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Published: January 15th 2021
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Yippee! Monday, January 11th arrived quicker than we planned. All of a sudden, it was here! We arrived at the Celebration (Advent Health) Hospital 10 minutes before 5:00 AM. It was chilly here in balmy Florida but I was told to wear shorts! Brrrrrrrrrrrr. They would not open the front door until exactly five o’clock. Brrrrrrrrrrr. Finally, we were allowed in and followed the same route we had tread on October 26th. Less crowded because we were so early. Whoa.....new routine: had to go back down to the registration desk on the first floor to pick up my paperwork. I had pre-registered but they couldn’t use the one on their computer .....had to get the hard copy. Owwww. Walking on my right knee hurts but that will soon be taken care of....that’s why I am here: Total Right knee replacement. Okay....ready to go through the big doors. Cory and I waited.....just briefly....I was called in. Good bye, Cory....I love you.
Exactly the same protocol as before. Wipe my body down with warm, antibacterial cloths, vital signs taken, IV started. I liked this nurse a lot. She did the IV just like I used to. She used my favorite vein and
gave me a little stick of lidocaine at the site. Perfect! My doctor, Dr. Johnston, came in first. I reminded him he said he would remove a cyst that had popped up adjacent to my knee cap. The anesthesiologist came in and I reminded him I didn’t want a spinal but lots of drugs. They let Cory come in....whew! He helped me attach a note to my right foot to remind the doctor to also remove my cyst....didn’t want him just to concentrate on the bad knee or I would have to go Dr. Pimple Popper. I’m a thorough person, you know. At 9:15 AM, the OR nurse and nurse anesthetist came to get me. The anesthetist gave me a little joy juice so the last thing I remember in the OR was the anesthesiologist putting the soft oxygen mask over my face......good night everyone!
I woke up okay in the recovery room. My doctor stopped by and said all went well. I was walking bone on bone on the back of my big bones. He took out the cyst and said it was insignificant....he liked my note. He found a bone spur on the end of my femur
that he removed. Said I had been born with it and didn’t want it to cause me a future problem. Thank you, Doc. Isn’t he pretty on your eyes??
Cory was waiting for me in my private room (that’s all they have). So good to see him!! I had different nurses on the day shift....Brody was excellent. The PT staff was the same and they got me up and going right away. On the second day, I did two big laps around the man floor. My PT gal said I did super. I had a horrible night (stayed over only one night). Busy night and low staffing. I tried to maneuver and do some of my own care but I was limited. My bed was broken and wouldn’t lift up at the bottom to elevate my legs. You can’t put anything under your knee. I told them to take cushions off the couch and put them under the mattress.....nope....they finally switched my bed for another one after I requested to see the nurse manager. I needed help going into the restroom (would have tried myself) but a little light headed. They couldn’t use the special “canoe”....remember that unique urinary
device from before....said the suction was being worked on and didn’t want to take it away from someone who needed it.....whaaaaaat? You have to be kidding. Oh, well. During this hellish night, an alarm over my head went off. A device on the ceiling was flashing. Usually you think it’s your IV but why was this device flashing on the ceiling? I called the nurse....”they would be down”....right, yeah, right. Now I wondered if it could be a carbon monoxide detector....oh, God....I’m going fast....no one is coming down like promised. I waited to see the bright light.....POP ....it went on.... I could see it....good-by cruel world. It’s my time! Wrong! The nurse put on the overheard light....not “that heaven” light.....it was my IV beeping. The device on the ceiling was a Wifi device. Art could have told me that. Where are you, Art? I was still amongst the living. They got me up to the bathroom at 4:00 AM and had me get dressed and stay up in the chair. Whaaaat? I was dead tired cause I was up all night and had gotten up at 4:00 AM for surgery. Fortunately, I could sleep a couple hours with the anesthesia.
I’m not Miss Sweetcakes when I’m tired.
Thank God, Cory brought Lulu in to comfort me. Brody changed my dressing from the chair. I had more bloody drainage than before but it has stopped. I was discharged to home after the discharge planner and PT saw me again. So glad to arrive back at our RV where Cory could pick up on my much needed care. He’s good!
I got up in the morning for our coffee group. It was cold! Very cold. We sat together for awhile but then I had to give up and go inside to warm up. I was tired, too. Cory gave me my pain medicine (I really didn’t have any pain but wanted to keep ahead of it). I was also getting a muscle relaxant. Not sure what schedule Cory put me on but I slept all day!! I barely woke up. Made it to the bathroom but slept all night, too. My mouth was so dry I couldn’t open it!! Cory was glad but not a good sign. I took 2 more pain pills in the morning and no more since! No,no,no! I do not have any pain. We went for
a golf cart ride today. It was sunny and nice. I have my first physical therapy appointment tomorrow so that regimen starts all over again. Yippee.....kind of.
So, that’s the end of my medical history for now. Cory and I made appointments with a very nice, internal medicine doctor down here so if we should need his services, we are all set. Art recommended him to us just like he did for my surgeon. What we would have done without Art, I don’t know.
The DOH called today and said we get our 2nd Covid vaccination on January 30th.....then that will be done. Hooray.
Stay well everyone! 20 photos to look at!
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Betsey Stout
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Greetings from Betsey & Galen
Sorry you had a bad night at the hospital but glad that Cory is such a good nurse. Yay Cory! Keep on getting better and hope the weather will warm up soon. I remember being down in FL in January when it was "bitter cold".