thinking too much
A sort of infamous common Taiwanese phrase that has been known to drive foreigners here crazy is "You think too much!" (Ni xiang tai duo le!) But after my doctor's apt. I really have had a lot to think about...
A. I can't walk for 6 months true
But now I know WHY. One of the 9 screws they put into my leg during surgery is a really long one which horizontally connects the broken bone (Fibula) to the larger Tibia for stability. But since walking and especially weight bearing causes some movement in between bones, and despite what you may think, metal is NOT as strong as bone, there's a change that if I stepped on it the wrong way/turned funny/stepped too hard on it that that metal screw could break, and it would be nearly impossible to remove if that happened.
But there's some good news: while my doctor wants to respect the original 6 months given by the surgery doctor, he said if they see positive healing sooner (by say... january or february) I could have it removed sooner.
B. I'm not allowed to fly home for Chinese New Year false
No one is really sure WHERE that rumor got started, but my doctor denied making any such recommendation. On the other hand: navigating an airport on crutches (what about my bags??) and going home while there is still ice on the ground may not be the best of choices. Also, not only would I not be mobile (unable to visit anyone by greyhound like i did last time), but I don't actually have health coverage in Canada anymore since I transferred my residence over here. So emergency, regular check-up and physio would all present a problem were I there for any length of time.
BUT to add to the conundrum.. my office suggested they could make an exception to my holiday time if i wanted to take a month or more off and go home, since I won't really have any duties here for about that long. Also my parents have been planning to come sometime in January, and I was originally thinking I'd go back with them (solves airport problems one way) but only for 2 weeks (thus only taking 3 days of vacation time and Chinese New Year, and leaving some vacation days for a future trip if I wanted it).
well that's all for now.. i had my first physio appointment and all they did was stick this electrode type thing on my leg and foot for about 20 minutes. But i'm allowed to take my splint off and exercise, massage carefully and apply heat packs/hot cloths to the parts where there isn't any wound. Please pray that I can find someone to drive me to physio 3 times a week! Right now people with cars are a little difficult to track down. They also said I can take the splint off when I sleep. I told my doctor I was a little afraid to do that in case I rolled around or something and she told me it would be pretty much impossible to rebreak my leg or even do any serious damage in my sleep unless i started sleepwalking! So I had my first --slightly nervous-- splint-free sleep last night. And my leg didn't fall apart, so I guess it's all good!
I'm gonna go drink some milk now.
A. I can't walk for 6 months true
But now I know WHY. One of the 9 screws they put into my leg during surgery is a really long one which horizontally connects the broken bone (Fibula) to the larger Tibia for stability. But since walking and especially weight bearing causes some movement in between bones, and despite what you may think, metal is NOT as strong as bone, there's a change that if I stepped on it the wrong way/turned funny/stepped too hard on it that that metal screw could break, and it would be nearly impossible to remove if that happened.
But there's some good news: while my doctor wants to respect the original 6 months given by the surgery doctor, he said if they see positive healing sooner (by say... january or february) I could have it removed sooner.
B. I'm not allowed to fly home for Chinese New Year false
No one is really sure WHERE that rumor got started, but my doctor denied making any such recommendation. On the other hand: navigating an airport on crutches (what about my bags??) and going home while there is still ice on the ground may not be the best of choices. Also, not only would I not be mobile (unable to visit anyone by greyhound like i did last time), but I don't actually have health coverage in Canada anymore since I transferred my residence over here. So emergency, regular check-up and physio would all present a problem were I there for any length of time.
BUT to add to the conundrum.. my office suggested they could make an exception to my holiday time if i wanted to take a month or more off and go home, since I won't really have any duties here for about that long. Also my parents have been planning to come sometime in January, and I was originally thinking I'd go back with them (solves airport problems one way) but only for 2 weeks (thus only taking 3 days of vacation time and Chinese New Year, and leaving some vacation days for a future trip if I wanted it).
well that's all for now.. i had my first physio appointment and all they did was stick this electrode type thing on my leg and foot for about 20 minutes. But i'm allowed to take my splint off and exercise, massage carefully and apply heat packs/hot cloths to the parts where there isn't any wound. Please pray that I can find someone to drive me to physio 3 times a week! Right now people with cars are a little difficult to track down. They also said I can take the splint off when I sleep. I told my doctor I was a little afraid to do that in case I rolled around or something and she told me it would be pretty much impossible to rebreak my leg or even do any serious damage in my sleep unless i started sleepwalking! So I had my first --slightly nervous-- splint-free sleep last night. And my leg didn't fall apart, so I guess it's all good!
I'm gonna go drink some milk now.
Glad to hear your leg did not fall off or apart of disinagrate during your sleep. I hope and pray things will work out for you during your vacation time.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless
Peace and Grace
Yep, what he said. And we are always praying for you, you know that. I have decided now that your blog title is very appropriate: Always an adventure. Maybe not the kinds you would plan to have, but an adventure nonetheless. I still wish I were there just to help you out. I'd make you tea and hold your bags and drive you around. I love you girl!
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