WALKING + Fourth Week Home // Pelvic Fracture Recovery
You can read about my accident here, my hospital stay here, my first week home here, my second week home here, and my third week home here.
The fourth week home was the biggest and most exciting week in my recovery… I finally got out of bed! This week was so amazing and I finally hit so many milestones that I had been looking forward to for so long.
Walking!
I started walking this week! Actually, I was only supposed to start weight-bearing/standing, but, as I said in my Instagram post, I hated my hospital bed so much and wanted to get as far away from it as possible, as soon as I started standing, I started walking.
My doctor and physio both said to let pain guide my walking. If I feel pain, stop walking. If I’m not in pain, I can keep walking (for the most part). I am still technically on bed rest, but I can walk as long as I am not feeling pain. I use a walker to get around and my physical therapist gave me some exercises to strengthen my legs.
It’s absolutely crazy to me how much progress I’ve made and how mobile I am even only a few days after starting to walk. I mean, I won’t be running anytime soon, but I am walking well with my walker!
Pain Levels
Remember how I said I have to let pain guide my walking? Well, if I am using pain meds, my pain is masked and I therefore, cannot guide my walking. My physio told me to stop taking my daytime pain meds so that my body can accurately tell when I am in pain and I know when to stop walking. My first day without daytime pain meds wasn’t too bad, but by 4 p.m. I was really feeling it and had to lie down. The second day, the pain came a little earlier, but I’d say it is only a 5 out of 10.
Sleeping in my own bed!
This was the absolute best part of weight-bearing! I was able to move into my own bed! We added an extra mattress on top so that the bed was tall enough for me to get in and out of, but it works! This has been such a game changer for my mental health.
Mom left (all by myself)
On Mother’s day, 9 May, my mom left to go back to States. I had already started walking by then, so she felt more comfortable leaving. I must say, we will definitely miss her and she was an integral part to my recovery.
Alex’s Birthday
As you can tell, Alex and I have birthdays very close together. Although I had accepted spending my birthday at home and on bed rest, I felt bad that Alex would have to as well (for something that wasn’t really his problem haha). Luckily, I am a lot more mobile this week, so we are able to have a couple friends over to celebrate. Alex doesn’t really care about his birthday that much anyway, but it was nice to have a sense of normalcy after the accident (even if I was still using a walking aide and couldn’t drink).
Thank you so much for your support during this time! For more updates on my injury and recovery, check out my Instagram @MorganThroughALens.
I also posted a YouTube video all about getting out of bed, standing, and walking for the first time, which you can check out here:
Do you have any questions about my injury, recovery, or bed rest? Any advice for pelvic fracture recovery? Let me know in the comments!