Sunday, September 13, 2009

Bucket Tear


On Thursday, September 10th I had my 3'rd knee surgery!!! This time I was getting my Meniscus repaired which I tore while at work back in April. I was pregnant with Miss Brooke at the time so I was not able to get an MRI to see exactly what I had done to the knee. About a week after I had Brooke I went in for my MRI and they concluded after review that I had a Bucket Tear on my Meniscus as well as some other cartilage damage. My Meniscus had torn in a way that there was a flap of Meniscus flipped over and out of place. The doctor was concerned that since I had been walking around for 5 months with this flap hanging in the wrong spot that he would not be able to salvage it. In that case they would just need to cut the flap off and I would be missing that part of my Meniscus which would cause arthritis earlier in my knee and more knee pain on a regular basis. He wanted to do the surgery as soon as possible to increase the chances he would have of saving my Meniscus flap. So..... 8 weeks after having Brooke I headed in for my knee surgery. I was not too nervous about the surgery aspect of the day but of the result being that they could not salvage the material. I was also nervous about how I would be able to still care for my little girl while recovering from knee surgery. I was sad as well because I would have to pump and dump my breast milk and have Brooke on a bottle for a good 2 days. Brooke has already been having issues with the desire to breast feed so this made me nervous that the bottle feeding for a few days would make her not ever want to go back to the breast.
Well the results are in:
~The doctor said that the surgery went very well! They were able to salvage my Meniscus and put everything back into place which is a GREAT THING!!!! The recovery is going to be a bit longer than if they had just cut off the Meniscus but the long term result will be SO MUCH BETTER!!!
~I came out of my anesthesia quickly and without getting sick at all.
~The doctor has ordered that I put NO pressure on my leg at all for right now and I go back in on Monday for my post op appointment where I will learn more about the recovery and what not's!
~I looked at the incision points last night and they are not bad at all. They went in in 3 different spots and I think that the incisions are pretty small. SO yeah, I have 3 more scars to add to my leg :)
~My family has been taking wonderful care of both Brooke and I, Brooke is in no way being neglected so that makes me feel good.
~The bad news is that Brooke is totally refusing to go back to the breast. I have also learned by pumping and dumping that my breasts have not been producing nearly as much milk as they need to be producing. I think part of the reason she has been preferring a bottle to my breast is that she can get full from a bottle but hardly gets anything from my breast. I did not realise how little milk my body was producing. So I am pumping a few times a day to make sure she still gets some breast milk and feeding that to her along with formula to fill her up. The situation is in no way what I ever wanted, but I am trying to keep a positive attitude and do what I can for my little girl. I wanted to breast feed her up until she was 1 year old or walking but it looks like she will be a bottle baby with some pumped milk as well as formula. I hope that I can do better with my next child :(
Here are some pictures we have taken in the last couple of days. I just got knee surgery so that is why I look SO BAD!!!
The day of the surgery!

My baby girl and I!

Makenna, Brooke, and I all hanging out!

Cuddle time!

I am shocked that with so much love from little ones and them being so stinkin close to my leg, that I have not gotten further damaged :) The kids are being very gentle and Makenna is quite interested in the idea that my knee got cut open to get fixed on the inside. She wants to see the cut's SO BADLY!

15 comments:

The Hansons said...

im so glad that everything went well! I cant still cant believe all the wear and tear your ppor knee has gone through! I love how concerned you are for Brooke and her feeding habits, you are the best mom ever, i hope im just as good as you are! happy recovery! dont let all those kids kill you!

The Woot-en Clan said...

Sarah,
I hope you are feeling better and get lots of rest. With the nursing if you are not producing enough milk you can take Fenugreek. It's a natural supplement that you can buy at Henrys and it totally increases your milk supply. I hope things get better :) If you really want to continue breast-feeding go see a lactation con. they are great or you go the medela website and you can email a LC and get advice. Good luck and recover quickly!

Liz said...

I'm glad things went so well for your surgery.
I had the same problem with breastfeeding with Brayden. I could never get my body to produce enough milk to satisfy him. It bothered me because I never had that problem with Chase. In fact, with Chase, I had to opposite problem. I produced WAAAAAY to much milk. Brayden finally gave up breastfeeding on his own at 5 months when he was introduced to solid food. Don't be too hard on yourself because you've already gotten her to two months on breast milk which is AWESOME!! Good job, mom!!

Erin said...

Dang girl you are a tough one! Knee surgery so soon after having a baby! You are incredibly strong! Glad to hear the results were good! Heal well!!!

And don't beat yourself about breastfeeding. Autumn was allergic to so much that even though I produced like a cow, she couldn't have any of it! She was a bottle baby and hey it made it easier to leave her with my mom for date nites and stuff!!

Heather said...

I'm glad the surgery went so well and that he was able to save it!! YAY! I've been meaning to tell you to look into nipple shields if you haven't already, I've heard that it makes it easier for babies to breast feed. Sorry it has been so rough! Try not to stress about it though! Let me know if you need anything!

The Picketts said...

Hey! I'm glad things have gone pretty well for you. Just a quick note-I know a way to get Brooke to get back on breast if you want! Email me and I'll give you my advice. We had problems with Gracie at the beginning and she was on a bottle for a week but she went back on breast! It's possible! Just let me know and I'll be happy to share!

melissa gargalis said...

You are AMAZING. I can only imagine having to go in for surgery after just barely recovering from labor & delivery and a new babe to top it off. Hang in there lady. If you need anything, let me know.

The Gray Family said...

I'm so glad things went well! And I'm glad you have your family there to take care of you and that cute little girl. When are you coming back home? Let me know if you need anything...I'd love to bring dinner by sometime! As for the nursing....do what you can. I had to start supplementing formula with Brendan when he was a few months old because he just wasn't getting enough (signs of things to come with him I guess!), and once I started formula part time my supply went downhill. I cried and felt like a failure, but I did the best I could do and that's ALL you can do! He's still alive :>)

Philip and Melissa said...

Girl I am soooo sorry you had that surgery!!!!!! I've never had surgery but i do know someone that has :-) and i don't envy you at all. i wish i could be there to help you!!!!

Amanda said...

You rock girl! Really, I am amazed at your attitude and how well you are doing for having such a tiny one and going through so much in these first couple of months.
And yes, Makenna was saying today she wants the doctors to cut her arm open with a knife. Nice one Sarah :)
Hang in there!

Danny and Laura said...

Glad to hear that the surgery went well. I recovered pretty quick from my knee surgery, but mine didn't sound as bad as yours. Don't be so down about the breastfeeding. I did the same thing with both Alyssa and Ashley and Alyssa breastfed until she was 1 and Ashley only did exclusively for a couple of weeks(she completely stopped by 4 months). Sometimes it's just the baby. There are some perks to the bottle - Kip gets to feed her.

Kelly said...

i'm glad the surgery went well. yay for you! looks like brooke is gettin lots of love! so sweet!

Sundbergs said...

Glad that the surgery went well, but that is hard having to do that so soon after having a baby. Sorry about nursing , that would be upsetting. Most important is that you are a healthy momma. hang in there.

Dacia said...

That's quite the recovery with so many little ones. Cute pictures! So glad that everything went well with the surgery.

Breastfeeding is always different for everyone and for every child. I finally realized by #3 that I don't produce enough and I'm okay with that. The most important thing is that our children are fed! You're a great mom!

Temescal Canyon Relief Society said...

Read all that you can on breastfeeding and then trust your instincts. :) you'll do what's best for you and your baby Brooke. So glad that your knee was salvageable. Good luck in recouping.