01 November 2006

fractured update

1 november 2006 11pm

fractured femurs.

been pretty busy. not much time to write lately, that's all. it'll be a surprise if i remember everything that's happened, so much going on. might have to add some things in later notes if i leave them out here, but here goes.

a social worker here came in a couple days ago and told me i would only be able to stay here at pacific rehab a few more days for insurance reasons, as i suspected. she said she was trying to find me a place like a nursing care center. i told her "good luck" i tried to do that last time and they wouldn't take me because i was too young and scary to the old folks. but she seemed to think she could. so i told her "sure, try your heart out."

in the meantime, i can transfer to and from bed and the toilet with help at this point, the help i need is getting the leg rest they built for my chair off while holding my legs up and keeping them from bending down per dr.'s orders and because the splints hold my legs straight, keeping my knees covered and jointless.

i feel like eating now. in the meantime, i went to the neurologist yesterday and he checked me over for possible shunt blockage as a possible reason for waking up with fractures for the third time in as many years now with no memory of the event. he said i really needed to be seeing a neurosurgeon but his educated guess is my shunt is ok. i have an appointment to see a neurosurgeon and get an eeg to make sure everything really is clear. the neurologist says he doesn't think i've been having any seizures, a good thing.

today i went to see the ortho doctor who saw to me in queen's hospital. he is a good man because he admitted my xrays are unreadable to him and i know better about the healing of my bones than anyone else would. so he allowed me to take over my own case and washed his hands of me, thank goodness. he allowed me to remove the splints and leg rest which were not much more than torture devices as far as i was concerned.

my left leg feels like it is getting better, right leg feels sore still. my therapists and i went on a community outing, a bus trip to aloha tower and downtown. and it was no problem. that was before i took off the splints and legrest. so now that my legs are back in their normal position things are much better. i'm able to transfer myself to and from bed myself now since no one needs to hold my legs up and remove the legrest, that's good. i can almost transfer myself back and forth from the toilet with no help. things are already much better and i haven't had the splints off one full day yet.

i'm working my hardest to be able to go from here in a week or so straight back home without any nursing care center in between. i'm able to do real therapy now since no splints are hindering me. it's a bit painful so far, but it's the first day and it's pain i can deal with, am familiar with. not the torturous legs straight out stuff. me feet are back on footrests where they belong (still swollen) and those two weeks in splints helped me heal a lot i'm sure.

therapists and i will go on one more outing to my apartment later this week to make sure everything will work right there, and i'll probably have visitors every few days for in-home visits and stuff like when mom was here last. the good thing is i already have a hospital bed, i own it now. the main thing will be toilet transfer, and if i master it here, which i'm in the process of doing now, then home will be a breeze.

speaking of breezes, it's freezing cold in this rehab joint at night and i just wanna be warm and out of the air-conditioning. so home sounds real good right now. jimmy and terri came by a few days ago, brought my coffee pot and beans so i'm good for now, drinking coffee all night to stay warm. and i can finally eat the food here which is actually pretty good.

i think i will be able to make it at home alone. i have no exact dates as of yet.

those are the high points of the last few days. jimmy and terri are taking care of the cat and plants and things and are here for me when i need them. the weather is rainy, so that's a good thing. i go out daily for exercise and fresh air. my therapists couldn't be better. eeg happens nov. 7. by that time i should be home, unless they let me stay here that long, which i doubt.

how many things have i skipped? who knows. day starts early here tomorrow so i'm gonna drink more coffee and try to get a couple hours sleep. hah.

haven't gotten much sleep lately, but that's normal for me. by the time i get to bed it's time to get up. watching lots of late-nite tv, hoping my cat is ok.
ok, i'm rambling now. more later.