I’D FEEL GREAT IF I COULD CUT OFF MY HEAD!

While Odel has been (and continues to) making great progress on his recovery, I am a mess, battling what appears to be an allergic reaction for the past three weeks. I don't remember ever having an allergic reaction before, but this one is a doozy and today is the worst it has ever been.  Though I had decided not to mention it on the blog, I’ve changed my mind in hopes that a reader might have a suggestion that could help.

My skin around my eyes, my lips, and the skin around my lips itches like crazy.  It is somewhat raw, and very swollen.  The only relief from the itching comes from keeping it greased up with Aquaphor, though I have tried many different potential treatments.  Sometimes my tongue tingles (itches), too.
 
I have none of the classic hay fever symptoms.  No stuffiness, no congestion.  My eyeballs themselves are fine, except that the greasy Aquaphor occasionally blurs my vision.
 
It is spring there in Sacramento, so there is a LOT of pollen in the air.  These symptoms began around three weeks ago, then worsened considerably on Monday when the wind blew quite strongly and I spent about half an hour outside.  It has been very dry and windy here since then, so I have stayed indoors as much possible.  Yesterday I vacuumed and dusted, and we have been keeping all the windows tightly closed.  I changed the pillowcases on the bed, too - yet my eyes were almost completely swollen shut this morning - by far the worst they have been.  My lips feel about double their size (though they look pretty normal, just very pink and chapped all around the edges).  My stomach feels a little upset, and more parts of my skin seem a little itchy - but maybe that is just my overactive imagination.
 
As chance would have it, I had appointments set up with both my ophthalmologist and my primary care doctor when this was getting underway.  The eye doc gave me anti-allergy eye drops; my primary care physician recommended Allerga.  Neither has made any difference - things just keep getting worse.  Benedryl doesn’t seem to do much, either (make that “doesn’t do anything”).
 
Although it seems like pollen might be the culprit, I wonder if it is a food allergy.  I've been writing down things I can think of that might have brought it on, and have eliminated a few things from my diet totally, to no obvious effect - almond milk, almonds, soymilk, red wine... right now, I am wondering about wheat, another total shot in the dark (but we had whole wheat pasta for dinner last night).
 
It is always worst in the morning, whether that is because I have had my eyelids closed for a long time or ??? - I don't know. Due to itching, I get up around 4 am to bathe my eyes in cool water and reapply Aquaphor.  At that point, when all the Aquaphor I applied before bed has been absorbed, the skin in the folds of my eyelids is dry and scaly, very sensitive to the touch and itchy.  Tonight I am going to sleep on the couch, not using my normal pillow, to see if that makes any difference.  I am really getting desperate to find a solution.
 
If Odel didn't need to be here for his knee, we would fire up the engine and move out of the Sacramento valley, but that isn't in the cards for another couple of weeks.  For now, I use cold compresses, Aquaphor, and Allegra, and remember all the folks I know who have far more significant problems than I do… but my inability to figure out what’s going on or how to improve the situation is driving me crazy.  :(   If anything occurs to you after reading all of this, suggestions are welcome! 

Fortunately, Odel continues to do VERY well.

KNEE REPLACEMENT DIARY: A SMALL DOSE OF REALITY

Last week, during an interesting conversation with Christine (PT), she told us that it takes SIX days to recover from ONE day spent in bed.  By “recover”, she meant to regain muscular strength and energy, to get back to where you were prior to becoming bedridden. 

This took on real meaning for me yesterday, when Odel had his first big outing – a visit to Sydney’s and Frank’s house for a family get-together.  He walked 20+/- yards to our car, rode for 50 minutes, walked another 20 yards into their house.  There he sat in a comfortable chair with his leg on a footstool watching golf on TV, except when he went a few steps to the table for our brunch.  Then back to the chair… back to the car… 50 minute ride…back inside our home.  We were gone six or seven hours.

We ate dinner at 6 pm, and he fell asleep on the couch at 7 pm – just like he used to do when he walked 18 holes (several miles, carrying his clubs) on the golf course! 

Because Odel has been making good progress on his rehabilitation, it slipped our minds that there are consequences to surgery for more than just the affected joint.  The surgery itself is such a trauma, to say nothing of the side effects of all the drugs AND the loss of strength and energy simply due to lack of movement.  What seemed to us like a day of relative inactivity seemed to his body to be the equivalent of walking several miles during a round of golf.

We have a few more outings planned this week, and I know that getting out of the RV and into the company of friends is good medicine.  After yesterday’s outing, though, we’ll be a bit more realistic about fatigue.

Odel’s surgery was just three weeks ago.   Over the past several days, he has cut his pain pill consumption by about half.  Swelling is way down.  He still has a problem find a sleeping position that is comfortable for a prolonged time.  He continues his prescribed active exercises at least three times a day, along with some passive stretching to straight his leg.  He ices and elevates his leg after each set of exercises, and uses ice from time to time to reduce pain.  It is easy to see that the last few degrees of flexion and extension will be more difficult to attain than the first many degrees, but we are both very determined!  :)

Thanks again to everyone for your useful and encouraging comments.  So many of you have gone through this before, and many of you more than once.  We have many things to treasure in our lives, but GOOD HEALTH is right up there at the top of the list these days!

KNEE REPLACEMENT DIARY: WALKING AGAIN AT TWO AND A HALF WEEKS

It’s been a very good week!

Christine (physical therapist) had Odel out of the motorhome again on Wednesday, taking a short walk back and forth along the concrete slab where we park.  We determined that the walker was unnecessary, and she suggested a cane sized correctly for Odel’s height.  As soon as she left, we loaded ourselves into the Jeep and drove over to CVS.  I ran in and, minutes later, Odel had his new cane.

Then we were off to Panda Express, for some of the greasy food Odel has been craving.  We zipped into a disabled parking slot right in front of the door, hung the temporary disabled placard (be sure you get one of these prior to your knee surgery!) from the mirror, and Odel had his first excursion away from the motorhome.  Yippee!

So, Week Three brought big changes.  Odel has been cleared to walk (short distances); has been taught a series of standing exercises for stretching and strengthening; has been able to get into the car for excursions.  He moves around the motorhome quite easily.  We’ve been able to take the lawn chair back outside, as he can sit comfortably on the couch again, and stand up from there.  He has begun to cut back on the pain medication, both in the quantity and the interval.

When Christine measured on Monday, Odel had 101 degrees of flexion (aiming for 110-120) and –5 degrees of extension (the goal is 0), and his knee’s circumference was 42.8 cm.  By Friday, he had 107 degrees of flexion (111 if Christine pushed his knee as far as he could tolerate), –3 degrees of extension, and his swelling had reduced to 41.8 cm circumference. 

What does all the mean in the real world?  It means he can stand.  He can do dishes!  He grilled our lamb chops for dinner last night!  He can carry things around, and can get his ice packs out of the freezer when I am not home.  And… he’s getting antsy, tempted to push himself just a little more than he should.  It’s not so difficult to watch daytime TV all day long when you’re a pain-pill addled invalid, but he is leaving those days behind – and fast.