Hippofatamus

...That's what I feel like these days.

Wednesday (2/8) was the 5-week mark for my surgery. Time is definitely starting to move faster now. It's hard to believe I go back to work in less than 3 weeks now!

At PT, I've been "treading water" so to speak. They have a treadmill in the pool that I've been walking on for the last 3 visits. I started off slow. I was chest deep in the water, so I was only putting about 30% of my body weight on my feet. I did the "museum walk" as I like to call it, one mph for 20 minutes. I walked a whole third of a mile! The second time I did 1.5 mph for 20 minutes; I got to a whole half mile! This last time, I was only waist deep in the water, so I was using about 50% of my weight, and I picked it up to 2 mph for 20 minutes, walking about 3/4 of a mile.

My Handi-Capable
Parking Permit

I was also finally cleared to start driving! It's been nice being a little more independent again. I can drive myself to PT and to meet up with a friend. Sitting in the car too long gets uncomfortable though, so I've been keeping the driving to a minimum.

Because of the extra weight I've been putting on my foot over the last week or so, plus driving, plus being up and about more, I've had some pain in the front part of my hip where my hip flexor stretches across my joint. I've also been having a little bit of pain around my adductor muscles (groin area of my hip). Apparently this is normal and will come and go with added movement and weight. Applying ice to areas after I do PT (in clinic or at home) seems to help and I also take some naproxen as needed.

As of my last PT appointment, I am now "weight bearing as tolerated". That means I still have to walk with my crutches but I can put as little or as much weight on my right leg as is comfortable. Hip, hip, hooray!

It finally feels like I'm starting to make progress!