Night Before Surgery
The house and myself were are ready as possible, so this was
the last sleep before the operation.
The hospital that I was going into required a night before
ritual of bath/shower, a dry off period, and then a wipe down with Sage wipes.
Those things are cold! Take the package advice and gently warm them in your
microwave for 30 second (or less depending on power) or lay them on a hot water
radiator for 20 minutes before using them. Air Dry yourself and then to bed
with clean sheets, and then a good, or at least reasonable, night’s sleep.
Hospital Admitting
The Day of the Operation dawns. Don’t forget to bring a
folder for the papers you have and the papers that you will receive as you go
through your hospital stay. A book is also useful for the inevitable “Go over
there and wait.” times and then later when you are resting.
There was more taking of samples, another swabbing down,
changing into your hospital gown and getting a dressing gown for the back
(Thank You!, Hospital).
I am now deep in the hospital; in a hospital gown; the
doctor has signed the hip that is being replaced; I have been asked about
allergies many times; I have had a thorough briefing and testing on the 10
point pain scale (https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1063&bih=637&q=pain+scales&oq=pain+scales&gs_l=img.3..0j0i24l9.9073.9073.0.9709.1.1.0.0.0.0.166.166.0j1.1.0...0.0...1ac.1.3.img.kkLAClQ5Vcc);then an interview by the Anesthesiologist; and the admitting nurse has started my
IV. It is all pretty inevitable now.
Surgery
I get to walk into the Operating Room, where a team is
ready, just for me. Just follow the direction: Sit here, Lean forward, wait for…
The next thing I remember is coming to, as the team moves me
onto a hospital bed and I am rolled out into the recovery room. I know that only
a couple of hours have passed and that the surgery is over now.
Recovery Room
My Recovery Room nurse is chatty, I suspect at least
partially to see how awake I am. The big question is when is the chest down
anesthetic wearing off? They use a bag of ice to see what you can feel.
Sensation comes back steadily over the next hour or so. First the non-operative
leg, then the side that was operated on. Once that is feeling the cool of the
ice it is time to be sent to the ward.
Ward
This is home for the next few days. I was sharing a room
with a woman who had her surgery two days before. This was her second hip
replacement as she had the other one done three months previous. She was
working hard to get out of there as soon as she could. In my dazed stupor, she
seemed like a little dynamo and I thought, “I hope I can do as well.”
Meanwhile, I am feeling a bit of nausea and, fortunately,
there is a drug for that.
Day One Post Op
Overnight is a balancing of nausea, pain management, and a
need to sleep. This floor is a busy place with soft dings and gongs going off
all night long. The bed pan is there for relief and now I am grateful for the
extra strength in my arms so that I can pull myself up and be able to use it.
This is not the best day of my life. I feel like someone has
removed my right leg and then reattached it after replacing the joint. Oh,
right, they did! The leg is not a happy camper, but the various miracles of
modern chemistry are working to keep me under six on the pain scale.
Hospital – Personnel
There was a never ending parade of people traipsing through.
The nurses (and the student nurses) were all very competent,
well identified and had massively different personalities. They cycled every 12
hours, so it was a bit hard to get a handle on who you were trying to connect
with. Primarily, they all spent a fair amount of their times taking my vital
signs and getting me to take pills of various sorts and to drink water. “Drink
more water!”
Other personnel were not as clearly identified. It was often
hard to understand what they were supposed to be doing. So, I didn’t worry much
about it.
Cruel to be Kind
One clearly identifiable group was the Physiotherapists. Physiotherapy
is an instant-on process after this surgery. You are being watched to make sure
you align your operative side correctly. Than they show you how to roll up into
a sitting position on the side of the bed.
“Can you stand up?” (If you can do that you can walk!)
“Can you come down to the Physiotherapy Room?” If you can
you can start your exercises. Yes, they will hurt but it
is all worth it.
I was eager to get started and despite the pain of doing the
exercises, I was never pushed past what was doable. Lovely people who were
always paying attention to what you were doing with that body of yours.
Hospital – Food
Scary, Scary stuff, kids. There is nothing that arrived,
other than one boiled egg, that I would consider wanting to eat before or after
my stay here. The first day, I had no appetite for any food. The second day, no
appetite for whatever it was that they were serving. It had names, but no particular
flavour or interesting texture (library paste?). I completely balked at eating
something described as “SS Meatballs”.
I did eat the boiled egg, some overcooked vegetables, a
bland vegetable soup, and some instant oatmeal. Fortunately, hunger was not an
issue and I will not be starving any time in the near future.
Clothing
You will be told that you should have ‘loose clothing’ to
wear after surgery. They are NOT kidding! Get out your ‘Fat’ clothes and then figure
that you will need something even looser. I borrowed sweat pants from my nephew
and although they are a bit long, they have accommodated the extra 10+ pounds
that the swelling has added to the leg that was operated on.
After the first week, the swelling starts to come down. I am
now back into normal sweatpants and feel somewhat lighter.
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