Well... it has been over a year since I wrote the last blog post.
And what a year it has been. I have had 2 surgeries. My knees were so badly damaged that I had to have 2 Total Joint Replacements right away. I had the first one last July. I was home recovering from that surgery when a severe storm came through and a pine tree came down on the house, crashing through the roof.
We had no power for 3 days and the heat was unbearable. It was too much for my Droo. He got pneumonia again and didn't recover. My heart is so broken! I am still grieving. I miss my little bear so much!
My RA had turned that corner from moderate to severe. The MRI of both knees showed no meniscus, no cartilage, torn ACL, torn MCL, torn PCL, bone spurs... severe Osteoarthritis! Yea... my knees were completely trashed. The surgeon took more x-rays and told me the left leg was twisting and the shin bone was being crushed. He didn't know how the heck I had been able to function at all. He wanted to operate immediately. He took x-rays of my hips to make sure they didn't need to be replaced first. He decided they didn't. He said he used to do both knees at the same time but has learned it is better to do one at a time so that's what we did. He ordered pre-op physical therapy for 5 weeks to get some mobility and strength back in my legs before the surgeries.
My left leg was so bad, when the surgeon came out of my surgery he told Richard he was "devastated" by how bad my knee was. He said it was the worst he'd ever seen. He had to work on it for an hour and a half to get the new knee joint in and everything lined up. He put a 4-inch post into my shin to stabilize it and he said the bones were osteoporotic. The surgeon's assistant came in to see me and told me how bad it was and how amazing my surgeon was for getting it all lined up and straight. He told me they removed a bone spur the size of a small tube of toothpaste. So... that was the beginning of my new life chapter... the surgeries, recovery, physical therapy, mourning, healing.
I cried every day, all day, mourning the loss of my Droo Bear. I didn't know how to live without him. He had been my glue that held me together through 12 years. Losing him was just ... I have no words. I began my post-op physical therapy. The therapist read the MRI and told me he will never forget it. He had never seen anything like it and was blown away. He also has a wife and a dog they love very much so he understood how I was grieving.
My second surgery, to replace the Right knee, was scheduled for 6 months later. But, my surgeon left the state unexpectedly, leaving me without a doctor. I had to start all over finding an Orthopedic Surgeon that takes my insurance and does Total Knee Replacements. This was not easy. It took a couple of months but I found one in the same area. He was not at all like my first surgeon that I really liked and trusted. But, he was willing and able to do my surgery. So in January I had the second joint replacement surgery. It was nothing like the first. Everything was different. They kept trying to give me medications I cannot take in the hospital. They didn't have ice packs for me. They wouldn't give me pillows. The surgeon was not caring and kind. The assistant looked at me like I was from another planet when I asked him about the surgery in comparison to the first. But... it was done and I survived.
Recovery after the second surgery has been tough. I have had to learn to walk all over again and it has been hard. I had complications with my ankle at first. The home PT taped it up and treated it appropriately so it healed. Then I had shooting pains from the knee down the shin and it took a few weeks for my PT to figure out that it was due to the arthritis in my hip. He changed up my therapy and worked on my hip and that was the antidote. I am still recovering. I have good days and bad days.
We got a puppy. She is a Brittany. Her name is Awbri... as in "Awwww... Bri". She is a love bug and a fireball.
I still mourn for Droo but I don't cry all the time anymore. Buddy, my Chihuahua, had to have surgery on his mouth and all his teeth were removed. But he is a tough little guy and he is doing just fine.
I am seeing a new Rheumatologist and he is great. He is understanding and compassionate. He has started me on medication to slow the progression of the RA and hopefully I won't have to get my hips replaced for a while. He is helping me have a better quality of life now. I had to find another primary care physician because I now have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and bad Allergies. The weather here in the Midwest is very hard on my body with the RA and living in the country close to the Mississippi River is bad for my respiratory system. I am focusing on getting my legs strong and being able to walk and ride a bike. I am finding the right diet that works for me so I get the nutrition I need without the acid, fat, sugar, and wheat that my body doesn't like. I'm fighting the allergies. And I will move forward.
This Blog was originally my creation to share what I was experiencing here, being a California Beach Girl who moved to the Midwest. But "shit happens" and things change. I am still waiting for Disability. The system is broken and I am one of the many who are being hurt by it. My rheumatologist told me I am "permanently disabled" now, but Social Security doesn't want to give me what I earned and paid for, for all the years I worked so hard and all the years I've been working through the RA. I didn't choose this. This is not what I had planned. I don't want to be "disabled".
I don't know what is next.
I don't know if I will do any more blogs.
