistband would be, I had to take into consideration that I will probably be wearing a crap ton of dresses and high waisted skirts during the first few weeks of recovery. As far as undergarments go... well... I found some high waisted things that will suffice.

Yeah, I know I might seem very giddy about this whole thing, but I'm realistic about the whole surgery process. I know how much the first few days are gonna suck and I'm ready for it. I've got 10 prior surgeries worth of experience and know-how to help me get through this one.

Crippie's Tippie - I cannot stress the trashcan tip enough, have one trash can for trash, but have another for... ya know... not trash.