Settling into a routine... kinda!

I am getting back into a routine.  I have been trying to figure out what I can and cannot do here in the house.  I cannot do more than I expected but I can also do more than I thought I could.  I know that sounds odd, but the house is giving me limitations because of it's size.  The 100 year old design is not always wide enough for the furniture and the walker I am now using to keep from falling.  But, by the same token, there are places where I can go without the walker because I have enough stuff to grab onto that I can move without the walker.  I just have to take careful, thoughtful steps to prevent becoming unbalanced and stumbling so what used to take a few seconds now takes a few minutes.  But I am in no hurry, so it works for me.

Of course, with the holidays and Brian coming to visit on the 21st, I am still not quite sure what my normal is actually going to be like.  He has been such a comfort to me.  He has cooked some wonderful meals... turkey dinner then made turkey broth from the carcass and then soup.  Then we had pork roast, sauerkraut and pierogi for Christmas Eve.  He stops back by tomorrow for a prime rib dinner.  I am going to be so spoiled by his cooking that it will be hard to start cooking myself.  But I should have a good week of leftovers when he leaves.... if not more.

He has also been a trooper about moving things around so I can have an easier walk around the house.  He cleared the dining table from all of my sewing stuff and reloaded it when the company had gone.  He has great fears about having to clear out the house when I die, but hopefully I will have plenty of time to get rid of the excess that I have from the consolidation of my summer weekend home and the main home here.  I feel I am making progress, but I am sure it is slower than he would like to see.

I started this several days ago.  Brian has come back, prime rib cooked perfectly and shared with friends and he has returned to Minneapolis.

The routine is getting settled and preparing to change at the same time.  I have a lovely Physical Therapist whose name is Gerry.  He pops in three days a week.  He works my poor leg with exercises and massages and yet, we only seem to be able to get a consistent 75 degree bend.  I feel like I have reached a plateau, just as one does with a diet.  I am a bit more flexible in the morning and then by the time I get breakfast fixed and getting dressed, etc. I can already feel the knee itself getting tight.  It is some minor swelling, but it prevents it from bending.  I am sure that it is a matter of time before the swelling stops, but for now it is frustrating.

Gerry seems to think that I will be better served by getting to a Physical Therapy facility where they have machines and therapists with alternative techniques.  I agree with him.  I have sent in my paperwork to become a registered member of Rover Transportation.  It is a small bus/van service that will take seniors to doctors/therapy/hospitals/grocery etc for $.75 one way within Chester County.  This will allow me to schedule therapy at the new facility about 5 miles from here and pay under $5.00 per week for the trips.  Now I need to get in touch with the medical center to set up the appointments and then the doctor to have the script sent for the change from home therapy to outpatient.  I am gearing myself to have that ready for next week.

So, routine and yet always changing.  These are the days when I wonder why I did this surgery.  But even the worst pain today and fighting to get the bending better is better than the pain I was having before I had the surgery.  I am guessing I am just wanting things to go faster.  Patience is the key.  I just need to keep plugging along.  It will happen and this will all be part of a fuzzy haze of discomfort when I look back.

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your patience.  The transition to being home has been trying.

Actually getting here was not that hard.  Marji and Danny arrived at Ephrata Manor at 1:00 PM on Thursday morning.  All day long, the nurses and staff had come by and said farewell.  I signed lots of papers and they gave me medication for the rest of Thursday and Friday.

Danny loaded up the van and I was finally heading back to my home.  Such a wonderful feeling to be out of the regulated environment and into my own control.

We got the water on, the heat kicked up and turned on the hot water heater and water softener.  I realized that my little house is smaller than I imagined it was.  Me and the walker kept running into things on the floor.  The little throw rungs get in the way and the hallway to the bath and bed and office ... well, I spend more time lifting the walker than walking, but I will adapt.

Marji and Danny hung around until the water was hot enough for me to get in the shower.  They wanted to make sure I was not alone for that.  It was the first shower since going to the hospital.  Let us just say that I have never felt anything so wonderful!  Water flowing from the shower head, down over the head, shoulders, body and legs.  Heaven in the bathroom.  I had difficulty getting into the shower but out much easier. (I have since figured out an easy entry and exit that is safe for me!)

Marji and Danny finally headed home (save for a stop for Danny's Deer... ask him about that for the full story) and I began living on my own.... again.

I have made mistakes... dropped the walker on my good foot (pain, knot, will be black & blue) and still figuring out how to carry things with the walker.  But hopefully the walker will be short lived and I will be on more sure footing with my new knee and all of this behind me.

Prayers appreciated.

Gone.... a gap or two.... but fine

The staples came out today.

The young lady said it would be a small tug, like a bee sting.  I have not had a bee sting in a long time, but I remember it hurting.

Well, it hurt.  Not badly, but it hurt.  I had to stop her about halfway.

But they are gone.

Now, please note the small area where the connection does not seem completely sealed.  It is not.  And after I took this, it opened up some more.  I asked and was told it was fine.  The healing is happening from the inside out.  BUT to make me feel better, I got some steri-strips put in a couple of places to make the scar more even.

Haven't been to therapy yet, but soon.  Then home tomorrow!

Only One More Night .... Yippee!

I have been cleared to go home, alone, tomorrow.  It can not come fast enough.

It is 7:00 AM in the morning on December 18th.  I woke up on my own and went into the bathroom to pee and to scrub my body.  Came back to my side of the room and dressed.  The temp outside says 28 degrees, but I am in shorts?  Why, you might ask...., well I will be heading to my surgeon's office to have the 29 staples removed from my knee.  Another appointment that cannot come too soon.  Therapy has been going well, but bending the knee is painful, more from the staples pulling.  I am looking forward to therapy this afternoon to see if it really makes a difference.

I will be packing my stuff the rest of the night.  Marji and Danny are coming up to pick me up at 1:00 PM.  Gives us time to wake up and move, but I want to be ready as soon as they come.

Once home, I will have Thursday evening, all day Friday and half day Saturday to figure out what I need to adjust to do this on my own  with a walker.  That way Brian, who arrives in Philly close to noon, will be able to help me make the adjustments.

I will be having therapy at home until I can drive and then probably still at the new center in Parkesburg.  Those arrangements are being made today.

So, I will be home soon, prayers answered and progress continues.  Be ready, friends, I will be in need of rides and shopping over the next 4 weeks.  I will be calling!  And thanks for the offers.

I am ready for a jail break.....

The process has begun.  Discussions have begun to get the steps moving forward to get away from Ephrata Manor and be back on my own at home.  I am not sure that the powers-that-be are quite ready to have me out of here before Christmas, but I have news for them.  I am aiming for Thursday, with a drop-dead day of Friday.

The idea of coming here was that I was not quite ready to live on my own directly from the hospital.  I would have needed someone to stay at the house for several days and there was just not anyone around who could come and live with me and provide me with assistance getting in and out of bed, chairs and toilets.  So I came here, to Ephrata Manor, to become better able to take care of myself.  I am now officially independent here in the nursing home.  I can walk the halls, go to the bathroom alone, bathe myself from my little tub, eat what I want.... independent!  So, I figure I can be independent at home just as easily as here.

Besides, I am ready to be in my own bed, no roommate who reads all night long with lights on.  I do not want to hear cat fights in the hallway between women who have differing opinions. I do not want to hear wailing of a resident who wants to be home and cannot understand the dramatic health change that brought him hear.

I am ready to be at home.

So I will give then a chance to go through the motions and paperwork.  But come Friday, I may be calling on some of my more adventurous friends to come and pack my up and take me home.  Brian flies in from Minneapolis on the 21st and I plan to be home to spend time with him!!!

So friends... be ready to break me out of jail!!!

A quick view before they are gone

Fast post.  Long weekend at Ephrata Manor.  I guess I am just ready to be back at home and on my own.  But just imagine being in a place where all of the people in charge want to do every single thing for you.  I have come close to whacking some of these helpful angels across their knuckles to say let me unwrap bowl of peaches by myself!  They are no used to anyone who is completely independent!

Anyway, I took a couple of pics this morning with my cell of the staples in my knee.  I have a 9:30 AM appointment in Lancaster on Wednesday to have them removed.  Then, with in hours, or a day at the most... with or without the help of Ephrata Manor, I will be home.

More tomorrow:

Here is the knee..... you are

Wow.... I can now pee without help!!!

Yesterday I gained my independence!  I was placed on independent status.  I can get up and out of the bed, stand up, move around, get dressed, walk the halls, etc. without having to wait for someone to come watch me.

Therapy continues to push my knee to new heights.  I was placed on the NuStep machine.  This is a recumbent type bike/stepper that works the legs and knees without strain on the back.  I have it really loosening up the knee joint.  I need to get the knee to bend.  I have not used the knee correctly for.... well, years.  They measured my degree of bending when I first started.  It was close to 65 degrees of bend.  After 10 minutes of bending and pushing, I was at 75 degrees.  A second round in the afternoon and I could push the knee to almost 80 degrees.  If I can keep this up, I may be a normal person by spring.  Lots of work ahead.

Dave Gehman came in just before supper.  He is the pastor of my church and has visited three times in the short time I have been here.  He asked what I needed and my concerns about the snow and my driveway were discussed.  I usually plow my driveway.  But not usually this early.  I never even thought about plowable snow.

The process to get me home is this... staples out on the 18th, home evaluation where I go with an occupational therapist who looks for issues... so we have to be able to get into the driveway and then get out of the vehicle and into the house without falling.  Then, I am cleared to go home!  Brian comes home on the 21st, so I need to be home then!

So the church has been put on call to keep my driveway usable.  I am so grateful.

Sheila came by to visit.  The weather and life in general have kept her from visiting often.  But I have been busy with therapy that by evening I am ready to chill.

I am really getting ready to be at home.  I have stories about things inside a nursing home.  I will share them later.

Yes, I am still around.....

Hey, you should really walk in my shoes for a few days.  Wow, do they keep you busy!  And it is especially hard to do  when you have to continually wait for someone to 'assist' you.  I am still listed on the book as needing a walker with 1 assist.  Basically this means if I want to get up from my chair or up off the bed, I have to ring for someone and then wait until a Nurse, CNA or other properly authorized person comes in to 'watch' me get up and go to the bathroom, changes clothes or anything else that I have been able to do since I was 2 years old.  I understand that with this newly implanted joint that I am a 'risk to fall'..... but come on, let's be real.  I believe that may change sometime today as the paperwork has been sent up from therapy that will allow me to be more independent.

Honestly, there is one nurse or aide who I have to see come through the door when I buzz.  She hovers, she grabs my arm to help lift, she prefers me to be in a wheel chair so she can whisk me off to the dining room and when I ask her to let me please do it myself, she is genuinely surprised that I am so independent.  Freaky!!!

The meals have been OK.  Not on the same level as at LGH, but OK.  I did finally ask for some yogurt with a couple of my meals and they sent a fruited one last night that was yummy!

My sweet little roommate has been a pain in the butt the last few days.  She has been complaining about most things, refuses to allow certain women to assist her and has stayed up reading the last several nights.  I did not think lights from her side would bother me, but every couple of hours I was awake.

Therapy is going strong.  I have occupational therapy.  This is where they teach you how to survive living in your house without major damage to your house or yourself.  They also build up your  upper body muscles so you can use the walker and not kill your shoulders.  Physical Therapy is brutal.  I have been walking (with the aid of a walker) to therapy.  Then I am given tasks, in groups of 30, to do.  I am surprised how quickly things come back.  There is an area of my knee that is still painful.  It is not a sharp pain, but more of a dull ache.  It feels like I have an ACE bandage tightened around my knee and where the knee bends in the back, it feels like the bandage has wrinkled and gotten tighter.  I know the doctor had to do some muscle tweaking as my knee was in a permanently bent position, so muscles back there were shorter than they should.  I am assuming that this will pass as soon as I get them stretched back out to size.  My body is still not trusting the new knee, but everyday gets better.

My day is basically getting up, breakfast in bed, cleanup, dress and go to either occupational therapy or physical therapy.  After morning sessions, I come back to my room.  Yesterday I curled up and slept hard for several hours.  When I woke up, my dinner had arrived and was waiting on my dresser.  I ate and went back to therapy.  I was still working as the therapists began heading home for the day.

Back to my room for supper in bed.  I really cannot do food in the dining area.  I am the youngest at 66 years old.  Dinner does not start being served until 5:00 PM, but the nurses begin placing folks at tables around 4:30 PM.  It is a quiet bunch, 1/3 are sleeping, 1/3 are watching them prepare food and the other 1/3 are crying to go home.  NOT my idea of fun dinner companionship.  So I have them bring trays to my room.  It is much more like I am at home, TV on and my dinner in my lap.

Yesterday I got a vase of flowers from my church family.  I was quite touched.  Nothing fancy, some lovely red carnations, but it makes me smile just to look at them.  No visitors as the two snow storms have changed how everyone feels about driving at night.  My concern now is that since the snow was not plowed out of my driveway and it has now turned cold, I have an ice rink where vehicles will need to be when I am released to go home.  I have seen the front of my house and the driveway in years past when it did not get plowed and became a frozen pond.  Marji says I am not to be concerned, but I am.  I could be doing all of this therapy only to find myself injured on the first step out of the vehicle.  I know my driveway from past experience... I am scared.

So, after a good night last night, I am up, I am waiting for some breakfast and then waiting for the process to begin over again.

Thanks to everyone who has called or visited.  It has help make this time go much faster.

Life in a Nursing Home.....!

First I want to explain to you  who are new to my blog, I do not post detailed information on Facebook.  Too many evil people in the world and putting details there like I am not living in my home right now invites the seedier among us to figure out where I live and help themselves to some of my nifty stuff.  So no Facebook posts while I go thought this rehab and recovery.

Yesterday was a day of amazing visits.  When you are doing rehab in a nursing home that is a good 45 minute drive from your home, you really know who your real friends are when they show up at your door with snacks to help offset the institutional food here at the home.

The food is not bad.  I have had worse.  But it is not gourmet by any stretch.  So I had posted here that anyone who visited should bring snacks.

The first to arrive was Sharon, one of the OBX ladies along with her boyfriend, Steve.  They called me on my cell to get my room number and she kept talking to me until they walked in the door.  It was a very pleasant surprise.  Sharon & Steve live in Delaware and while they were up in this direction for other things, they went out of their way to visit and I was exceptionally touched by their kindness.

Next to arrive was Deb, another OBX lady and her husband, John.  They had driven up from Belair, MD to get some things they like to buy in nearby Lancaster.  John went off to go to one of his favorite stores and Deb and I sat and talked and talked.  She is recovering from a heart attack, so she is slowly learning what her body is up to doing.  My friend Annette arrived before John returned, so Annette and Deb got to chat some and Deb was able to share her energy healing with Annette.  It was fun to watch the two of them interact.

Annette stayed until a little after three.  It was her first long drive by herself outside of Parkesburg.  Her late husband was always her driver and since he died, she has only driven around the Parkesburg Area, relying on others to go farther.  I was quite honored that she would take this brave step to come see me.  Now that she knows how easy it is, I hope she will come back to visit or adventure out to other areas.

And during the visits, I also had a call from Rob, my son in Alaska.  He was checking in on me and updating me on his wife Kate.  The chemo has rendered her very tired, so they are moving at a much slower rate than they are used to.  My family is pretty much on a ONE-DAY-AT-A-TIME mode.

I talked to my BFF Marji.  Her husband is supposed to arrive home today.  The only thing that might prevent that would be the icy weather coming this afternoon.  If he does return, I am sure they will be up from Maryland, too.  Like I said, you can really tell who your true friends are when things get difficult.

I am blessed.  I have made some wonderful friends since Rudy died.  They support me and are there when I need them most.

Dave Gehman and his wife Lois came last evening.  He always seems to find me eating supper.  I had just finished as much of the meal as I could eat, so I wheeled my way back to my room.  We chatted for 20 minutes, he said a lovely prayer before they headed out for an evening of fun.

Today is the annual Christmas Open House here at Ephrata Manor.  The nurses keep talking about the good food that will be carried around by butlers.  There will also be a wide variety of Christmas Music in several areas of Ephrata.  It should make the day go faster.  I will let you know if the food is better

My life starts at Ephrata Manor...

Yesterday was a blur and yet very vivid at the same time.  It started normally at the hospital with vampires arriving well before dawn.  Checkups and therapy happened at the routine times.  Then everything changed when I learned that I would be going to Ephrata Manor Nursing Home.  Yes, not many people here even know where Parkesburg is located, so I am well out of my comfort and friend zone.  Sheila lives about 10 minutes away.  She showed up for a visit, along with her dog, Waldo.  She helped by unpacking clothing and getting bags from the hospital unpacked. I am moved in, for all intents and purposes.

I know that many of you have visited nursing homes before.  My dad lived in a couple of them prior to his death.  I visited him daily and really thought I knew how he felt.

WRONG!!!

First of all, I was bombarded with people.  Admins, dietary, occupational therapy, physical therapy, medical, doctors, more admin and nurses.  Registered nurses, CNAs and just plain aides.  They were delightful, all of them.

I now have a roommate.  The lady in the bed by the door is a tiny little thing with a soft, squeaky voice.  She barely speaks and is very quiet.  Almost like not having a roommate at all.  Her name is Denudo or Dinudo.  She eats all of her meals in her room instead of the dining room.  After having dinner tonight, I can see why.  I also ate in my room last night.  While we were relaxing, a tall gentleman came into our room.  I had no idea who he was, but Dinudo spoke to him and then he wandered over to my side of the room.  He wandered to my half of the room, opened my closet, played with the middle hinge on the bathroom door and stopped and stared at me.  I smiled and said hello.  He turned on his heel, marched to the middle of the room, stopped and farted and then marched out of the room.  Turns out he is a long time resident and may have been in my side of the room at one time.  I am fine as long as he stays away and does not try to evict me!!

The residents look at me oddly.  I am young, they do not trust me. Do you remember cliches in school.  Little groups of  boys and girls who talked about you as you walked by.  No different here.  Tonight, when I went in to get supper, the nurse who wheeled me down asked two lovely ladies if I could sit with them.  I got a no... so and so would be in along with whats her name. So I sat a table with Norman, who really wanted to be alone.  When Dave Gehman showed up for a quick visit and prayer, the man was rude enough to wave a friendly handshake away.  I may have to rethink eating in the dining room during peak hours.

The funny thing, and it happened in my dad's homes, is that the residents begin lining up 30 minutes before the meal.  I think they are afraid they are going to run out of food.  But I will bide my time and head down for food after the first sitting!  Much nicer company.

So, the room is nice, the place is clean... no foul odors.  Some odd characters wandering around but I need to be tolerant that.  I may very well be one of the loonies some day.  Therapy was intense.  Similar exercises but instead of 20 reps, they require 30.  I can handle it and it will get me out of here faster.

Annette is going to try to drive out from Parkesburg tomorrow.  I am looking forward to it.  Sunday is a Christmas Open House with food and snacks and music.  I hear the shrimp is to die for!

I slept like I died last night.  The Vampires did not wake me.  I got up once to pee, but slept until well past 8:00 AM.  Nice breakfast with homemade raisin bread. and then therapy.  The big meal is at lunch and supper is soup and sandwiches.  I am likely to loose some weight while I am here.  If any of you come visit, bring snacks!!!

So, here is the blog for today.  I am not allowed to go anywhere without assistance.  Hopefully next week, I will graduate to independent moving!  It is, after all, my goal.

Another Day in the Hospital.....

It is Thursday, and I am still in the hospital.  I think I could go home if there was someone there to help me.  But since that is not the case, I have applied to go to a nursing home.  The Social Worker is busy trying to find one that has room for me.  No idea where or when.  Could be today.  Could be tomorrow.  But soon.

This way, when I do head home, I will be better able to live by myself.

I look in on the house everyday.  No one has broken in and all of my stuff is still there.  I miss the simple things like being able to get out of bed and pee without having to push a button, wait for help to arrive... getting suited up with belts and socks to walk the 6 or 8 feet to the toilet.  I understand the reasoning, but I know that I am the different one who would be fine.  Just a real pain the the knee!

OK.... things are moving and so am I.  The Social Worker just came in and I am going to Ephrata Manor.  The nursing home is a nice one from what I can see and is close to one of my friends, so I am hoping to see her more often.

Things will be moving quickly, so let me get this posted so I can get packing.

Crummy Night.... we will see what today brings....

After two rounds of physical therapy yesterday, I found that through the night I was experiencing some pain spikes.  I would drift off to sleep and in an hour or so, I would wake straight up out of my rest with an aching from mid calf to mid thigh.  In the rating system here at the hospital, I would have rated it a 6.  I had difficulty getting comfortable but would eventually drift back off to sleep.  It happened in cycles all night long.

At 4:00 AM, while experiencing a really nice sleep, the vampires came to visit.  This one appeared very confident, after three sticks, she was finally able too get the fluid she needed.  Now it was not the leg keeping me awake, but three pieces of gauze covered by three pieces of tape.  Just cannot win.

Vitals taken at 5:30 AM.  No wonder people leave here worse than when they come in.  I finally gave up at 6:00 AM and had constant stream of folks in until I was rolled down for therapy.  My doctor's aide, the doctor, the nurse assigned to me, the Nurses Assistant.

I guess the hardest thing was that yesterday they took out the catheter out.  So I had to begin to ask for assistance just to go pee.  And what an ordeal.  They come in, put a belt around my waist, get the walker, lower the bed, I swing over the side (no small feat with one working leg and one non-working leg), then standing using safety protocol, hobble the 4 feet to the bathroom, do the twist and turn to get positioned for the safety protocol for lowering my butt on the pot.  (And I thought that having a baby took away ones dignity!)  I hate not being in total control of my life!!

Therapy today was two fold.  Occupational therapy was first.  I learned to sit in a chair and get back out.  I learned how to sit on a toilet and get back up.  I learned how to get into and out of my bed and how to get in and out of a car!!  Then more PT.  By the time I git back to my room my body was rebelling.  I had the nurse give me a barf bag and get some ginger ale.  I managed to drink the ginger ale and the barf bag went unused.

Slept for a while and the next round of people.  Nurses checking sugars, nurses giving shots  but nothing yet from Social Services.  I have my application ready for nursing homes and they need that to start making arrangements.  I am guessing that I am unusual in that I am asking for this step instead of going home.  But I have always been different.

I am attaching pictures of my dinner last night.  I thought you would like to see what hospital food looks like in Lancaster, PA.

This was my dinner last night.  Chicken Pot Pie with broccoli and a dinner roll.  NOT your normal hospital food.

The work begins... ouch, ouch, ouch......

I did get some decent sleep last night.  I found nothing on TV and the leg was painful, so I needed some pain medication, so well before I would normally go to bed, I turned out the lights and drifted off to sleep.

A  nurse woke me up between 11 PM and midnight.  It was a the normal vital check and she let me know that they would be drawing blood at 3:00 AM!!!!!!!!  No wonder the people in hospitals are so glad to be sent home.

Back to sleep.  They waited until 4:30 AM for the vampires to descend upon the room.  Then, one at a time, things began to be removed.  The catheter ( I will miss that one), then the drain... glad it is gone but hate the process and then disconnected the IV.  Setup remains in the back of my hand.  Bathing from a small basin, getting out of the hospital gown and into some shorts.

Pancakes for breakfast....Yum!

Off to PT.  OMG... such discomfort.  Note I did not call it pain.  I am sure that others would, but it is different from what I have dealt with for years.  It is from muscles that have not been used properly for years.  It is from places where my bone was cut for the new knee.  It is not really the knee.  Dr. Renz (the wonderful surgeon who did my knee) says that I need to concentrate on getting my knee straight so the muscles learn the new motion and get stretched out.  Bending is important, too.

Back to my room. I drifted off a bit and woke up to find my brother walking into my room.  He had taken his Mother-In-Law back to her home in Yardley and stopped by on his way home.  He stayed for a bit.  My lunch came (crab cake, veggies, lemonade, dinner roll....eat your hearts out) and then he hit the road and I got ready for round 2 of PT.

The checkups showed I was low in Magnesium and my blood pressure was low.  I got a pneumonia vaccine, and all manner of other pills, an IV bag for the Magnesium and then off to PT.  Much harder this time and with an IV next to me, hard to workout.  Did the best and back to the room.  Into bed and the next thing I knew the lady was here to do Reiki.  It is an alternative healing type service.  Lovely music, gentle touching, and the pain is greatly reduced.  She leaves and I am back sleeping.  Very nice and very relaxing.

Not bad for a hospital!!!

Through the night....

I am pleased to report that I made it through the night.  I actually turned out the lights early.  Drifting off to sleep, however, was a waste of time.  If you have ever been in a hospital, you know that they come in every so often to make sure you are still breathing, add antibiotics to your IV, check blood pressure, etc.  The only good interruption was for pain meds around midnight.  Slept well until the vampires arrived around 4:30 AM.  Dozed  again until they came in to check  blood pressure around 5:00 AM.

Just had a visit from my nurse for the day, Natalie.  She had come in with all kinds of bandages.  As she explained, it was bandage reduction day.  I had this BIG ACE bandage from my foot to my upper thigh.  She was here to cut it off, bandage the dressing and remove the drain.  I have had one other drain in my life, when I had my gall bladder removed.  So I knew what was coming.  It was not quite as bad as when they pulled the one from my chest area, but it was ouchy and I am glad that it is over.  She also removed my catheter, so I will now have to get out of bed and onto my new knee to go pee! Today is going to be an adventure.

This is really a very nice hospital.  I am in a private room, so I do not have to listen to a stranger sleep or moan or have company.  They  have some half decent TV channels, although there was little on last night.  And, of course, the Internet.  I will be here until Thursday, in all likelihood, before I go off to a skilled nursing center.  They will be able to help me get on my feet so I can get along without help at home.  Will also be a big... pardon the pun...leg up in my rehab.

So, I am waiting for breakfast, then I will get dressed  and off to rehab at 8:30 AM and 1:00 PM!  Stay tuned!!

Surgery Day...

Well, the fact that I am blogging tells you that I survived the procedure.
hecked in right in the parking lot.
I had to be at Lancaster General Hospital, the Orthopedic Center, at 7:30 AM.  Marji & Danny arrived around 6:00 AM.  Danny went with me to the basement to see the procedure for shutting off the water, turn off the hot water heater and water treatment stuff.  i also showed him how to reset the time.  I am sure i will not be able to do stairs when I finally make it home, so he will have to go down and do it for me.

We left the house in pitch black a few minutes early, and with the  lack of traffic, we arrived at the hospital about a half an hour early.  We had to do the block circling once as we missed the entrance.  We parked, got my suitcase and bag out and were checked in right there in the garage.

At the check in desk, I was greeted with smiles.  Marji was able to come back with me.  from that moment there was a parade of folks asking me my name, date of Birth and why I was there.  If it was asked once, I was asked 40 to 50 times.  I signed forms and had procedures explained.  Finally, a few minutes before I was scheduled, i was whisked off to the Operating Suite, transferred to the table and in no time, I was out like a light.

In two hours, I was waking up in recovery.  My right leg was covered in one of the biggest ACE bandages I have ever seen.  There was some significant pain but they gave me a minimal pain med until I was taken to my room, given some lunch so I could be given a pain pill.  Marji & Danny soon joined me.  They sat with me, helped me get cords set up for the cell phone and this netbook.  We met all of the day staff and Miss Marji lightened the mood with her wonderful sense of humor.

They left around 3:00 PM.  Dinner came.  The food here is not bad.  Things were a bit unsalted, as would be expected.  But the chicken noodle soup was delicious.  I had a turkey sandwich for lunch and chicken salad sandwich for dinner.  They were nothing special, but tasty for hospital food.  I am guessing that they must have an Amish/Mennonite folk working in the kitchen.

I dozed for a bit and then had a bright and shiny Sheila visiting me.  She burst into the room with her ear to ear smile and she bubbled with news and stories.  We chatted for a bit before she had to head home.

So i am sitting here, writing on my blog, legs elevated, little booties on my feet that are pumping up in an alternating pattern to keep the blood coming out of them and keeping things circulating.  I have a CD player in the room with some lovely relaxing music, and some lavender essential oil to help me relax.  The TV has some fairly good channels and I can surf the Internet.... what more could I ask for??

Well, maybe less pain!!  I am not allowed out of bed today.  Tomorrow the rehab work begins.  Yuck!!!  Pictures tomorrow!!