November 2009
3 posts
October 22...Free! At last. Well, as free as one...
The night passes so slowly. I didn’t sleep much and woke every two hours or so to look at the clock and see that time had become a snail. When I finally detected the pale blue light of dawn sneaking through the partially drawn curtains, I breathed a sigh of relief. I grabbed the trapeze above my head and pulled myself up. Mother nature was calling so I began maneuvering myself and my IV...
WatchOk, this has nothing to do with my hip. But it is relevant to other ideas that cripple ignorant people. I wish they would get off their arrogant uninformed prejudicial high horses and read the book they think they are espousing.
October 21, Wednesday
5 AM
“Here to check your vitals.”
I throw my right arm over the side of the bed without opening my eyes. Fall back to sleep.
7:30 AM
Flood of light suddenly fills the room and a booming voice says, “Good morning! How are we doing today?”
I blink like a coal miner coming out of a cave a noon. It’s Dr. Namazian, making his morning rounds. “Better today, I...
October 2009
11 posts
Yes... It's still the 20th! Part 5 "The End"
2AM
Still so restless and now the pain in my gullet was competing with the dulled down pain of my hip. I twisted my body as much as possible trying to find a comfortable way to move the air collecting in my belly. I stretched my hand over my head. I arched my back. I moved the bed to sit up higher. I moved the bed to lay flatter. Nothing worked. Then it hit me. This pain wasn’t air; it was...
Still the 20th... Part 4 "Pity Party"
Once back in bed I thanked the nurses for their patience and apologized for the ordeal. They brushed off the apology and asked me if there was anything else I needed. “Something for this pain, would be nice,” I hinted with a smile, even though there were tears beginning to well up in my eyes. “Oh and can we see about getting a raised seat for the bathroom?” I suggested thinking optimistically...
October 20th....... Part 3 The Other End
9 PM
Evening came and the dragon that lived in my hip was clawing with such gusto so that I couldn’t lie still for more than a minute or two. My torso was aching from the pressure of gas caught in the upper regions of my body and refusing to move towards the exit. I felt full and nauseous. And then a sudden horrible urge hit me. “Oh my god! I think I have to poop!” Here I was attached to the IV...
October 20th Part 2... "Is that all?"
My nurse came in to reattach the IV. “Do you have to pee, yet?” My answer was no. I had no urge at all which seemed odd to me because they had been pumping bag after bag of fluid into my arm. I pushed on my bladder to see if it felt full. It did. But I still had not even an inkling of needing to relieve myself. She looked at me and scolded me like she was my mother, “You don’t want me to have to...
Tuesday....October 20th...... a day so long it is...
Part 1 — Pressure Problems
This could really be just a continuation of the day before because in a hospital one never gets a full night of uninterrupted sleep. One day just melds into the next, in hour after hour of repetitive actions. Vitals, blood, check IV, food, repeat every few hours until discharge…….
I was still woozy and nauseous so breakfast stayed on the cart. I was...
October 19th....Recovery? Is that what you call...
«blink,blink» dim lights, ceiling…………..«blink,blink» nurse next to bed typing………………….«blink,blink»someone’s talking to me, I think……………….«blink,blink»”How are you doing?”...
Apparently, I'm in good company.....
others who have had hip replacement surgery:
Mick Mars | Rudy Galindo | Rev. Billy Graham | Ruth Graham | Ray Charles | Sammy Shore | Katherine Hepburn | Buck Buchanan | George Karl | Doug Collins | Coach Krzyzewski | Steve Perry | Eddie Van Halen | Liza Minnelli | President Ronald Reagan President George Bush, Sr. and first lady Barbara Bush Jack Nicklaus | Elizabeth Taylor | Bo Jackson | ...
October 19th: The Day
My alarm went off at 4 AM, but I shut it off and laid myself back over Kalani’s chest. “I don’t want to go,” I whined like a child not wanting to get up for school. “My hip feels pretty good today, actually….” He kissed my forehead and said, “You’ll be fine. Probably back running up the Mills before you know it!”
“I hope...
YouTube - 3D Medical Animation: Total Hip Joint... →
If you’re interested in seeing exactly what takes place in a hip replacement you can check out this YouTube video. Don’t worry, it’s an ANIMATION.
And in the beginning......
About nine years ago I ran the 2000 LA Marathon as a way of thumbing my nose at entering my 40’s. “Ha! Age is just a number!” And now nine years later Karma said, “Yep, you’re right! And your number’s up!”
I continued running and weight training. Then a little nagging pain in my right hip appeared, but I workout hard and am used to being sore so I...
October 18th: the night before
I had spent the day yesterday looking for a “grabber”. One of those long handled things the elderly use to pick stuff up because they are unable to bend down without falling over. I finally found a 36” long one at Lowe’s. (they can be found next to the shovels, in case you need one to pick up your beer from the table so you don’t have to get out of the Lazy Boy). I...