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Monday, July 21, 2014

Confession: the brace is history


No brace!
(Excuse the wrinkles -
I actually wore the
shirt tucked into a skirt
for church)
Our social calendar was packed the weekend before last, popular kids that we are. Saturday we had to juggle helping the church out with an errand to the dump, a birthday celebration downtown at the Bastille Day festivities, and dinner with friends. It was hot - in the 90's - and after putting on shorts and a tank top, I just could not, could not, could not wrap that hot and heavy brace around my waist.
I went without it. Carefully, but coolly!

And then for dinner I kind of forgot it. And for church the next day I definitely left it home on purpose. I'm just over it!

Now, this is the only point on which I have strayed from doctor's orders, so I think I'm probably not doing irreversible damage: especially since my doctor said, "Four to six weeks". I made it to four and a half weeks with the brace, so technically I'm ok. Lower end of the estimate, but probably no big deal.

And when I look at protocols for the same surgery at other facilities or with other doctors, I can't find any that recommend the brace for longer than five weeks at the absolute max. Most say 3 weeks. So I gave myself permission to ditch the brace.

And I'm posting this info over a week later because no way was I posting that I got rid of the brace, only to feel worse and worse as time went by! Instead I've been feeling better and better, so I am OK with publicizing my disobedience to orders.

Looking at the picture I just took braceless (with my handy phone camera timer app I just downloaded), I notice that I'm in my typical left-leg-not-engaged stance. I'm trying, guys, but I have to undo months, if not years, of poor posture, stance,and gait!

7 comments:

  1. I think you can say that you're a runner so you heal faster? Meaning less time needed in the brace? Yeah, go with that one. ;) I have a habit of disobeying orders, too. Doctors told me to keep my face bandaged for 48 hours. After reading the entire internet, I determined that 36 hours was plenty and ripped that thing off! Haha, it was aggravating me! Everything was fine; so no harm done.

    Your outfit is super cute, as usual. I really need to adopt some of your fashion sense. Congrats on being on your way to totally healed!

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  2. Sometimes it's okay to go against doctor's orders and listen to your body. I stopped taking the pill after I found out that my 'chronic fatigue' that I'd had for a couple of years had been caused by it. Even though the gynaecologist said not to. Best thing I ever did was stop taking that poison.

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  3. Well hey, you made it past the minimum amount of time the doctor wanted you in the brace so that's saying something? I can see how you are incredibly sick of it as this is a particularly bad time of year to have a heavy, hot brace. I know this after clunking around in a hot boot (which in the end gave me heat rash) for 4 months last summer. Bleh. I hope you continue to feel good and heal!

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  4. You know if your doctor would have seen you out he would have been like, "What are you doing ... do you want exocarcionomalimpazoid???" Which surely is something medical.

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  5. Yay. I'm so glad to read about the progress. It is so hard to reform posture habit, but you will get there!

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  6. Yay for progress! That's got to feel good :)

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