Life really can change in an instant.
A few weeks ago, after enjoying a nice dinner and winding down with a great meditation, I came downstairs to put our cats to bed and then was going to put myself to bed. We like to put our cats in their special room at night – one of them, Infinity, is blind and we don’t want her roaming around without us knowing where she is. Our ritual is that they get their bedtime treats in their room – Greenies – and then its lights out until morning.
As I was shaking the Greenies container and calling their names to come – the six of them ran from behind me and literally knocked me off my feet. I flew up in the air, feet first and then landed on my right side with a thud. My husband heard it from upstairs. It was like something you would see in a cartoon, with a stampede coming at you from behind and throwing you up into the air. There was that kind of power in 6 cats who want their treats.
As I lay on the floor I was stunned. What just happened? Maybe cats land on their feet but I sure didn’t. I realized I did not hit my head nor back. I landed on my lower right side. My knee was all banged up. I tried to get up and it hurt to put pressure on my right leg. I put ice on it and laid down. I was questioning whether or not to go to the ER but I thought I would get through the night and see how I felt as the hours went on. With my immunodeficiency the ER is the worst place for someone like me in that respect.
After not sleeping a minute that night – I called my primary care doctor first thing in the morning and he saw me right away. He said just to be safe – we should get X-rays. So I got the X-rays. They said I did have a fracture at the top of my femur. And not only that but I needed emergency surgery right away because it was a fracture, not a complete break, and so they wanted to keep it from getting worse. It was on to the ER at the local hospital next – the very place I have dreaded going ever since I became aware of my immunity issues.
After waiting in the ER for hours, in between more tests and X-rays, I was told that I would be having surgery at 8AM the next morning. Having surgery was another fear of mine due to my immunity issues and risk of infection. Everything was happening so fast. In a way this was good – I didn’t have days to sit and worry about the surgery beforehand. It was all happening stat. This was for a few reasons – they didn’t want my fracture to get worse because then it would have been much more complicated with a more significant recovery period. And they were aware of my immunodeficiency so they wanted me out of there as much as I wanted me out of there.
The next morning I was wheeled down to the OR precisely at 8AM. I have to say that I wasn’t scared. Of course I wished I was anywhere else but there. Wished I could fly away – up off the table and go back home. But at that point I surrendered to the process. I had to put my trust in the medical professionals who did these surgeries day in and day out. I remember them ever so gently moving me to the operating table, putting my leg in a holder, and the next minute I was in recovery. The surgery only took 45 minutes. I had 3 titanium screws put in my femur to hold it together. It was done arthroscopically by poking 3 holes in my leg to place the screws – I did not need to have a large incision. I did not need any kind of hip replacement. The surgery was as easy as it could be, and I hardly had any pain afterwards. The most pain I had was the sore throat I had for days afterwards because of the anesthesia tube placed down my throat. From the time I was in the ER to now, almost 3 weeks later, I have taken a total of 5 Tylenols for pain and nothing else for pain by Rx.
I was wheeled back up to my room by 11AM. The first thing I wanted to do was drink – I was so dry and thirsty but my throat hurt. They were amazed that I had very little pain in my leg. I asked them what my plan was and they said that I would have to be cleared by PT to go home and that no one from PT worked on Saturdays and they had a very light schedule on Sundays so might be Monday before I could go home. I resigned myself to being there a few days longer. My husband was there waiting in the room when I came back – he had brought me a smoothie and coffee. He stayed for awhile – then left to do some errands and would come back and bring me dinner.
At 4:30PM – a young woman walks in and says “Hi – I’m E from the PT Department”. I thought I was hallucinating. I asked her how is this possible since everyone is off on Saturdays? She said they called her in to evaluate me. I had done so well that they thought I could go home that evening but had to be cleared first. They did not want me lingering in the hospital any longer that I needed to be, due to my immunodeficiency. She showed me how to use a walker (which would have to be my constant companion for the next 8 weeks), how to go up and down a couple of stairs and said she has never seen someone recover so fast from surgery and able to properly navigate so quickly. My attending doctor walked in and asked E if she was ready to clear me and she said yes. The doctor then said OK – she can go to rehab for a few days. E said rehab? She doesn’t need rehab. She needs to go home. So the doctor said “home it is” and signed me out. By 7PM, my husband had picked up a walker for me, picked me up at the hospital and home I went. What a whirlwind 48 hours! My head was literally spinning.
When I got home, I sat on the couch on the first floor, the place I would be living most of my life for the next few weeks. The cats were afraid of me at first. When the accident happened – it was traumatic for me but it was also traumatic for them. The crash, the screaming, the commotion – they didn’t know what to make of it all. As the days went on they started coming around – they wanted to be near me – a few wanted to be a little too near me. They wanted to lie right on or right next to where my injury was. I had to be very careful not to provoke any problems. I had a bandage covering the area and had to make sure everything stayed clean, dry and stable. I had to keep the bandage on until my follow up with the orthopedic surgeon in two weeks. Of course the question was – how can I take a shower?
But first – we had to make sure I could get around well-enough. The hospital was going to assign me a physical therapist to do home visits. I told them I have already been working with one for the last 5 months or so to help strengthen me and help with balance. As I get older and as someone with scoliosis – I wanted to mitigate any potential problems such as falling… How fortunate that I started doing this and I already had someone coming to visit me. So now our PT sessions went backwards from strengthening to rehabilitation. However – because I had been doing the PT sessions previously – I did develop more lower body and some upper body strength that has helped me in the recovery process and the ability to get around. When you have an injury like I had, or worse, you have to rely on the other parts of your body to “pick up the slack”. Because I cannot put any direct pressure on my right leg yet – I have to count on my left leg to hold me up and to get around with the walker. I cannot tell you how beneficial the “Tree pose” in yoga has been to prepare for this. In getting up from a seated position – I have to count on the strength in my arms to push me up and help me back down slowly. If you do not have arm and leg strength you will have a difficult time recovering and could even take another fall. The most critical time to summon the strength in your good leg and arms is in the shower. Taking a shower has been my most challenging task but it must be done. The first few times were terrifying. The key is that lower leg strength, balance and taking things very slowly. I also have a little bench in there just in case. I have not needed to use it.
Ironically, a couple of months before the fall – I had some screening done by sonography that said I was at low risk for osteoporosis. I have to say that anyone who fell onto the hard floor the way I did would have fractured or broken something. As badly as my knee was bruised – it didn’t break. Nothing else broke or fractured, except for my femur, which took the brunt of the fall. Because I kept myself in good shape before the fall – I went in to it in good condition to withstand the surgery and recovery as well as someone could. My Vitamin D levels were good. Vitamin D is a nutrient that helps the body absorb calcium, among many other benefits. I take Vitamin K2 every day and eat foods rich in Vitamin K often (leafy greens), a micronutrient that helps make various proteins that help with blood clotting and building of bones. I also eat foods rich in calcium (goat cheese, beans, almonds/almond butter/almond milk, various other nut milks, leafy greens).
Three weeks before the fall – I had done the five-day ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet. A week before the fall – I had a few biomarkers tested in my blood to see how it moved the needle. While it had not yet had an effect on my immunoglobulins, my CRP dropped down to negligible. CRP is one measure of inflammation in the body. My primary care doctor said this was one reason why I did not have the level of pain that most people are expected to have after a surgical procedure such as mine. Inflammation causes pain. I had low levels of inflammation in my body.
What does put me at risk for bone fractures/breaks is the significant amount of steroids I had during my cancer treatment. Steroids weaken bones. Because of this, I have always known I need to pay attention to this issue and do what I can to keep my bones strong.
Last Friday I saw the orthopedic surgeon and he took the staples out of my surgical site. He said I was healing well and to continue to stay off of my right leg until he sees me in another 5 weeks. This means that I need to continue to use the walker so that I don’t put pressure on my right leg, keep going with physical therapy and move around as much as I can. Still can’t drive. I will start going back to work part time to see how it goes – will need to be driven – and do everything I can to help things heal so I can move on from this temporary 8 week detour.
If I can stress something – it’s to keep yourself in the best shape you can. Build upper and lower body strength. Consider doing one or more of these to build strength, flexibility and balance- yoga, Feldenkrais, pilates, stretching exercises. Make sure your Vitamin D levels are in the mid to upper range. Eat a whole food plant based diet to give you nutrient dense foods your body needs to function properly. There are tests you can do through health care professionals to see if you are deficient in various nutrients. Testing gives you an idea of where you need to improve, back off or maintain the various levels. Go for regular bloodwork and beneficial screening tests (it was helpful that I went for the osteoporosis sonography testing 2 months prior to my accident).
Accidents happen and if you find yourself having one – going into the situation in good shape will help your recovery and successful outcome in the long run.
I am going to write to the company that makes the Greenies cat treats and let them know what happened to me. I will suggest this slogan: “Greenies. So good your cats will literally try to kill you for them”.
Wishing you good health and a great life –
Sheryl
