Day Four

 

Flowers from the Conways

Jim has gone to Grace Notes Choir without me.  I am doing well, but not up to that yet.  My friend Peggy came to visit.  Jim had the door open for her so I would not have to go down the steps.  As she was leaving, Dan and Alex called from Hawaii so it was great to do FaceTime with them.

Day Two was a good day with two church services live-streamed.  There was a regular service in the morning and a celebration of Dr. Davis’s 25 years at Nassau Church in the afternoon.  That service was very touching with beautiful music and a powerful sermon that expressed without holding back at all the despair that many of us feel about the political situation in our country right now.  The sermon by Rev. Vernon Boyd was titled “How do you find God in a nightmare?” The answer was to keep praying, to use the gifts God gives us of worship and Scripture, and to remain hopeful.

I was grateful to have no pain but spent the day shivering with cold—due to ice packs or maybe still a reaction to surgery.  Plus we got to watch a great ND women’s basketball game with a win over Boston College.  Hannah Hidalgo was at her best with points, steals, and even rebounds.  

Day Three was harder.  I had no appetite and had to force myself to eat a little. My physical therapist Justin came and did some vitals and put me through a few exercises.  He was concerned about my low oxygen levels and fast heart rate and said that if I was out of breath while resting to go to the ER.  Nooo!  That thought terrified me.  I looked up oxygen levels of 80s and that is  low but he did not send me to the ER at once so I tried not to worry.  He can check them again tomorrow when he comes.  How nice to have home physical therapy paid for by United Health Care for two weeks.  I scheduled outpatient therapy after that with Jennifer again.  

Day Four is definitely better.  I struggled with hip spasms at 1 am and finally decided to take the risk of self-medicating with an old prescription of a muscle relaxer.  That helped and I went to sleep!  If it is as bad again tonight, I will call the doctor’s office to get another prescription unless they tell me it is too much drug interaction with the nine or so medications I am taking now. I know today is better because I was hungry for a bit of lunch and am really looking forward to the chicken soup a friend is bringing for supper.  Yesterday I had little interest in reading but today my mystery book had me in another world for a while.

I have to be patient with myself and be so grateful that I am walking with the walker without pain.  I have a spreadsheet with pen and paper for all the drugs to keep track of them.  I am trying to do my exercises and breath gadget.  Surgery is not a small thing especially when one is my age.  Peggy reminded me that I am no “spring chicken.”  But I tried to avoid it and this was my last resort and maybe I will be mobile by the end of the “year of the hip” on March 3. That is my goal!

Jim came home with a card from Grace Notes Choir and a little bag with muffins and tea from one of my choir mates.  How lovely to be remembered.  And the orange tea is perfect because I am forbidden alcohol while taking Tylenol for the month.  

Day One

 I have had breakfast, I have showered with Jim’s help, and I have taken four, no five drugs.  I woke up several times last night which is not unusual for me  and I even lay awake for a while a couple of times.  But as I did, I felt such peace of mind.  Which is also unusual for me!  I kept thinking that I didn’t have to face surgery.  I made it up our 17 steps.  I didn’t need a catheter or urology appointment.  I was home with my husband.  

I did struggle to get in and out of bed and will ask the physical therapist to go over that with me to see if we can make it easier and less painful.  I do not look forward to the PT session with meeting still another person and going through the exercises.  There should be two weeks of home therapy and then I will try to schedule Jennifer again at 727 State Road for a few weeks.  

Jim will go to get groceries at some point today.  Jeff and Susan are bringing supper and I hope they can join us.  Maybe I can get a brownie mix and put that together because that is always a hit with Jeff at least.  We have laundry to do.  We have done our morning NYT Spelling Bee and Jim will go outside and try to find our weekend NYT paper.  I don’t know what is in store for sports today but there should be something.  

Now just to have more mobility and less pain in my legs—sadly, both of them after whatever went wrong during this surgery to affect the previous one. The PA acted as if that happened often and an x-=ray showed that the first replacement was still in the right place.  She referred to when they saw the bone they have to brace the other leg. I don’t want to think about that too much! So I will have to be patient.  

During the wakeful times last night, I thought about the medical personnel who stood out as kind and competent caregivers.  I thought  of Cassidy in the recovery area who must have needed to act quickly when my blood pressure was perilously low.  I woke up to oxygen tubes in my nose so that must have been an issue too—and I guess that was why I had to spend the night.  I think of Nicole in the transitional room who was so kind—and referred to herself as. a “toe person” because she monitored oxygen on the toe, not the finger.  And then Michael Katsman who somehow became the point person to decide on a plan  for discharge.  He was my hero! And Hina, the social worker, who was so concerned about my getting up the steps and wanted to schedule Medical Transport.  She was overjoyed when I told her that I had contacted my son and he would supervise my getting up those steps—a younger man than my husband of many years.

So…gratitude today.  There is more recovery to be done but I don’t have to dread a surgery again I hope.  Unless the first hip needs a ‘revision” but I will put that out of my mind for now.  

A few hours later:  Page came and did an introduction to my home physical therapy.  She checked my blood pressure, pulse rate, and incision.  She gave me a quick mental check and yes, I remembered three words and knew what day it was and what month it was.  She noted that my ankles were swollen.  That is why we had a hard time getting my shoes on this morning.  She went over my medications.  Next week Justin will come a few times to do the actual therapy although Page put me through a few early exercises.  She also gave me some suggestions to get into bed easier.  I feel very grateful that we can have home physical therapy paid for by United Health Care.  I don’t have to go anywhere for a couple of weeks until we see Dr. Culp again on February 9.  

Jeff and Susan have ordered pizza and will be here around 6.  We have brownies in the oven. We have a load of laundry in the dryer.  Life is good!

Home Again—Hooray!

There were definitely ups and downs in the last 24 hours with mixed signals coming from various medical personnel. 

I was awake with a procedure from most of 2 am to 3 am and then just as I  began to doze,  the phlebotomist came at 3::17.  I fell asleep lightly and the aide came for vitals at 4 am.  My best sleep was 5:30 to 7:30 when I could hear voices in the parking lot as folks came into their early shifts.

To my dismay I began to have some severe pain today in my “good hip” that was the successful surgery in May.  The PA told me that this is typical—when they are sawing the bone for the surgery, the opposite hip gets moved around some.  She assured me that they had x-rayed it in surgery and it had not slipped out of place.  Maybe, but it sure hurt today.  Enough that the physical therapist wanted me to get Medical Transport to help with our 17 steps.  I agreed to let the social worker check it out but just didn’t want to get anyone else involved— it was taking me up on a stretcher with two men. At an exorbitant price that we could afford but I wasn’t happy about it.    She wanted me to have two men there for helping me and was very unhappy about my husband being the one to assist me at his age.  I did email Jeff and Susan and Jeff was able to get off from work and meet us at home—just to stand behind me if I fell.  Which I did not do, but I went up the steps slowly and with some pain—far worse than last May 2.  That was discouraging to me.

The nurse in the recovery room told me that my blood pressure was down to 70/40 after the surgery which is very scary for someone who usually has high blood pressure.  Scary for anyone really.  She said she put me upside down which just meant tilting the bed.  I guess it worked because my blood pressure returned to normal. I don’t like to think about that moment but I was not aware of it until after the fact. 

However, there were other issues with spinal anesthesia and how it shuts down the urinary system.  I won’t  go into detail but that was looking like a real difficulty in letting me go home. The PA from Princeton Orthopedic` said she would check with Dr. Culp but the social worker said the hospital doctors were in charge.  One orthopedic nurse practitioner seemed to be the liaison between both units and he said he would be the “man with a plan” as I put it to him.  And he was and OKed my discharge. 

Jeff met us at our garage and stood behind Jim as we walked slowly up the steps.  And now we are home and so glad to be home.  I have 33 days of pills to distribute.  A spread sheet helped me keep track of it in May and I will do that again. No alcohol while taking 3 Tylenol 3 times a day. That was overkill the last time and I doubt I will do that much again.  I hope to avoid the Oxycontin again.  

I prayed for a calm spirit during the night but it did not come easily.  Now I am just so thankful that the surgery is over and hope and pray that is the end of any surgeries for either one of us for a good long time.  

Waiting

All this going on and on about my surgery is TMI (too much information!) for my few readers but as my primary purpose of this blog is a record of our lives with photos—and the yearly book that I make from it—it is worth recording.

One new friend emailed this morning that “the wait is the hard part” and I think that is true.  The recovery was tedious with all the pills for 30 days and all the exercises but I did not find it stressful.   I find the anticipation of surgery again quite stressful.  

But as I opened my email this morning and saw several notes from friends who are praying for me I was grateful.  The Jesuits do an examen at the end of the day asking how was God present in one’s day and I thought this is how God is present in my life right now—through the friends who are praying for me and letting me know they care about me.  I am very grateful.  

Yesterday we picked up all the meds at CVS that I will be taking for 30 days.  I turned down the OxyContin because I still have some unopened from the last surgery.  I hope I can keep that bottle unopened!  Today we have to wash the sheets and I have to pack.  We have to use these yucky disinfectant wipes—six of them for six zones of my body.  I will get a call about the time of surgery this afternoon.  I don’t expect I will sleep much tonight—I didn’t last time but they will put me out with their anesthetic in the morning so I’ll sleep then. 

Our church staff prayed for me to have a calm spirit and that does not come easily for me.  They also prayed for loving and caring nurses and doctors.  A hard part of the last surgery was entering the operating room which was so very cold and bright and there were no faces to see or kind words to hear.  Maybe the amnesiac drug they give you makes that my memory but I thought of it as a kind of hell.  I relived that moment too often later.  This time I will just accept it and go on.  Most of the nurses were kind but there was one who was very abrupt with me and with her aide.  I hope not to see her again!  For the surgeon, I am one of maybe six surgeries in a row.  How can anyone be a surgeon, I wonder!  But on his pre-op video, it is clear he feels it is his calling and he is pleased with how he can make a difference in people’s lives with replacements.  So I have to accept that too—that I am just number who knows what in his day! 

In 24 hours, the surgery should be over.  I was hoping to come home the same day and one PA seemed to agree but now I doubt that will happen.  I slept maybe 30 minutes of the night in the hospital the first times. So by Friday at least at supper time, I hope to be home and recovering. And maybe my next blog will be rejoicing in being home again!  

———One of my worries was waiting for the call scheduling the time of surgery and what if I didn’t get that call?  But I did and it is set for 12:40 which means getting to the hospital at 10:40.  That probably means I will not get home the same day but it also means we can travel in daylight.  It is a long time fasting but that won’t bother me.  I can drink water until 8:40 and even coffee!  Which I probably won’t do.  It’s 1:40 right now—maybe in 24 hours I will be in the recovery room and asking to go home!  (Well, that didn’t happen.  The surgeries were running late and we didn’t even get into the OR until 2:30.  I think that meant it was too late for the required OT and PT people to meet with me and there were also some issues with oxygen levels.  So an overnight stay was required.  

Leave of Absence

 Maybe my leave of absence started when we decided to do livestream church for many weeks now.  But today was a significant day in that I made up a grocery list and Jim went alone to Trader Joe’s to shop.  The last several weeks have been hard on me even with pushing a shopping cart.  

I am not planning to go to Grace Notes Choir on Tuesday not only because it is difficult to manage the walking but also because I don’t want to get exposed to any germs a week before surgery.

We looked over the medication list from pre-admission testing to see what I can or cannot take the morning of surgery. I fretted in the middle of the night as to whether we had that information.  Jim looked it over and we did.  I had overlooked it. 

  We will watch the required video later today but can skip the class according to Michelle, Dr. Culp’s scheduler, who sets up all the appointments and sends the video by text message. 

I worry about not getting the phone call from the hospital the previous night telling me the time of surgery.  Last time they called early in the 12-6 time slot and I was reassured.  It is not totally clear what to do if I don’t get a call but there are a few numbers on the forms.  I guess I can always call the main hospital number and they could get me to the surgery schedule.  Just a worry. Along with all the other worries. Last time we practiced finding the entrance and parking lot but this time that is familiar to us. 

Monday is another pre-op appointment in which I will sign my life away.  I will ask if I can go home the day of surgery.  Last time they said No, because I had seen a specialist—the cardiologist.  This time I did not see any specialists.  I would love to get home to sleep and to get to the bathroom with Jim’s help and not have to call any nurses.  As long as there are no complications.  And I can walk with the walker and get up the practice steps.  Maybe they will say at my age No Way!

I have to do this but I dread it—every step of the process.  I need to have courage!  “What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in thee.”  A text memorized in my childhood has become a mantra! People have asked me if I feel less stress this time having been through it once before. The answer is No.  I know the things that are difficult and hope they will not be so this time.  

January 25  The Monday appointment with Sierra was very helpful.  She answered my questions and even welcomed my questions.  She wrote down that I wanted to go home the same day as surgery.  If that is possible, that would be wonderful.  She told me to tell the nurses that I had no problems with urinary retention when I got home.  So maybe I can convince them that is not a problem either.  

I have more pain today after having to stop the Aleve.  That must make a difference and it helps me to accept my need for this surgery.  

We are happily at home with a winter storm outside—lots of snow and wind.  The church service was pre-recorded for this morning so no one had to get out on the roads.  Susan is in NC with her dad remembering her mother’s 80th birthday yesterday and mourning her mother. Her trip home may be delayed a day or so.  She may have to teach her first class by Zoom.  Dan and Alex are in Hawaii perilously close to a volcanic eruption.  Jeff is shoveling out his driveway in stages.  And we are safely at home listening to the New Dawn workers clean off our apartment access and sidewalks.  

January 26  Another PA called from the doctor’s office about prescriptions and said you are staying overnight and I said NOOO!  He will talk to the surgeon and let me know if I can come home the day of surgery.  I was very sad and stressed because that was a relief for me and now it may not be happening.  I got the prescription straightened out because I never took OxyContin last time and it is still unopened in the closet—I don’t need more!  I understand their being careful about opioids.  And so I wait for a call from the doctor.  Which I may not get.  I can’t recall if he said he would call if I could not go home or if I could.  It’s all so important to me and I am just one of many for them—six surgeries for Dr. Culp on the day of my surgery the last time.  And that was not by far his record in one day.  

Dinner at Stonebridge

 A friend from church invited us to join him for dinner last night at Stonebridge.  He arranged for a table of six.  We met him in the lobby at 5:30 for a 5:45 seating.  A table seemed to be reserved for us and a bottle of wine showed up—whether he brought it in or it was ordered, we don’t know.  But we were happy to see that wine could be a part of a nice meal.

There were menus at each place and the choices were extensive.  You could choose from three or four entrees, four salads, three sides, and desserts.  If none of those seemed right, you could choose from the other side of the menu of always available items like a hamburger, French fries, and I’m not sure what else.  There were points listed for each item—14 for entrees, 3 each for salads and desserts.  A waitress took our orders on her iPad.  A trainee waitress was shadowing her.  You pay for a set number of points each month.  

Our host had invited three others to join us—all from our church.  We knew one of the guests and were happy to get acquainted with the other two.  Conversation was easy and fun.  The food was good and how they can prepare so many options so quickly is a mystery to me.  

The room was not full.  They said Thursday was often emptier than other days and that a men’s luncheon probably discouraged some from a big meal again.  I don’t know if you have to reserve a table with others or just call in that you will be there that evening.  As empty as it was, I guess you could come in and start a table just with the two of us.  Another option is ordering in the cafe—and maybe taking it to your room.  We do still have questions!  

It was so kind of our host to plan and coordinate a lovely dinner and we found it reassuring to get a glimpse of how dinner works.  It definitely will be an adventure if and when our name comes up for a place.

Way to Go, Hannah

 I’ve blogged before about Hannah Hidalgo but she is bringing us joy again this year.  That is Jim’s phrase as he sits at the end of the sofa, remote in hand, “Way to go, Hannah!” He chuckles with delight.  One of the commentators said “She is just annoying.”  And she is.  Her hand gets in the way of any dribbler and she succeeds in another steal of the ball.  And then she tears down the floor ahead of everyone else and puts the ball in the hoop.  Sadly, we have seen the ND team lose their energy in the last quarter because there are only eight players suited up to play these days.  They lost two great players from last year,  one to the WNBA and one sadly to the transfer portal—we don’t know why.  But there are other players doing their part—Prosper bringing down rebounds and Moore shooting three pointers and DeJesus, also a good shooter.  

The arena is full of fans.  The women bring out a bigger crowd than the men including many older fans, not just students.  The older crowd are all decked out in their green shirts.  A few years ago, when we were in South Bend, I went to a game alone, got a great single ticket at half-court and saw that I was definitely not one of the oldest fans there.  

Part of the fun is watching Hannah’s fun in playing.  She smiles often; we know when she is pleased with a successful move.  I hope they can keep this up in the post-season and get a good long ways into the NCAA tournament.  I want to keep watching them!