Out Comes The Nerve Block

Today the nerve block came out.  All the meds in it are finished and so Lester and I had to take the tape holding the iv needle in place off my leg today.  Not too bad.  It was pulling off the tape that hurt. My toes have come alive and most of the tingling and numbness is gone.  The pain is not too bad so far.  It is a little easier to move around because I don't have to worry about the iv. This week I'll be home in the mornings by myself and then Lauren will be here for a bit in the afternoons before she goes to work.  Shortly after that Lester and Michael will be home. We'll see how it goes.

Post Op Days Meds and a Scooter

So this nerve block is wonderful!  Pain meds not so much.  The pain meds make me nauseous and with any kind of exertion I start sweating profusely, get very nauseous and feel like I am going to black out.  This has happened when I tried to sit up to the table to eat dinner like a normal person, when I tried to take a bath this morning and at the end of my outing to Target today. Lauren and Lester were headed to Target for groceries and a few other things and Lester made me go along saying I needed to get out a bit.  I was glad to be able to go but I had to use one of their motorized carts and drive it around the store.  Kinda embarrassing expecially when I needed to reverse and it made a LOUD beeping sound.  Not obvious enough in this huge leg wrap and on the scooter, it had to also make a loud noise.   Thursday night we had great BBQ sandwiches and a delicious chocoloate cake courtesy of the girls in Lester's office.  Last night Jodie and Michelle brought us Chuys since we normally go there every Friday night.  Tasted so good, only thing missing was the beverage I normally have with it but unfortuanately it's not allowed while on pain meds.

Surgery Day!

So here is what the leg looks like under that cast.... be warned...it's not pretty.  Today I had surgery.  We went in planning to have 2 screws inserted in the fibula but when he got in there he found I had also cracked the tibia.  He inserted a plate and 2 screws in the fibula and then one screw in the tibia.  No weight on this leg for 8 weeks as of right now.  I also have a nerve block that is keeping it numb for the next 3 days in addtion to pain meds. I kinda look like peg leg.  I'm home and feeling fine.  :)

Saga of a broken leg

So the Italian cast was one of those old style plaster casts.  In the pictures you can see the comments Lauren and David wrote on the cast.  Lauren wrote "Made in Italy" and "What happens in Italy stays in Italy except a broken bone."  David wrote "I think you took  break a leg a little too serioulsy."   Monday the orthopedic doctor did xrays and sawed off the plaster cast.  Boy did it feel good to get that thing off.  But what we saw underneath didn't look so good.  I'll post a picture of my foot but be forewarned it is not pretty.  Then they fitted me for a walking boot although I can't put any weight on it.  I am scheduled for surgery on Thursday morning.  He said I broke the fibula, tore the ligments between the fibula and tibia and pushed my ankle out of place.  He will be putting in 2 screws during surgery.  I can't return to work for 2 weeks after surgery.  Stay tuned...More of this saga to follow soon.

Home Please

Waiting in the Charlotte airport for our flight home to Austin. This morning there was no one at the reception desk of our hotel to call us a taxi to the airport at 5:30. Michael walked down the street to a taxi stand twice to try to get a cab without luck. Finally at six he went across the street to another hotel and they called us a taxi. Having a broken leg has gotten us a few travel perks. We go straight to the front of the line every time. We've ridden the carts in the airports and passed through customs without waiting in the huge lines. In Rome we we lifted up to the airplane in a lift. We got reassigned seats in the bulkhead on the long flight from Rome to Charlotte and row 1 on our flight to Austin. I am so ready to be home and I think Michael is too. He has been such a good help. I will try to post pictures this weekend. Hope to see some of you soon.

Ready to come home

If you know me, the title of this post might surprise you. Not that I don't want to come home but I'm not usually the one wanting to stop traveling. I'm usually the one wanting to go more. But I guess a broken leg does that to a person. We spent our last day in Florence shopping the street markets and visiting the Duomo. I checked out the inside of this beautiful cathedral while Michael climbed the 463 steps to the top of the dome. Of course we had our favorite for dinner. Can you guess what it is? Yep, you are right...pizza! Sure will miss that. Have to get up early tomorrow. Our flight from Florence to Rome leaves at 7:15 a.m. And I need extra traveling time since I won't have the wheelchair until I get one at the airport. I'll make another post on Friday and then this weekend I'll upload a few pictures for those of you checking in.

Pizza Pizza Pizza!

Today we slept in. Yea! Then we went to our favorite pizza place- had pizza for lunch AGAIN! That is all we have eaten since arriving in Florence. It is so good we've decided American pizza just won't do any more. Then we went to the Uffizi Gallery which houses the largest collection of Italian renaissance paintings. Impressive. Then we returned back to the hotel for a break. No big plans for this evening other than dinner and getting a prescription from the farmacia. I think we are trying something different for dinner tonight...branching out a bit. Tomorrow we will finally get to visit the Duomo and then take a bus tour of the city.

Two amazing sights today!

We started our day by going to the Accademia Museum to see the David statue by Michelangelo. It was so amazing. It is huge and very life like. I wish we could have taken photos. Then got a wheelchair rental for the next three days. We did a little market shopping, had lunch (pizza) and took the train to Pisa. The Leaning Tower was so incredible. Took pictures but can't get them uploaded here till I get home. I'm really glad we decided to make that side trip. I'm sure Michael is worn out from pushing me but it makes going a little easier. He's doing an awesome job of taking care of me and I've learned my lesson that I need to
Listen to him. :)

Damn crutches!

So I am not good at using these damn crutches. I can only go 4-5 steps before I have to stop. As much as I hate to admit it I think we are going to try to find a wheelchair, else we won't get anywhere. We arrived by train in Florence today. After checking in to our hotel Michael went and got us some lunch...pizza! Yum! Now we have both taken a nap...this is wearing us both out. It rained while we slept. I no longer like the rain. My left leg is hurting today as well as the right which has to do all the work. We may stay in tonight except for dinner. Not sure what we will do about that yet. Tomorrow we hope to get the wheelchair and see the Duomo, the statue of David at the Accademia and maybe a bus tour of the city. Let you know more tomorrow.

Excitement in Assisi

Day 3 we take a train to Assisi. It has been raining and is still drizzling. Assisi is beautiful. It sits on a hill so all the cobble stone streets run up and down the hill.Despite the rain I convinced Michael that we needed to go out and see a few sights since we plan to leave for Florence tomorrow afternoon. We had been out about 2 hours when I slipped going downhill. I fell and broke my leg. Luckily one of the many people who came to our rescue was a man who was a nurse and he helped me keep my leg still and that helped with the pain till the ambulance arrived. The ambulance took us to the town of Perugia about 25 miles away. At the hospital they did X-rays and put on a cast. Most of the people working in the hospital only spoke Italian. Luckily the doctor helping spoke some English. He said I broke the fibula. 3 hours later with several prescriptions and other info written in Italian, we took a ninety euro taxi ride back to our hotel in Assisi. The trouble is that the taxi drops you off at the bottom of a hill and you have to walk up the hill and up a flight of stairs to get to our hotel. I cannot put weight on my left leg and I have no crutches. I have to get them at the farmacia tomorrow. We finally made it up. We had not had dinner yet so the owner of the hotel called his son who owns the family restaurant to bring us 2 lasagnas and salad. Other than a little pain, some uncomfortableness, and the inconvenience, I am fine. I joked with Michael that I had never broken a bone or riden in an ambulance before and that I had to come all the way to Italy to do so. Michael reminded me that he'd had not even wanted to go out in the rain today! Onward from here...

Day 2

Today we went to Vatican City. St Peters Square, the Vatican museum, St Peters Basilica and of course the Sistine Chapel. All were amazing sights to see but the Sistine Chapel was incredible. Sadly we weren't allowed to take pictures of it. Sunday morning we will visit the Galleria Borghese before taking a train to Assisi.

Buongiorno Roma

After a crazy taxi ride and getting checked into our hotel, Michael and I headed out to experience Rome for our first day. We have seen the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and Trevi fountain. The ruins are amazing and it is incredible to see the size of the Colosseum. We had our first pizza for lunch...boy was that good! Now for a power nap since neither of us slept on the plane. Then out for dinner and more sights. Wish you were here! Pictures from today coming soon.

Leaving on a jet plane...

After a very turbulent landing in Charlotte, Michael and I are about to board our transatlantic flight to Rome. We should arrive in Rome on Friday morning around 9 a.m. Roman time. Can not wait to see which movie choices we will have on the plane. Hoping for The Kings Speech.

There's a First Time for Everything

Trying blogging for the first time.  Maybe an old dog can learn new tricks.  I guess if kids can do it, I can too.  Just thought this might be the opportune time to try my hand at blogging since I leave for a week long trip to Italy tomorrow with my son.  I can blog about our trip and keep my family and friends informed as if they were with us.  I'll try to keep you posted on our adventures and share photos along the way.  Ciao!