IT WAS QUITE A COUPLE DAYS FOR MY HIP REPLACEMENT AT THE SARNIA ONTARIO HOSPITAL

 I AND OTHER PATIENTS RECEIVED VALENTINES DAY CARDS WHILE IN THE HOSPITAL....I THINK THEY WERE MADE BY LOCAL SCHOOL KIDS AND THEIR MOMS OR TEACHERS WERE DELIVERING THEM

Just to let you know, this is a very long post.  Well, where do I begin.....First, a personal opinion.  If anyone ever says to me that a hip replacement is no big deal, a walk in the Park, a non-event, or a piece of cake I, when my hip is better, am going to hunt that person down and give them the biggest swift kick in the ass that they have ever had!!!!  Now, let's get on with it.

One of my biggest pre-op worries was a simple one.  Having to get up a 3 a.m. was I going to hear the alarm clock to wake me up.  What if I didn't, and slept in.  I worried about it so much that I woke right up at 2:45.  My next worry was the weather.  Pulling back the curtain was I going to see a winter storm going on.  I didn't.  So, with those two things out of the way, I quietly slipped out of the house with the last thing I saw being Pheebs on her couch with her head up watching me with her puppy ears on.  Next slight worry was, is the car going to start, what if a tire is flat.  With those additional worries out of the way, I was good to go.  I have said many times in my blog over the years how I like driving at night and my journey to the Sarnia hospital was no exception.  What a beautiful night to be out and with the Subaru's Sirius XM satellite radio tuned to 'The Spa' I happily cruised through the countryside.  For a third of the way I drove the posted speed limit and for the rest of the way I doddled along below the speed limit because I had allowed myself lots of time to get there.  With hardly any traffic on the road anywhere I arrived at the hospital at 5:20 for my 6 a.m. check-in. 

From check-in, I headed up to the third floor and checked into 'Day Surgery'.  I was led to an area of beds and curtains and told to undress,  put on a backward medical gown, and lay on the bed  My little cubical had a couple big windows facing East.  Cold winter air radiated through those windows where I waited about half an hour for my first nurse of the day to appear.  And, it was here in this cubicle that the best part of my day happened.  Through the East-facing windows, I was able to watch a beautiful sunrise.  The nurse came in and checked my blood sugar, pulse, heart rate, and all those things nurses do.  And yes, that meant that 'ouchy thing they do when inserting the intravenous thing into a person's hand.  

 THIS IS WHAT I LOOKED LIKE AFTER MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE FIRST NURSE PERSON I SAW

Next, my bed was wheeled around half a dozen corners into another pre-op room with others awaiting their surgical fate as well.  And, this is where the first set of wheels on the train 'wobbled'.  My surgeon guy, Dr. Garash stopped by for about thirty seconds to see how I was doing.  He told me I looked good and I thought 'ya sure'.  The room was so dark I could hardly see him.  Next came the anesthesiologist with a host of questions for me.  And then here came the 'wobble.  He said there were two ways to administer anesthesia.  Number one was general anesthesia with a breathing tube and number two was a spinal tap to numb the hip area.  A couple weeks ago at a pre-op meeting in Sarnia we had talked to a different anesthesiast and she suggested the spinal tap plus a couple other folks had suggested that as well.  As soon as I said to the anesthesiast guy that I preferred the spinal tap his demeanor changed and I recognized it instantly.  I could tell that he was not in favor of that and if I had been faster on my feet I should have said right away, 'hey that's okay, I'll do the general anesthesia,  But, I didn't and it was soon to cost me.  From the pre-op room I was wheeled around through a number of corridors again until we reached the operating room itself.

Now, anyone who has ever been in an operating room knows how cool they keep it.  The operating word there was 'cool'.  Well obviously this operating room had not got the memo.  It was so cold in there that I thought I saw icicles hanging from the ceiling.  It would not have surprised me at all if the operating room staff were wearing snowmobile suits.  I was transferred from the bed to the operating table with its big humungous space-age lights hanging overhead.  I laid on that cold slab in my flimsy blue gown for at least 10 minutes before I heard the anesthesiast guy behind me somewhere bruskly say, 'sit up on the table, swing sideways and drop your feet over the side'.  Ya, easy for him to say as two nurses assisted me with that little chore.  Next, he had a nurse stand directly in front of me and place her hands on my shoulders.  I was told bend forward and down as far as I could and not to move.  I felt a burn in my lower spine which I figured was maybe the freezing going in.  But then, things got wonky.  I could feel him pressing and pressing and occasionally asking me where I was feeling it.  This went on for long time and so long that I heard the nurse who was pushing me back from the front say to another nurse, 'can you take over, I'm not feeling well'.  So another nurse stepped in and took over with my face about an inch and half from her scrubs.  Then all of sudden I heard a short sharp screeching sound behind me and that was the anesthiastis pushing his stool back with the words, 'thats it, that's enough of that, we're doing a general anesthetic.  I quickly agreed with him and said that would be fine.  On my back again a lady put something over my nose and mouth and that was it, I was gone.

I don't know how long the surgery lasted but when I came too I was in 'excruciating' pain!!!!  Worst ever.  The pain was so bad that my body was shuddering and a nurse beside me kept telling me she was adding more morphine and more morphine and something about a cocktail.  I don't know what that was.  Through my haze of pain I did hear her say that I had been in the recovery room for about an hour.  Now, let me interject something here......I emphasize this is what happened to me alone, not you.  I'm sure other people have different stories about pain levels or a lack thereof.  I don't know how long I shuddered and shook in the recovery room but I remember them wheeling me to my room later as the pain level finally began dropping.  And, even before entering the room, I knew I was going to like my roommate.

 I'VE JUST ARRIVED IN MY ROOM AND I AM ALREADY A WRECK

It was two nurses who wheeled me to my room and at the door, one of them said to a person inside, "we've got a roommate for you Bill so you won't be alone."  I heard Bill answer, "that's okay, I like being alone".  I knew right away that  Bill and I were going to get along just fine.  And we did, he never bothered me and I never bothered him.  Luckily for both of us it wasn't a four-person room with the other two being yakky doodles.  Bill, an elderly gent had a smartphone and would occasionally call his wife for a little chat.  I could hear the whole conversation because he had her on speakerphone.  At one point his wife asked him if he had a new roommate yet to which Bill replied, "yes, and he's an old fella too'.  Well, I almost had to hobble over there and give Bill a little talking to.  Imagine, referring to me as an older fella!!!!

 A VIEW FROM MY BED WITH A TRAY OF FOOD I COULDN'T EAT

Twice through the day I had a tray of food set down in front of me on a swinging bed table and twice I could not eat anything.  I tried to sip some tea and managed one spoon of strawberry yogurt.  My appetite was totally gone.  They got me out of bed once to hobble to the washroom about 10 feet away.  And it was here a mistake was made.  I found out later from the physio lady that they should have had me out of bed more in the morning and walking in the hall to get that hip moving.  This was to cost me the next morning.  The rest of the day was kind of a blur of nothing, but I caught a pre-planned break in the evening.

 I SPENT FOUR ENJOYABLE HOURS LISTENING TO MY FAVORTIE MUSIC

Knowing beforehand I would have hours to kill I took my Kindle reader with me as well as my iPod which I hadn't used in over a decade.  iPods were popular little mobile Apple device many years ago for storing music on so I had a library of my favorite tunes with me.  The iPod comes with stereo ear buds so the sound quality is good.  The only problem I had with the earbuds is that they kept falling out of my ears every five minutes so you can imagine the amount of times I fiddled with that in the 4 hours I laid on my bed listening to music.  They were too big to fit snugly into my ear sockets.  It was about 11 p.m. when a nurse came in to check on me.  Now keep in mind, I had not eaten anything for over 24 hours so I quipped to her, 'say you don't suppose you might have a couple of peanut butter sandwiches rolling around out there anywhere do ya'.  No she replied but we do have turkey, egg salad, or chicken sandwiches.  Well, I couldn't believe my luck.  Five minutes later I was happily chowing down a turkey sandwich.

 AN ACROSS THE ROOM VIEW OF MY BED

Wednesday morning breakfast came in and I wolfed down the whole thing, even the crumbs.  And what a surprise, I washed it all down with a great-tasting cup of hot coffee.  A great way to start the day and I was optimisticly looking forward to physio.  And then, things took a bad turn.  There was a nursing shift change and another mistake was made.

 A VIEW OUT MY WINDOW AND I THINK THAT MAY BE THE OLD SARNIA HOSPITAL OVER THERE

 BREAKFAST...AND IMAGINE HOW HAPPY I WAS TO FIND A HEATED BLUEBERRY MUFFIN IN THAT TINFOIL...AND YES THOSE ARE MY FEET STICKING OUT WITH MY VALENTINE DAY HOSPITAL SOCKS ON

 BREAKFAST MENU

Around 10:30 a nice lady from physiotherapy showed up and said she was going to walk me to the gym and put me through the paces so off we went with me moving slowly with my walker.  My hip was hurting and of course, why wouldn't it.  But, I plodded along with her right behind me.  She told me several times I was doing good.  Piece of cake I thought to myself but little did I know what I was in for just moments away.  In the physio gym she had some steps for me to go and down.  No problem.  Then, it was over to a bed like thing.  She had me slowly sit down and then with her help try to swing my legs up onto the bed.  And then it happened and everything fell apart, 'Zap' I was instantly again in excruciating pain.  Things did not go well from there and no matter what they tried to do with a few exercises the pain was so bad I couldn't take it and they couldn't continue.  I said to the lady, I wish they had given me something for pain to which the lady replied, when was the last time they gave you pain medication?   I said about 6 a.m. they gave me two Tylenols.  It was no 10:30.  With that, she wheeled right around and headed for her desk and I assume made a phone call.  Meanwhile, the pain in my hip had me nearly through the roof.  Minutes after that a nurse I recognized hastily came into the room carrying a little cup with two pills in it and some water.  With one gulp I had those pills down.  I think they were something much stronger than the Tylenol pills.  With pain still coursing through my hip they got me off the bed and into a wheelchair and hustled me off back to my room.  I had visions of me not going home Wednesday.  Apparently during the shift change one of the nurses in the confusion had forgot to bring my proper pain medication to me before my physio time.  That nurse later came to my room and apologized for her oversight.  I was actually feeling bad for her because she was feeling so bad about forgetting me.  But, there was more bad news to follow an hour or so later.

 WHEN THEY BROUGHT ME BACK FROM PHYSIO THEY PLUNKED IN THIS RECLINER

 HEY, AND MY WINDOW EVEN  HAD BUTTERFLIES ON IT

The intravenous tube was still in my left hand and I kept ouchily catching it on things.  The physio lady said that that tube needed to be taken out of my hand because there was a bit of blood on it.  Back in my room, a young nursing assistant took it out just as her supervising nurse came in and told me I was not going home until the following day.  She repeated that twice and then away she went.  Well, you can imagine how I felt.  And then, more confusion.  

It was at this same time that I was finally able to locate my flip phone and call Kelly.  When I told her they were going to keep me for another day her heart sank and she said there was a big snowstorm coming in for Thursday.  Now we were in a pickle.  I certainly didn't want Richard and Gail driving Kelly through a snowstorm to Sarnia and then Kelly having to drive me all the way back to Bayfield.  What a dilemma had just transpired.  And then there was more confusion.  Kelly phoned the hospital, I phoned Kelly, and the hospital phoned 'dial a prayer' and then I called the Prime Minister and McDonalds phoned the hospital.  And then the Physio lady came in again and told me that 'I was going home' that afternoon and with that at 1:15 p.m. I was taken by wheelchair back to the physio gym where I was put through the required exercises again and this time with just a minimum of discomfort....thanks to the pain pills.  Wheel chaired back to my room I was able to hobble around collecting up my stuff and then in walked Kelly and from this point on everything went well.  

MAKING MY WAY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY BACK FROM THE WASHROOM

 GETTING MY STUFF TOGETHER

 YES, WITH HAT, COAT, AND SHOES ON I WAS MORE THAN READY TO GET OUT OF THERE

I was discharged and wheelchaired down to the front entrance of the hospital where Kelly wheeled around with the Subaru and picked me up.  My hospital ordeal was over and we were on our way home on a beautiful sunny afternoon.  A stop at Tim Hortons in Forest along the way for two cups of coffee and two apple fritter donuts just like we used to do every time we came home from the Southwest in the Spring.  We finally made it home and things went downhill from there.

 KELLY PULLS UP TO THE HOSPITAL'S FRONT DOOR TO LOAD ME IN

 PULLING OUT OF TIM HORTONS ON THE LAST LEG OF OUR JOURNEY HOME

We were both totally beat and I was in a big mess due to bladder problems I had at the hospital.  I was anxious to get myself out of my urine-soaked clothes and cleaned up.  That done and with clean dry clothes on again l loaded my clothes into the washer and turned it on.  Of course, I had forgotten to take things out my pockets so I now have a sparkly clean jackknife and a very soggy wallet.  From there I headed for the sunroom and sat down at the computer and wrote a short post.  And then it was me who made yet another mistake.  I mistakenly took two percocDet pain pills instead of one and an hour later I was sick and stayed that way until a sleeping pill helped to finally put me out of my misery somewhere around 10 o'clock.

 HOME AGAIN I CAREFULLY MADE MY  WAY ACROSS THE ICE AND SNOW TO CLIMB UP OUR FOUR PORCH STEPS

HEADING INTO THE SUNROOM AND NO THAT IS NOT AN OLD BULLET WOUND IN MY BACK

FIGURING OUT HOW TO SITUATE MYSELF AT THE COMPUTER

 AND OF COURSE, YOU ALL SAW THIS PHOTO OF ME IN WEDNESDAY'S POST AND ARE WONDERING WHAT THAT YELLOW THING IS I'M WEARING....WELL I DON'T KNOW BUT KELLY DREDGED IT UP FROM SOMEWHERE FOR SURE

Now I know that this post is way too long so I will wrap it up here and tell you about how I made out today.....tomorrow:))      

Music Box:)) I Can See Clearly Now is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash.  It was the lead single from his album, I Can See Clearly Now (1972), and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972  After Nash wrote and composed the original version, he recorded it in London with members of the Fabulous Five Inc, and produced it himself. The song's arrangements and style are both heavily laced with reggae influences, as Nash had earlier collaborated with Bob Marley and his approach drew strongly from Marley's reggae style. (this one was for you Deb way out there in that Arizona place)

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Jerry was sitting down for breakfast one morning when he was astonished to see in the paper an announcement of his own death.  He called his friend at once, "Jim, have you seen the announcement of my death in the paper?"  Jim replied, "Yes, and exactly where are you calling from?"

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During a performance for the high school talent show at the local theater, a hole was cracked in the stage floor. Subsequent acts managed to avoid the damaged area until little Freddy, juggling bowling pins, accidentally stepped through the hole up to his knees.  He apologized to the audience for his clumsiness. But a heckler in the back of the theater shouted:  "Don't worry, Freddy! It's just a stage you're going through!"

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