Medical Update 6.1.09

Today I was scheduled to visit with my doctor to plan a course of action for my weight bearing status. The appointment was set for 9am and I was ready to go. Mary did the driving and we arrived early as we always do. The first step was to get an updated set of X-Rays, as opposed to the set that was taken just three weeks ago. Dr. S compares all the shots every time we meet and determines the stability of the new hip while looking for any settlement in the femur and signs of healing along the spiral fracture. Speaking of the spiral fracture, I had previously stated that it was about a third of the femur. Not so, the spiral fracture actually extends at least twelve inches, I really felt better thinking what "I" was thinking. Sometimes no news is good news, not the case this time but at least it's healing and so far looking pretty good.

I am going to start Physical Therapy (physical torture)tomorrow with an initial evaluation at Pro Therapy. Following the evaluation I will be scheduled three times a week until I'm back to full weight bearing. I did get the go ahead to start with fifty pounds of pressure that I can apply to the right leg. The instructions will be to use a typical bathroom scale and with my right foot press down until I reach the magical 50lb mark. Hey, sounds strange but I'm following orders and I just want to get better. Next week I can progress to 100 lb of pressure and see how that goes. If at any time I feel pain or something that is not the norm I am to call the doctors office asap. My next appointment is set for June 15th at 2pm for new pictures and hopefully more weight bearing advances.

In case you are wondering I did ask if I could drive....yeah, he laughed too. I was told that when I am full weight bearing he will let me drive, great, I'm thinking maybe the end of June. I did ask if I could at least return to work and once again I got the same speech he tendered for my driving request. A bright note in all this is that he thinks I might be able to head back to work by July! I would like to be back in the office after the holiday so that is my personal goal. As I have learned after all this is that my goals really don't mean squat to the doctors but it helps my progress and they do seem to take notice as to how far I've come since surgery only seven and a half weeks ago.