DebbyK’s Hip surgery_Post Op Day 5_And a workout for you!

HI Your Fit Day Friends!

Wow!

It’s Sunday here in India. Surgery was last Tuesday and I can hardly believe I am 5 days post op. Sundays are pretty quiet outside my hospital window… I noticed a lot less traffic and honking. Really I never thought I’d get used to all the noise.

I mean, it’s not like one or two cars are blowing their horns. It’s a parade of musical beep! beeps!; from every car, bus, Tuk Tuk, bike, motorbike; and at every moment, all night long, at different decibels…It’s like a symphony tuning up their instruments…but for the entire symphony! You never get to that quiet moment just before the first note plays.

So it is in India… in the streets, with the traffic, with cars. They just keep a honkin’ and  a honkin…!

But it’s more like they’re talking to each other. It’s really the way they communicate on the road. As a passenger, I eventually began to understand just how this language works and how they’ve created a system that works for them.

Like when there is a red light, they don’t sit idling. They turn off their engines and wait patiently. And the honking subsides for a moment….But just for a moment! As soon as traffic starts moving ahead, even if we are still stopped, the honking begins.

In the US people would be getting out of their cars and shooting each other!

HA! Now, the boom box noise up and down my street in Oakland won’t seem so bad!

1001 Nights

OK! Well that’s what ONE night feels like right now.

I’m sure those of you who have had major surgery can relate to the emotional ups and downs and the waxing and waning of pain. It’s been a ride so far.

I’ve never had a problem actually sleeping. I’ll admit I go to bed too late most nights and wake up too late. And I love to read for over an hour before I close my eyes. It brings me to another place. Then I get really sleepy and  just zonk out. Once out I usually sleep til  morning.

Not to mention I’ve always been a warm sleeper. Even as a kid. My metabolism is pretty high and I’ve always tended to get warm during the night, throwing off my sheets a few hours after falling asleep.
But surgery brings a whole new meaning to sleeping. For me the nights are the worst and as the night approaches my body becomes restless from the days of inactivity, belly full of food and plumbing that doesn’t quite work as it should.

Let me give you a snap shot of how the nights go. Because these are my most challenging times.

Sleep never really comes. I try to meditate before I fall asleep, thinking about things apart from my body; places I’d like to be, or ideal places I’ve been which make me calm. Like swimming in the rock quarries in Rockport, Mass.

So I try not to think about my body;  where my right leg is unable to move, where I’m stuck in one position, where even the slightest twitch of my op leg solicits a burning pain.

What happens is that I end up falling asleep for a bout 2 hours. Then I’m awake, my body drenched, and I”m lying in a pool of sweat.

Once I’m awake I become aware of how constricted I am, being unable to move about, and I become claustrophobic. I ring for the nurses. They graciously come to my side and ask how they can make me more comfortable. The only solution, which helps for a few hours, is to change the linens, reposition me, and try for a few more hours.

So each night has been like this. Broken sleep, less than 8 hours. Long nights.

Finding Normal

Last night I got about 7 hours of broken sleep. I will say there was less pain than the previous nights and the pain level is about 50% better. As much as I will miss the nurses here at Apollo I believe the Fisherman’s Cove Resort will be much better for me. I’ll have a big queen bed, no plastic bedding, a pillow buffet, along with the sounds and the breeze of the Bay of Bengal.

With that said, after finally getting out of bed at 10AM I successfully went to the bathroom (Yoo-hoo!), washed up, put on some shorts (looking quite stylish over my TEDS),

and began my morning regime. It takes me about 20 minutes or so and here’s what the workout looks like:

Table pushups 20

Walker pushups 15

Walker dips 15

3 Rounds

Green Band Chest/Rear delt pulls 20 X 3

Green Band one arm shoulder  presses (alt arms) X 3

Green Band Side Lat raise (alt Arms) X 3

Green Band Bicep curls (Alt Arms) X 3

I also walked around my room with the walker and cleaned up and moved things around. It’s funny to think about, moving things around as activity. Just these small things makes you begin to feel normal again.

Next I asked the pantry if they’d be kind enough to make me a protein shake with my Green Vibrance, nuts, mango, whey protein powder, ice and water. I also had some veggies and an omelet and a hard boiled egg. I was trying to get as much good fats as I could for healing and they weren’t allowing me nuts yet.

The shake hit the spot…

I feel a bit more like Debby today too. And even though my body is still swollen (your should see my legs, both of them), surprisingly enough I can still see some upper abs and there is a bit less water retention. But I’m not worried. My body will slowly bounce back, I’ll build more muscle, and again, train to get back into the best shape of my life. New life, new goals, new inspiration.

BTW: In India, the doctors and PT work on Sundays. At least in the Platinum ward at the Apollo.

And I have heard that this is the place that the elite of India come to get mended. I’m still waiting to see some famous Indian movie stars!

But all kidding aside Dr. Bose’s assistant, Dr. Bis, came in to check on me, and we decided to put me on a week of anti imflamatory, called Etoshine 90, instead of Ibuprofen, which will help bring down the swelling. I only have to take it once a day and it works for 24  hours. Much better than Ibuprofen.

I asked Dr. Bis about the numbness in my pelvic area and my right op leg, up near the groin. And what he told me was something like that in order to keep my body anchored to the table, while they’re yanking, cutting, and pulling at my femur and hip, they tape these blocks to me and they have to, like, I’m imagining,  press them into me. So there’s some bruising. It’s like someone took a bat and socked me hard with the blunt end.  Not a pleasant feeling. And coupled with the numbness it’s just plain weird!

But he assured me that the swelling around my groin area is normal and will go down as I begin to move more. And sorry, no pictures. You’ll just have to take my word on this one!!!

Downs and Ups and Getting the Toxins Out

Being on the other side of surgery is such a trip. You can wake up and hardly move, your muscles screaming. But each day gets better and better by the hour, and I’m finding that 12 hours makes such a difference. And by this evening a lot of my pain (we’re talking relative here!) had subsided.

I can’t wait to see how much better I’m feeling and what I can do by tomorrow!

On the flip side I think my body is waking up and rebelling against all the anesthesia, drugs and toxins they pumped into my body. Under normal circumstance my body is extremely clean.  I eat whole foods; no sugar or grains. I take no drugs and use no pain killers, even when I go to the dentist. I don’t drink alcohol or take any medications. I basically stick to Caveman/Paleo lifestyle (OK! well I still do some Splenda!) So all of this stuff pumped through me for four days was a huge shock to my body.

So that might explain why nausea had started to overcome me and I had this lingering nausea all day long. It was like I was floating outside of my body. And I never, ever have nausea.  I felt like I should eat again in the afternoon to keep the protein coming in,  but I was so full from the last few days, even though I finally became regular, that the thought of eating another bite made me, well, nauseaus!

Then in the afternoon the dietician popped in to check on me. I wish I had a picture of her because she always looked so elegant in her colorful sari’s. And I have to admit, she does a great job of making sure you’re getting what you want to eat. But believe it or not it is still a very ‘western’ plan that they push, with carbs being the main source of ‘energy’ to get you better.  I don’t do well with grains since they upset my stomach but I got the  push for rice and grains again.

I politely declined and said I was fine, that I had been eating my way for many many years, and as long as I got my eggs, fish, and veggies, enough fats, some fruit in my shake, all would be good. I was talking to someone who at first didn’t understand why I would want to eat so many veggies for breakfast, without carbs like rice to go along with, and believed that only carbs gave you energy. Well, I wasn’t going to go all caveman and Paleo on her…….but finally she was OK if I was OK!

NOTE: From what I’ve seen and heard here in India, there is a lot of snacking at home going on with American packaged foods and a push from the Ministry of Health for more exercise and less eating of carbs. In fact, many of the  nurses were inspired by what they called my ‘fitness body’ and asked for a program to help them get into shape. Right on!

A OK!

But it’s all good. Because at the Apollo they want you to be happy and they’ll make your food to order if what is on the menu doesn’t jibe your dietary needs. So, for dinner I was craving something light, like soup. My friendly pantry server (below, left) said the choice was cream of tomato or some other cream soup.

Everyone eats cream in their soup and purees all the veggies. He asked me what exactly I would like. So I suggested a vegetable broth with vegetables. They did a great job: a broth with spices and finely chopped celery and carrots. Kinda like chicken soup without the chicken.  It hit the spot and did the trick.

I had 3 bowls!

Where else can you get made- to-order meals while recovering from major hip surgery. This place is heaven!

But by Day 5 I was also itching to get beyond these four walls. Although I felt like I might not be ready for Fisherman’s Cove and on my own, I new that I’d be well taken care of at the resort and kept envisioning myself walking on the beach. I thought about sinking my swollen toes into the sand and cooling my feet off in the ocean.

That day will be here soon…

So, stay tuned.

And in the meantime try out my workout at home, in your hotel room, at the park or even at the gym. It’s getting me back into shape with very little time commitment.

Be sure to leave a comment.

You can also tweet me @debbykfitness and friend me on Facebook. The Facebook button will be coming soon!

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and support, tweets and Facebook comments…

Your Trainer and Coach,

DebbyK!

Make It Your Fit Day!