Day 12
Well I an finding that today I am waking up in more discomfort than usual.  I immediately took 2 pain pills.  It took 45 minutes before the least little relief began in my recliner, my new buddy that has become part of my new world.  Now it has been 1/1/2 hours and the pain has dropped some.  I don't know whether to stop exercises for now , to call the NP or what.  I began to put my head in the future which I can control right?  I start thinking of how can I ever return to work in 3 months time being like this.  I'll never make it.
So I return to blogging and try to take some control over my life.  I realize, or pray, that in 3 months all of this will be behind me and I need to do what I can on this day.  I need to focus on what I can do not what I can't.  It is like the saying be part of the solution not the problem.   I also need to take stock of all the things my fiancée and friends are doing for me and be grateful and appreciative for all their efforts. Thank you impersonal computer screen for reminding me of this invaluable lesson that I will need numerous times.
I am caught up with my experience and will type more as the day goes on.
My PTINR  = 1.0 indicating that my blood is more prone to clotting. The Coumadin clinic nurse feels this is the result of the antibiotics I am also on
I found out in PT that my passive flexion is OK and pain-free so the muscle has to be fired up.  The game plan is to back off flexion if there is pain, ice it more over the next 2 days & try an interferential electrical stimulation unit I have for pain relief.
The "catching" in the front of the leg continues as the day progresses.  I tried going down 4 steps with help & assistive devices then was pushed down 1 block & back in a borrowed Transfer Chair.  What I found was that I had to repeatedly use my UE to lift to take weight off the right hip/buttock and was able to go down and back 1 block.  It was strange being out.
I continued with icing and tried use of a TENS for 10 min.  I'm not sure if it helped but certainly didn't hurt.  I will try when it gets more painful to see if I can notice change. I went outside for about another 1/2 hr to sit and waited out as long as I could before taking pain meds.  I used the TENS a 2nd time and placed ice bags on the skin.
As I was winding down the day I looked at my leg and noticed a "dent" with a lump of fluid pocketed on the outside of my leg.  It was a little disconcerting.  I realized that after surgery there would be swelling but it was strange how it was a discrete small area within the overall swelling.  I figured it would work its way out by tomorrow so didn't worry too much about.
  I continue to try and move the leg if I can do so pain-free.  I actually fell asleep in my recliner and felt relaxed for the 1st time. My fiancée tried to turn out the lights for me to stay there as she knew sleep was my Achilles heel and according to her I looked peaceful.  I decided it was more important to be next to her so I woke up and went back to the bedroom. If I knew what was to come I may have changed my mind