Recovering

Here it is almost a month since I last posted. I got good news from the doc on Monday. I can begin PT in earnest now. Did I mention before that a bone in my arm fractured with the surgery? I have a metal plate to take care of the problem, but had to wait until now to make sure everything was mending well. My scar is longer than expected but Art has been massaging it and says he thinks it will pretty much fade away. It's been a longer haul than I thought to have had. My friend Mary Ann had pretty much the same thing happen with her hip replacement. It is so rare--strange to have two of us, different doctors, different hospitals, a week apart with our surgery have the same complication! The other day I had a mental image of how shocking it must be for a doctor to be in process with a surgery and have that happen. Glad he is very experienced and could solve it while I was still under anesthetic. Speaking of which, I was so out of it that I temporarily forgot what the doctor and Art told me the evening after my surgery. I woke the next morning thinking that it was over, I didn't have much pain and at least I hadn't had happen what happened to Mary Ann. Duh! A few seconds later, I said to myself, 'Wait a minute! It did happen to me, too!' Also, I got testy with Art because he kept asking me if I wanted more jello or pudding. I told him I couldn't make any decisions. Crazy what anesthetic does to you! Anyway, Art and I have worked hard (and carefully) with range of motion and now I can add 4 more exercises. The PT folks are professional and kind. I get to decide when enough is enough so pain is not too bad. After we get good range then I will work on the muscles. Another opportunity to practice the process of becoming more patient. Not what I'd planned, but there it is.

The Process Continues...

Thanks to my blogging friends I got several good laughs reading your posts! I'm doing fine with recovery but the last couple of days have slipped into a bluesy time. I think it has to do with having to wait a couple extra weeks before beginning PT. And why do folks need to tell you horror stories when you already know it isn't easy? Guess I might better ask myself why am I letting my focus stay on the worst outcomes? I've done PT before. Have met good people. I am doing well with hand and forearm exercises. BTW: I love my google tip for setting up a recliner station the first two weeks. Even sleeping there. It felt very comfortable and safe. It helped that we bought a new Lazy-boy which fit me perfectly. Maybe it will be a good thing to try google again on tips for getting through the PT!!! Love the suggestion from Marilee to take photos with me as a reminder of why I am doing it. Today it is sunny. Maybe a short excursion or something?

Where did the summer go?

Where to begin...my hip surgery was incredibly successful! The recovery has been fast, the pain minimal, our hospital, rehab and home care people have been easy to work with and I now walk without walker or cane--for the most part. (Cane is a security thing in case I walk further than I thought and still have to get back home!) At my visit to the Dr. he said the x-ray indicates that the hip is "perfect" and I have no reason to think otherwise. We have an excellent Dr. and love his nurse, Portia. All in all, I had a good experience. I went to church last Sunday--Art had a cold so he stayed home. I did notice that I had a slightly harder time following lessons and talks. Just not as alert as usual, which I attribute to the residual effects of anesthetic. Now it's time to continue to walk and use stationary bike, slowly building up to more and more time. I don't know if you have seen the TV ad with the coach of Duke University. The particular brand of prosthetics he touts is the same brand used for Art and I. So I rather like watching the ad. For some time, Art has wanted to replace our driveway and extend it over to the fence so that we could have the cars side by side rather than rearranging them all the time. We just had it done last week. Midvale City will put in sidewalk and gutter for us in October, although we will pay half of the cost. Our tomatoes and squash planted for us by our next-door neighbors are doing well. We both cried when we saw that someone had put them in for us, as early in the summer we could not have done it for ourselves. Good neighbors are invaluable! I don't know why I haven't updated before now. Somehow, the day to day things were just hard enough that I didn't have the inclination to add one more thing, I guess. Anyway it's good to be back--and even on a new computer!

Off the Roller Coaster?

I had no idea what would be waiting for me when I got to rehab last Saturday morning. Art was looking sort of lost and the people asked me if he was usually this confused. No, he isn't. Turns out he had a not too uncommon UTI probably from the use of catheter in the hospital. I was scared especially since his reactions reminded me of the stroke he had last year. Fortunately, it was not so. It also is not uncommon with this infection, particularly in older men, for confused beliefs and perceptions to occur. He is doing well now, thank goodness. But he lost a day from memory--fortunately for him, I guess--and I got to see how concerned the workers at Health South can be. I am glad, now, that we got our third choice rehab facility. He had a fever as high as 103.2 before a high-powered group of antibiotics began working. Because he was dehydrated, his veins collapsed and they had to call in a specialist to insert a Pik-line (sp?)to get the antibiotics into his bloodstream. Pretty scary, all the way around. It took a few more days before he was himself again. Now, at last, he is making the nurses, PT and OT folks and aides laugh with his sense of humor. Sarah, his aide has been terrific. He recognizes the staff as friends and no longer feels betrayed. Funny, though. I wouldn't trade the experiences we have had together and with our family for anything. And I sincerely hope that my operation proceeds with fewer gliches. The odds are in my favor, they tell me. Perhaps soon we will know when he will be coming home. He's anxious to get here. With all he has had to endure, the blessing? He has no pain at all with the new hip and the incision. I have taken a few photos but again, I lack a step or two in being able to post new ones here. That inexperience too will pass. And each "tomorrow is better than today."