THE HOSPITAL

Day One (Monday, November 8, 2010)

The surgery took about 1 1/2 hours.  I don't remember a thing from the time they wheeled me out of the preparation room until I awoke in my "private" room, and not much after that.  Bill was there, and my leg was in a machine that kept it moving continuously,  and my knee was in an ice wrap attached to a cooler that kept the cold water circulating.  I was in and out of awareness, more out than in.  I had a PCA, an IV, and a catheter, and when I wasn't in the machine that keep the leg moving, both feet were encased in boots that keep the blood circulating.  I wasn't going anywhere.  The hospital offered room service, so I was able to order my meals from a menu, although I had no appetite, and only ate a fraction of what I ordered.  Bill was with me, but I slept most of the time.

Day Two (Tuesday, November 9, 2010)

I slept OK; I don't remember much about the night.  The Femoral block was still blocking.  It was supposed to last 18 hours or so.  My GP came by to see me early, and Dr. Kerina also popped his head in.   The Physical Therapist came in twice:  once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  Ingrid is from Belgium and it took me awhile to stop calling her Bridget.  She massaged the quad, which wasn't too soothing.  It was very sore, but she said the surgeon had cut it; hence the pain.  Then she gave me various exercises to do, which I could manage with her help.  She measured the angles that could be reached and explained the goals.  The instructions are to take the pain meds at least 1/2 hour before she gets there, so once the PT appears on the floor, the staff sort of alerts you. The object is to "stay ahead of the pain."  But I did find a disconnect between the advice given by the PT and the actions of the nursing staff.  I found you must ask for the meds, they will not come in and tell you it is time for your pain meds.  And it is very difficult to keep track when you are out of it.  There are clearly mixed signals being sent.  The nursing staff does ask frequently about your pain level on a scale of one to ten.

Bill arrived early afternoon, but I was not very good company.  I'm sure he enjoyed watching me doze off.  But I enjoyed knowing he was there.  And Val and Dixie stopped in to see me late in the afternoon.

Another dinner from room service.

Day Three (Wednesday, November 10, 2010)

First thing this morning both the catheter and the PCA are disconnected.  So begins the transition to oral pain meds and getting out of bed and into the bathroom.  I took my first walk with the walker, but didn't go far. I was nauseous and feeling very weak.  I hadn't been able to eat much, and I was continuously sick to my stomach, though I didn't throw up.  My morning blood work (which they draw at 4 am) indicated that I needed a transfusion.  (7.9; and normal is 12 or so?).  So they worked that in around my PT.  The first unit would go in after the morning PT and the 2nd unit after the afternoon PT.  It was a slow process, followed by Lasix injected into the IV.  I was told its purpose is to rid the body of the elements of the blood transfusion that are not needed, so it makes you urinate frequently for 4 or 5 hours.  Tomorrow I go home, so it's important to have the blood level where it should be, or I'll be another day in my private room.    I was feeling even sicker after the transfusion, but I did take a few walks down the hallway to try out my new knee.  I was told on Tuesday that the goal was to walk to the nurse's station and back in order to be discharged, so I had acheived that goal.  Now, I just had to be sure the blood is ok tomorrow.  Bill came in the afternoon and I think I was a little more fun to be around, but not much.  I cherry picked from the veggie and side menu for dinner.  No wine though the apple pie wasn't bad.

Day Four (Thursday, November 11, 2010)
 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

What a great anniversary present:  to go home!

Today I go home.  I was told I needed to wait for Dr. Kerina to come by to release me so the plan was I would call Bill once I got the go ahead.  The blood (again, drawn at 4 a.m.) came in fine, so all signs were good  I got the word around ten that I could go home, and  I called bill to come fetch me.  So I was wheeled out of my private suite around noon, and happy to be headed home.