Vacationing at St. Ag'

 It’s Wednesday morning and again with the priorities … the dogs & cat are fine.  Judi has the canines at her house and Sombra is at home.  She’ll stop at the house and take care of the cat on her way to work and Kasey is going to Jackie’s to play with Kelly.  These two gals have a program worked out and “my kids” are not an area of concern for me.  I can concentrate on the matter at hand.

The Physician Assistant has come in and advised that surgery won’t be until tomorrow evening.  Nothing much to do but wait it out.

Thursday night they took me to pre-op.  The anesthetist stopped by, he looks like he must be at least 14 years old but the nurses tell me he really knows his stuff.  The doctor stops in and tells me what he’s going to do and reassures me that he did it for me before and can do it again.  They wheel me away and next thing you know four and half hours have passed and I’m being very rudely awakened.

Upstairs to the ortho’ ward and back to sleep for the night.  Quarters not quite as snazzy as the previous nights but I have the room to myself and that’s a plus.  The sad thing is that I know some of the staff here from previous visits.  I had never really cared to be a repeat customer.  Now to the business of recovery.  The surgery went well, so I’m told.  They discovered anemia and that means transfusions which will slow the recovery period some but I’m expecting physical therapy to have me on my feet tomorrow, even just to stand for a couple of minutes and we’ll progress from there.

The hospital, any hospital, isn’t quite a vacation venue but St. Agnes is one of the best.  The staff is knowledgeable, caring, compassionate, and available to their patients.  It’s an environment that lends itself to the patient’s comfort and healing.  And a week is ample to take advantage of all it has to offer.

I’m informed that the next step is a rehab’ facility.  Seeing as how I can’t move by myself, let alone walk even with the walker, I guess I have to suck it up and go with the program.  As soon as the insurance authorizes the transfer, the next phase will begin. 

Still with me?  Next post we move to adventures in the Snake Pit. 

Help, I've Fallen ... pt 2

So … I’ve been loaded in the ambulance and transported to St. Agnes Hospital in Fresno.  X-rays have been taken; no easy task for them or me (over the years I’ve discovered that morphine is a very good friend), Fr. Gordon has driven down and is with me.  My granddaughter's also here, her parents are on their way, and the doctor enters …

This is not good news.  I don’t have much bone left in this leg and a small piece gave way and essentially crumbled, taking me down.  The abrupt stop caused the stem of the hip replacement to loosen inside the femur and now everything has to come out and a complete hip replacement, as opposed to a revision, will need to be done.  That stem has been in my femur one month shy of 20 years, this is going to be a real piece of work.  My orthopedic surgeon has been contacted and he will perform the surgery, it’s familiar territory to him as he did the last revision and a couple of reductions on this leg.  I will be admitted to await surgery.  

My calendar is full, I have a lot on my plate, and really don’t have time for this right now.  But then, I also have no choice so here we go … again. 

I’ve been admitted and taken to a room in the new wing to await surgery.  It’s a private room and the staffing allows for better than adequate care.  Those who can stand tell me there’s a great view from my window.  Yeah, well!

The Physician Assistant says they’re trying to get me on the surgical schedule tomorrow or tomorrow evening.  The downside of having an excellent surgeon is that his schedule is tight.  It’s been determined that it’s okay for me to have something to eat up until midnight; it’s almost 11:30.  My daughter-in-law is off to the cafeteria to see what she can get me.

There’s nothing more going to happen tonight.  It’s 10:30 and I’ve sent Fr. Gordon back up the mountain.  I am once again so grateful to him for being with me through all my trials and tribulations.  I don’t know that I’d have accepted the prognosis as calmly had he not been here.  Marlen (my daughter-in-law) is staying the night just in case a space in Dr. Gill’s schedule comes open.  My son, Ed, and granddaughter, Lyndsey have gone home. 

Stay tuned …

"Help, I've Falllen ..."

 It was a Tuesday in April.  I was busy with my volunteering projects, my “kids”- Katie, Kasey, and Sombra.  Places to go, people to see, things to do.  I’d been out and about all morning and had returned home to pick up the dogs and take them to the vet for their checkups.  Life was very good!  In the blink of an eye, it all changed.

 I took a fall.

My bones leave a lot to be desired but I was treating them with great care and caution and they’d been doing their job.  Then a weak bone gave and down I went.  The hip replacement was loosened and a bone in the hip was fractured.  Fortunately, the door was open and it only took about 2 ½ hours for someone to hear me and get help.

Having my priorities in order, while the EMT’s prepared me for transport, I called Judi and asked her to stop by the house on her way home and pick up the dogs, telling her it might possibly be an overnight stay, and would she also please make sure the cat was inside and feed her.    Okay, now I can go down to the city and see what damage has been done.   

As this odyssey continues, I will try to keep everything in my head until I can get it to the computer and then do a series of posts.  They tell me recovery’s going to be a long road.  I’d enjoy the company so come join me as all the king’s horses and all the king's men and I put Humpty Dumpty back together again.