Alright, daily updates are going to stop eventually, since things get a bit boring from now on. Changing the date format since I'm tired of counting. Off we go!
July 11: Don't Mind the Blood
Did training by myself a bit, basically getting my right leg with tibial frame dangling off the bed. Left leg with femur frame won't bend much, so left that alone.
Irina came for another training session. Sat at the edge of the bed, stood up with the walker, transferred to chair, back to walker, and back to bed. One of the pins started bleeding; I didn't even feel it, she had to point it out to me. Wiped it up, no big deal.
Showed Dr. Kulesh my blister when he visited. He said that he'll have Dr. Nikita drain it during tomorrow's rebandage... Heck yeah! I hate this thing. It's getting huge, so walking feels really awkward with it. I'm worried it's going to pop and get infected. Dr. Kulesh said this is why he doesn't like foot holders, not sure what he would use instead.
July 12: Drain That Sucker
Dr. Nikita and another doctor arrived around noon for rebandages, and yes... Drained my blister! Simply disinfected it, sliced it with a scalpel, and drained tons of yellowish fluid with gauze swabs. No pain at all, didn't feel good either, but psychologically it was amazing.
Decided to try to sit at the edge of the bed by myself. Got pretty far, tibial frame leg has no problems dangling from the bed. Femoral frame leg however, the knee ROM is still so limited that it took about 15 min to get it in this position. I gave up and laid back down, but within minutes a caretaker came in to change the sheets. She asked if I can transfer onto the chair, so with her help I did it. Felt good! Got back on bed with her help. This high bed makes it pretty difficult.
Physiotherapist arrived around 5 PM. Started with stretches on bed, then I sat on the edge of the bed. Stood up with the walker, actually took a couple steps forward, then back, before sitting back down! Rested a little, got back up on the walker... Was too tired to take another step. Sat back down, end of session. Baby steps.
July 13: It's Normal to Not Be Normal
Doctors Solomin and Kulesh came to visit. Dr. Solomin was concerned about my femur frame leg, saying it shouldn't be this restricted in ROM; that it gets like this after 5 cm. He abruptly lifted my femur frame to check it, which was painful. I told him I'll train harder. Dr. Kulesh said he'll drop by again later.
Dr. Nikita came at 3:40 PM for rebandages. Told him about my femur knee problem. He said it's normal. That's it's not normal, but that's normal... Femur is harder.
Dr. Kulesh visited at 6:20 PM. He said that my knee is normal, that this is typical for his patients.
July 14-15: Eye of the Tiger
Talked with Jim a lot, got inspired to train myself harder. Took his advice and got on the walker and just stood for as long as I could, which was about 3-4 minutes. Repeated this a few times, then also walked in place. It was tough at first, but I was encouraged since I was better at it the very next day.
Asked Dr. Kulesh for some supplies like more wet wipes and melatonin to help me sleep. Also asked for a Big Mac since Jim mentioned getting McDonald's!
July 16: I CAN WALK
I walked!!!!! I walked around the room and was able to do stuff that was impossible just a few days ago. I looked in the closet to see what's inside since I was really curious; my mom had put stuff in there for me but I couldn't remember what. Found some toilet paper and paper towels, score. Moved some things away from the window, because it gets scorching hot early in the day.
A little later, I decided that I'll go to the bathroom. Hobbled my way over, saw my suitemate for the first time in weeks. Advantage of being male: don't need to sit to pee! Still took a while, but not too hard. Saw myself in the mirror for the first time in over two weeks, was really strange. I looked better than I felt, so that's nice. It was amazing to wash my hands with running water, and felt great to use soap. Washed my face too, awesome.
Talked to suitemate for a bit to catch up. Decided to take a look in the fridge, I had some expired milk I needed to trash. Found yogurt that was still good, which I proceeded to drop. Picking that up was a pain, but I did it. Suitemate couldn't see this entire ordeal, but said that it was the most interesting thing to happen after getting here. Goes to show just how mundane hospital life can be!
Got my Big Mac. Dr. Nikita didn't quite understand what a "meal" was, so no fries or drink. I'll have to use words like "set" or "combo" moving forward. But I said it's ok, don't spoil me; it'll give me something to look forward to for next time. And let me tell you, this tasted like the best food ever. It was the first non-hospital food since I got admitted, and it was glorious. It was gone within seconds.
Later on I decided it was time to go to the bathroom again, this time to do the deed. Definitely more work, but it was possible. It's a really tight bathroom so it was tricky. Getting back up was a little scary too, since all I could grab onto other than the walker was the sink. But wow, it was great. Goodbye, bed pan!
Irina came for training again. Showed her that I could walk, was very impressed. She said if I ever need more training, I know her contact info.
Later in the day I decided to pee again. This time my legs felt like bricks. I guess getting up five times was a bit much for my first day walking. I'll probably end up peeing in a bottle once I move into an apartment too, emptying it every few hours in batches. I need to conserve my energy for cooking and emergencies.
Speaking of apartments, I emailed Dr. Kulesh that I can walk, and that I'm ready to move out. He said he was happy for me, and that two staff members will assist me in my move on Thursday. It's amazing how fast he replied and got the ball rolling, it's all happening so fast!!!
July 17: First X-Rays Since Starting Distraction
Actually managed to put on underwear so that I could get transported to St. George's, where I had my first consultation with Dr. Kulesh. They have better equipment there, and I think the machine at St. Elizabeth's wasn't working right that day.
Back to the underwear bit, holy smokes. It was tough to do alone with a leg that doesn't bend. Basically I threw them down on the floor and wiggled my feet until they went into the leg hole. Slowly pulled them up, stretched it past the frames and pins, and it worked.
Dr. Nikita also came to wrap up my frames since I don't have my custom frame covers yet. He told the caretaker that I'm moving out on Thursday, and she was happy but sad at the same time. She said a lot of things, recognized a few ("he tells me thank you so often when he doesn't have to!"), and Dr. Nikita summarized it has: she says you are good people.
Anyway, got on a stretcher and went for a ride. It was about 10 minutes away, and I didn't get to see much. Took me through the back entrance and bam, I'm in the x-ray room. Made a few uncomfortable but tolerable poses and went back; the whole process was about an hour or two out of my day.
Awful sleep this night! Maybe two hours max total, basically was awake the entire night and into the morning. It wasn't specifically pain, but restlessness and crazy itching. Luckily I can catch up with naps.
July 18: X-Ray Results & Last Night at the Hospital
Had a pretty uneventful day. Two of the older ladies that help around with caretaking and food was telling me how they'll miss me. It was really nice of them.
Got an email from Dr. Kulesh asking how much I had lengthened. I replied 10.5 mm. He replied saying that my x-rays show 13 mm lengthened, so please be more accurate. I double checked my spreadsheet and I was missing a day; told him that it was actually 11.5 mm. Still overshot, but not as bad.
In that email he attached my x-rays, which I think was a mistake. I didn't have to ask for them, so that was convenient. So here they are, S-osteotomy for the tibia and a straight cut for femur.
Femur:
Tibia:
Slept really well this night. Took a while to fall asleep, but once I did, I was out until 7 AM since I heard the nurses moving around.
July 19 (~3 weeks post-op): Moving Day
Today's the day! Said some good byes, got another rebandage, and off I went on my stretcher. The apartment is just north of St. Petersburg, about 4 km (2.6 miles) away from St. Elizabeth's.
As for rebandage, this was about three weeks post-op. So Dr. Nikita finally decided to remove my stitches. Feels good, man.
He gave me a ton of supplies to do it myself. He didn't specifically teach me, but I've seen him do it so many times that it won't be a problem.
Unfortunately my leg won't bend and my wheelchair didn't arrive in time, so I went to the apartment with a stretcher. I have no idea what went through my Airbnb host's mind, but hey... Money's money! By some miracle the stretcher fit in one of the two elevators, just barely.
The place is nice. It has no TV, but I don't care since it has WiFi. No air conditioning, but it's not as hot as the hospital so I won't need it. I really want Smart Homes to catch on, because it's getting dark and I don't want to go to the light switch!
I tried using the bathroom earlier, and it worked out great. There's a sink on my right and a washing machine on my left, so I can use them to lift myself up after I sit. This is awesome. Wish that the seat was higher, sort of want a raised seat installed.
It's a real chore to feed myself three times a day. Really, the freedom is great and it's much cheaper, but having to think about food -- and more importantly getting up to eat -- is daunting. But at least it'll taste better!
Speaking of cheaper, this place is way cheaper than the hospital. The municipal clinic, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, charges 4400 rubles ($70) per day. This Airbnb cost me $1471 for 91 days, or just over $16 per day. At this rate, I can order food every day and still save.
And speaking of ordering food... That's exactly what I did about 20 minutes ago. There's a restaurant on the ground floor that serves all kinds of food, from burgers, pizzas, pasta, to borscht. Tonight I got a huge burger, pasta, fresh OJ, and dessert for 1159 rubles ($18). I ordered extra so that I can heat stuff up later, pretty excited!
*A little later* It's 10:38 PM now, ate dinner. Rushed to the door to answer it, was very painful. It was my fourth time getting up to walk, so my legs were not happy. The food was good, fifth time getting up to put the leftovers in the fridge... Wow, that was painful. For a good 25 minutes I just didn't want to think about anything because of the pain. Now I barely feel anything, so I really have to limit the number of times I walk every day, especially since the distances are a little greater now. Hopefully it's easy to get in and out of that wheelchair!
Lastly, Dr. Kulesh asked me to lengthen 1.5 mm per day on my femur, so two more turns per day. Good news, it means I have healthy regenerate and I'll finish faster. Bad news, it might be a little less comfortable.
That's it for now. Onward and upward!
