Arthritic Critic

A few weeks back when I started to feel a bit better I decided to sign up for myRAfitkit. It's a workout for gimpy people like me. I went to their website and figured out what exactly would work for me and they figured out a program that they thought I could handle...uhm yeah...maybe. They were nice enough to mail me information about their site and a DVD of my exercises. Now this is where it gets weird. I pull the envelop out of the mailbox and it's already opened...and it's a pull tab so it didn't accidentally not get closed. Yes, I kid you not...someone stole my RA exercise routine. Which I truly think is the most warped things I have ever heard of...especially since it's free to anyone on the internet, RA or no. I haven't had a chance to go back and request another DVD because I'm sure when I tell them my copy was stolen before it hit my mailbox they will laugh themselves silly. I think I've decided to start with yoga again, seeing as how I just foun...

When Hope was a baby she used to have a period of the day that she was just cranky and inconsolable. It seems that you don't need to be a newborn to suffer from the witching hour. I still struggle with it every day, especially while I'm trying to heal after surgery. I think I've posted here about the surgery schedule in my family this year. My mom had surgery on her ankle this February, I had surgery on my foot/ankle in March and today my Dad had his knee replaced. During today's witching hour I realized just how much of a toll all of this has taken on me. I have read that very few people have complications or die during surgery but when you have 3 people going through surgery in such a short time you wonder how everything is going to turn out. (Though maybe that's just me because I had complications during my back surgery.) During the other surgeries I did ok but on Sunday I told my Dad he had 48 hours to cancel..and I meant it. Most of the time surgery turns out t...

So, last week I ended up getting a fun ride in an ambulance to my local hospital to be diagnosed with the flu. I was having a pretty difficult time breathing or to use the technical term hyperventilating (see I'm moving through the alphabet...first I was a hypochondriac now I'm a hyperventilator). It was a rush trip so the getting of the insurance information somehow didn't quite happen...which believe me is quite odd. I have often considered getting my insurance information tattoo'd on my arm so I wouldn't have to produce an insurance card at all times. The only problem? What happens if I change insurance.... So needless to say I watch my insurance claims come through like a hawk...mostly so I can figure out how much to worry over the thousands of dollars I owe at the moment. Yes, it is a total stress reliever. While I was studying my claims last night I finally realized that I hadn't seen a claim come through for the hospital yet. I mentioned it to Joe wonderi...

I made it through the ankle surgery with no complications and then promptly caught the flu and ended up back in the Emergency Room a few nights later. Looks like the immune system just couldn't handle the one two punch of surgery and flu and it's kept me down for the last few weeks. I'm less than 2 weeks post surgery and even with the flu I'm doing pretty well and I'm so damn thankful. It's not all good news. My first ankle fusion was not a success. The last surgeon used bone marrow aspirate instead of using cadaver bone and it seems that I didn't fuse well at all. Dr Foot came in before I even had surgery and told me that I would most likely need a second surgery. Yeah, not the news I was hoping for. I chose to do the subtalar fusion and revise the triple fusion at a different time in the future. It's a good thing that we went in when we did. I had a lose screw in my midfoot that Dr. Foot tightened and there was a lot of dead bone in the hindfoot that h...

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be able to run away to the Four Seasons in Chicago. We've stayed in some nice places (The Drake which is right down the street last year) before but nothing like this place. You want to talk about living in the lap of luxury, and how! Unfortunately, and you knew that was coming...Hope picked up the flu on Saturday and spent most of the weekend in bed. Though 600 count sheets and a down duvet, not a bad way to go to nurse yourself back to health. Mom and Dad ate room service for most of the weekend and pretty much just reveled in the view and the cupcakes from Sprinkles (I don't get all the hype...it's a cupcake). On Sunday morning I guess Hope felt like something cold to drink. She was running a fever so Joe was sleeping with her and I slept on the couch (surgery tomorrow...can not catch the flu). I heard the pitter patter of little feet but didn't think much of it, I just figured that Joe was wandering around. I got up later that mo...

I've written before about some of my more interesting side effects from Ambien. I have yet to drunk dial anyone or come on to anyone other than my husband but I have to admit some of the things I've been doing lately are shocking even to me. I tend to sleepwalk when I'm very stressed. I will hold it together during the day and then act out while sleeping. (And before you all freak out on my I've had repeated discussions about this with my doctor. He told me pretty much any sleep med that I take is going to do this to me unless I figure out a better way to deal with the emotions while I'm awake. It's important I get sleep so the side effects I just need to deal with.) So far I have slept-walked, it's always nice to wake up somewhere other than where you went to sleep. Slept-argued, you haven't lived until you wake up the next morning and say, "good morning, honey" to only receive a grunt. It's like going on a bender without the hangover. You...

My mom had ankle surgery 3 weeks ago. She was told it would be a very simple surgery and unfortunately, it hasn't been. Last week she called me up crying and just basically beside herself with worry. You see, our lives are in a very unusual state at the moment. My mom had ankle surgery in February, I will have ankle surgery in March and my dad will have a knee replacement in April. As you can imagine the urgency (let's call it what it is...PRESSURE) for her to heal is really got her freaked. In fact, I can't remember a time when I've ever heard my mom more upset. It scared me. I'm the kid, still raising a kid. I'm allowed to freak out when surgery is beyond my control...and believe me when I say I do...often. But my mom is pretty much a rock. She usually calms me and gives me good advice and I appreciate it about as much as anyone would appreciate advice when they are FREAKING out. Case in point, after my back surgery I had a difficult time in the hospital. She ...