Show Us Your Life - Wedding Party & Flowers

I love to take a peek in to other's lives--I guess that's why I blog and have bloggy friends.

Well, it's Friday and that means that bloggers unite on Kelly's Korner for the next segment of "Show Us Your Life"; this week is Wedding Party & Flowers.

Matt and I were married June 2nd 2007 in Fort Worth, TX at Texas Christian University, Robert Carr Chapel. I attended nursing school at TCU 1999-2003 and received my nursing pin at Robert Carr Chapel. It is a beautiful chapel and I was excited to be married there.




Of all of the wedding details, I was most excited about the flowers! I love flowers! After searching through many magazines I decided on peonies and calla lilies.

Crutch & Brace Fashion

Its hard to feel cute when you have a huge black mass of metal and velcro attached to your leg 24/7!

It's also really hard to find things to wear that can accommodate the brace without being too tight or too short. Luckily, perfect timing, tights or leggings are in fashion now. Since my incisions have healed some and the swelling is kept to a minimum, I don't have to keep it wrapped with an ACE wrap all of the time!

I bought a couple of pairs of leggings to wear. The black are my favorite because they help my brace blend in.

and the crutches...I guess I'll have to deal with those for a couple of more weeks!

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Dress

Kelly's Korner is hosting a "Show Us Your Life" blog carnival...and I decided to join in on the fun!

This week is "Show Us Your Wedding Dress" Friday!

I LOVED my wedding dress and knew that it was the one right away!

Finding THE DRESS!
I was a travel nurse and lived in Washington D.C. at the time. It was about six months until our wedding and my mom was coming into town in a couple of weeks. My goal was to visit a few bridal salons and pick out a couple of my favorite dresses and choose the one while my mom was there.

So, PJ (my mother-in-law) and I set off on a fun adventure. After visiting a couple of salons we went to Priscilla of Boston. I had a Watters dress that I wanted to see and unbeknownst to us they were also having a sample sale. I described the Watters dress to the attendant and told her my budget and what I was looking.

She returned to the dressing room with two dresses. I tried on the Priscilla's dress first and loved it. It was a sample, a little too big and the zipper was broken. Then I tried on the dress that I had come to see. It fit nicely but was really heavy. As I looked around the room in all the mirrors I saw the Priscilla's dress hanging there and knew it was the one. I still had the Watters dress on when I called my mom (crying) to tell her that I had found THE ONE!

We bought the dress that day and took it home to my soon-to-be in-laws' house to stay in her very special 'dress closet' for the next few months. The purchase was special for my MIL for several reasons. Not only is her first name Priscilla, but my dress continued a tradition because she wore a Priscilla of Boston dress on her wedding day too!

Finally, I had it perfectly altered and pressed for the best day of my life!

I loved my shoes too! SOMETHING BLUE


Just click on Kelly's link below to see other wedding dresses...and post yours too!

Fun with Friends

We had our second summer II exam on Friday then celebrated on Saturday.

Mom, Matt and I went to see the movie The Hangover with our friends Eva Marie and Shandon where we spent more than an hour laughing until we cried!

After the movie we met Eva's husband Josh and our friend Wayne at Gloria's for wonderful dinner and (much needed & deserved) drinks. I have to brag a little and say that I had to buy Eva & Wayne a drink because I made the best grade on this test! (which was just recovery from my first botched test after my knee surgery!)



Here we are, all smiles after full bellies and many mojitos!

3 Weeks Post-op

• It has been a tough few weeks, but I'm starting to see slow progress. I have now had two PT appointments and I am meeting my ROM goals with ease--thanks to the CPM. The hardest part are SLR's (straight leg raises). I get extreme pain around my patella and makes it almost impossible to continue.
  
  
  On July 8th, I had my second post-op appointment with Dr. Bothwell. He was very happy with the x-rays and my progress so far. He is different than most physicians. He sits down to talk; never in a hurry (at least he never leads on to that fact). His bedside manner is superior to most and I really appreciate that.
  
  
  
  It is so different being on this side of healthcare. I feel like I have gained a lot of insight that will make me a better practioner.
  
  
  
  So here are pictures from my most recent visit.
  Again, we changed the steri-strips--it looks pretty good!
  
  
  
  

Matt-my personal nurse and most importantly, the Best Husband, accompanies me to my appointments and asks all the questions that I don't want to!








Matt's knee wanted some attention too!

My ROM is at 90 degrees; which is my maximum for the first 4 weeks so that the meniscus bone plug has time to adhere.

I can't wait to be able to "swim"--okay, maybe not swim but do pool walking
When I asked Dr. Bothwell if I could get into the pool soon he said, "No." Then said, "Let me rephrase that. Hell No!" Of course I further questioned him and he told me about a recent infection in a patient of his after 12 weeks after surgery. Because my bone was drilled and I now have cadaver parts and screws; I have an increased risk for infection and neither of us would want to risk it.

We also talked about our upcoming move to California. Dr. Bothwell has an orthopedic physician friend in LA that he will refer me to for my follow-up appointments out there. It will be an hour or so drive to see him, but should only be once a month. But, until the middle of August, I will continue to see Dr. Bothwell every 2-3 weeks.

We ordered the Rebound Crutches, so I am looking forward to getting those. It is way too hot in Texas in July to crutch around very much. I immediately break out in a big sweat! Thank goodness I have a wheelchair to sit in class and wonderful friends to push me around campus.
Only 3 more weeks of NWB!

First Post-op Appointment

Today was my first follow-up appointment. My entire leg has been wrapped up like a mummy since Tuesday, so I was really excited about getting all of that off and seeing my incisions!

I knew in advance that my OS would not be there. Instead, Dr. Bothwell's physician assistant, Bonnie saw me. I really like Bonnie. She has been the one who I talked to about all the coordination. She is readily available and knowledgeable--and she has great suture skills!

So, when they got it unwrapped, this is what we saw.

***weak stomachs---do not proceed!***

So, doesn't look too bad, right?

I have 3 incisions:
the largest one is anterior-4 inches long

below that and medial is a 3 inch incision

the 3rd incision is lateral, also about 3 inches


They took off all my steri-strips and replaced them with pretty clean white ones, then wrapped me up again and put my brace back on.

Bonnie was impressed that I went to class this morning. We talked about starting Physical Therapy (PT) this week.

Her goals for me were simple:
Non-weight bearing (NWB) for 5 more weeks

Elevate and ice as much as possible for a least the next week

60 degrees ROM on CPM

Start PT

Are you getting all the abbreviations?

I still must keep my incisions clean and dry but can take a shower sitting down without my brace on. We have found that using press and seal or plastic wrap keep it nice and dry. The part I hate most is sleeping with the big brace. It is heavy and cumbersome--not comfortable, nor romantic!

Next appointment, Wednesday, July 8th with Dr. Bothwell.

Study Time

I just had a BIG surgery!
I've heard that people lay around for a couple of weeks after this but no, not me!
It's not that I wouldn't like to catch up on TV shows and watch movies all day or read a great book; NOPE I get to listen to the lecture that I missed on Thursday while I was still in the hospital!

I was tired of taking up the entire couch so I made a nice nest on the floor in the living room. I am pretty comfortable there with everything within reach.


I hope to be in class Monday morning. Luckily, it's just a half day since I have my first follow-up appointment.

Matt is working the weekend, but Mom and the pups are near by if I need anything!

A big THANK YOU to my friend Eva Marie who brought a wonderful homemade lasagna and fruit salad for us to enjoy a nice dinner!

I think Rigor Mortis is setting in!

I have dead people in me...it's true. I certainly don't mean any disrespect, on the contrary, I have complete respect and admiration for organ donors.

There is a side to donation that gets less publicity; that is tissue donation.

Can an organ donor also be a tissue donor?
Yes. In fact, tissue donation is a more common option for people wishing to be donors, as there are fewer medical reasons a person would be denied the opportunity. As many as 50 people can benefit from ONE tissue donor.

I am happy to say that I am the recipient of selfless gifts given by two families.

During my surgery on Tuesday, I received a cadaver Achilles tendon allograft to replace my torn ACL and a lateral meniscus allograft to replace my meniscus that I destroyed years ago.

Now I feel I have a commitment to fulfill; not only to myself and to my family that has taken care of me, but also to respect the gift that has been given to me.

I will never know those families that lost their loved one and gave me their biologic gift. My gratitude goes to all families that have made that decision.

My leg is sore and stiff!

This is my friend, the CPM (continuous passive motion). Since my surgery my knee has be locked in full extension all of the time, except when I do my CPM. The goal is 8 hours a day, but realistically I may not always reach that time goal. For now, my goal is 40 degrees of flexion; until I see my OS (orthopedic surgeon) on Monday.

I'm taking my pain meds, Ibuprofen, antibiotic, and stool softener on a schedule right now. Matt made out this great chart so that we can keep up with it all!

(Wow-I look rough, but still a smile on my face!)

Thank you Sheryl for stopping by. She brought me a great bag with a get well card, treats, magazines and notes from the class I missed on Thursday while I was still in the hospital. I hope to return to class Monday for a half day before my OS appointment.

Home Sweet Home

After spending two nights at Baylor All Saints Hospital, I was discharged at 11 Thursday morning. My pain was finally under control on oral medications and I was ready for my own bed and to see my pups!

I have to admit, for my first overnight hospitalization, it wasn't that bad. I was actually glad I was there because I knew that I wouldn't have been able to control the pain if I was at home (that's a scary feeling!)

In pre-op on Tuesday morning Dr. Bothwell said that he would try to get a nice room for me since I was "one of them" (health care professional courtesy)--and he did! I was on the transplant floor; which was legitimate because I did have an meniscus transplant. It remined of the hospital where Matt and I met, Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker, Colorado. I called it "Prissy Parker" or "Parker Palace".

We were comfortable there and appreciate the good care we received.

There were only a couple of incidences that were unacceptable; like taking an hour to get me in the computer system and get my pain meds to me and another nurse said that she wouldn't refill my morphine PCA because I needed to be on oral medications (yeah, thanks, I'm working on that!) I never thought that I would be a high maintenance patient or be tagged as a "drug seeker" but I'm sure that those nurses thought I was. What happened to, pain is what the patient says it is?" Didn't they learn that in nursing school! I just had my knee cut open, bone drilled with 3 screws, a bone trough made in my tibia and the periosteum of my tibia separated and sewn to my femoral condyle--and I have some dead guys achilles tendon and meniscus in my knee! Don't I deserve a little understanding and compassion?

Well, I ended up receiving over 90 mg of morphine between IV boluses (catch-up) and the PCA. My saving grace was my second night nurse who suggested that I try IV Toradol. The effects weren't immediate, but I slept well the second night and only pushed the PCA a few times. She continued to give me Toradol every 6 hours and I was able to completely stop the morphine! The next morning I was ready to go home!


So here I am, finally resting in my Home Sweet Home!

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Knee Surgery

ACL RECONSTRUCTION

MENISCUS TRANSPLANT

AUTOLOGOUS CHONDROCYTE IMPLANTATION

Well, I made it. My surgery was yesterday; they started at 8:15 am and finished at 2:30 pm - took a little longer than they expected but Dr. Bothwell assured me that everything looked nice when he finished.

After an hour stay in PACU, I was transferred to the transplant floor. We have a great room/suite with 2 flat panel TV's, a mini frig and a pull out couch for Matt to sleep beside me!


I had some significant pain when I got to my room and it took them an hour to get me into the system and for pharmacy to get my meds! Pain is much better now with Hydrocodone every 4 hours and Morpine PCA. (I thought that I was tougher than I am!)

Sarah and Brad came by Tuesday evening and brought me a goodie basket with lots of fun and thoughtful gifts. Two magazines, a puzzle book, snack foods, a candle, lip gloss and playdough! (which came in very handy later)

At midnight the nurse came in and set up my CPM (continuous passive motion). With my leg cycling up 40 degrees then flat again; I didn't get much sleep.

Mom and Matt have been fabulous nurses and I couldn't make it without them!

Hopefully I will go home tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately, I will miss my first summer II class.