Hippy Chick: Let's Do This

Headed out for the hospital at 4:30 a.m., my friend Carrie, who came from San Antonio to help out, and the kids still asleep. Check in didn't take very long and I was in a small prep room with a hospital gown on shortly after. The parade of faces started - nurses, anesthesiologist, surgical assistants, my orthopedist...for the ID bands, IV, paperwork, introductions, and my Dr's signature on my op leg. We held it together through most of the parade, but it was difficult being rolled out of that room away from Mark. It was nice being the first patient of the day and surgery started on time: sometime between 7 - 7:30 am.

I was told to expect a spinal anesthesia with something to help me sleep through the IV. The only thing I remember about the actual surgery is the feeling of being lifted on sheets from one place to another. Probably after the procedure to the recovery bed, but I'm not sure. I slept for a long time in the recovery room. I remember hearing the nurses complain that the rooms upstairs weren't prepared for their patients and I drifted in and out of sleep until we started rolling through the halls to my (private ... nice!) room.

It was about 1 p.m. when I got situated, was reunited with Mark, and realized I was still hooked up to my IV, plus compression boots, a catheter, and oxygen! I didn't have any nausea coming around, and the sensation of the spinal anesthesia wore off little by little until I was able to wiggle my toes finally.

I was surprised when they handed me a menu and said "call this number and order whatever you want." I selected a mozzarella, tomato and basil panini and it was delicious! I'm sure a dog bone would have been delicious at that point, but it was nice to know what was coming, and that it sounded good, rather than have a mystery meal show up.

By 2 p.m., I had eaten my sandwich and by 4 p.m., I had taken my first steps down the hall with the assistance of a walker, and a PT holding on to a belt around my waist. FALL RISK!

This was the only photo taken during my three days in the hospital ... sorry to disappoint! I walked about fifty steps down the hall and then back to my room. It was AMAZING being able to tell that there was no pain in the joint immediately! Sure, there was soreness around the incision and muscle soreness, but the joint pain - sharp, shooting pain from bone-on-bone, was gone. I was on Oxycontin and hydrocodone for pain and my pain was very well-managed throughout my three days there.

The next two days passed by in a blur - mostly sleeping and guzzling water. The oxygen and catheter were removed on day two. Carrie came to see me while the kids were in school, and Mark brought all the kids to see me Thursday night. We did Lucas' homework and answered a million questions from them, but it was good for them to see me looking and sounding OK, except for the whole being in the hospital thing.

The kids all reacted differently to the idea of me having surgery. When asked by his teacher how I was doing, Lucas told her that I was fine and walking around great three days BEFORE my surgery! Ethan saw Carrie's name on the calendar with an arrow that connected to Laurie's name, and then to Mary's name (people that were coming to help) and thought that my surgery was going to take that many days! Like a week and a half! Sarah was emotional and scared for me. Jacob seemed fine, but we found out later that he flunked two semester finals on surgery day. I'm sure it was stressful for Mark too.

On Friday, I was released in the afternoon. I was discharged with my walker and instructions to not bend more than 90 degrees at the waist, not to cross my legs, and not to turn my toes inward. I managed to get into the van just fine, and Mark drove home.

By this time, Carrie had gone home and Laurie had arrived. We gathered the kids from a friend's house and enjoyed dinner together. I slept a lot. At least two naps a day. I was supposed to take hydrocodone every 4-6 hours and it put me to sleep within 30 minutes of taking it! The home health nurse came over on Saturday and changed my bandage. It was then that I got a good luck at my posterior incision for the first time. It was about eight inches long, held together by dermabond, steri-strips and dissolving stitches. No staples!

On Sunday, Laurie helped me wrap my thigh and rear end in Saran Wrap, covering my bandage so I could finally take a shower. My left leg was still part orange from the surgical cleanser, and I couldn't bend to scrub my shins, but at that point I didn't care! Later in the day, the home health PT supervisor came over for an assessment. He was surprised to find me sitting up in a chair in the living room, saying that most of the time, he is led to a dark bedroom where the patient is still huddled under blankets and not wanting to move.

Monday was a whirlwind - with my first home PT session with Jamie, saying goodbye to Laurie, and saying hello to Mark's sister, Mary, who would be staying for the week. Neighbors and PTA friends were feeding us every night and I was feeling pretty good!

Hippy Chick: Pre-Op

Went for my pre-op visit with the surgeon today and also to the hospital for pre-op testing.

Orthopedist's office:
Step 1: Nurse
Surgical logistics, expectations, paperwork. Do I have any questions?

Step 2: Physician's Assistant
In discussing range of motion post-op, he mentions that the one thing they don't EVER want me to do again would be the "hurdler's stretch" because that's basically how they pop my leg out of joint in order to operate. Aaaaauuughhhh! Take it back! I did NOT need to know that. Questions?

Step 3: Orthopedist
More questions? He did say my implant would be a Biomet product, but I can't remember much more about it.

One thing is for sure. These people are great at giving patients the chance to ask questions!


Then I headed over to the hospital for pre-op testing.

Step 1: Nurse
As she took my pulse, she noticed my heart rate was up in the 130s and asked if I was nervous. I said that I was. But then she made me laugh when she said most of the time, she's doing pre-op tests on patients with heart rates in the 40s and 50s and has to gently rub their hands to see if they are awake! She had me raise up my shirt so she could hook up the EKG leads and the test was over in a minute or so. But right after I put my shirt down, two construction guys walk right past the first floor exam room window! The blinds were open because the area was supposedly blocked off due to construction...yeah - for everyone except the construction guys! We laughed about it.

Step 2: Blood test
Thought I was going to catch something from the tech who drew my blood. She was very sneezy, but promised it was allergies.

Step 3: Chest x-ray
My x-ray tech was quick and efficient, but he did say "Oh, you have Dr. McGowen? That's great. You are very lucky to have him." which I thought was a nice thing to say, considering he didn't have to say something like that. Or does he say that to all the patients?

I definitely did not make the most logistically convenient choice of surgeon or facility, but chose to go with the recommendation, not the convenience. The whole pre-op process, including driving back and forth, took six hours! I made it back to school just in time to pick up the kids.

Testing ... is this thing on?

Wow. 2014 is here. Where does the time go?

Christmas went by in a blur. We stayed in town, got some organizing done. New Year's Eve passed uneventfully, although we did get a fun, surprise visit from some SA friends on New Year's Day! The  kids have spent their break overdosing on screen time. I feel like a bad mom, but I can't get around very well these days so field trips and other activities are limited. I also know that come Monday, the "no video games on school nights" rule comes back into play and screen time will drop dramatically. And 6:30 a.m. is going to seem VERY early.

Jacob already completed his two big LEGO sets. Sarah has finished her Christmas books. Ethan falls asleep in order to avoid reading. Lucas hasn't spoken Spanish in two weeks. It will be good for all of us to get back to the school routine.

Jacob did finish his Rifle merit badge for Scouts over the break. We were able to find a range with a Scoutmaster on staff that helped him cross off those last few requirements. Still need to finish Archery too, but there are several places around town to do that. He'll be starting on Pulp and Paper, Astronomy, and Environmental Science next weekend at Merit Badge College.

Christmas Eve

Our neighbors invited us over for appetizers on Christmas Eve again. It was lovely to spend time with them. They have a tradition of placing luminaries all around our double culdesac but the last few years have been rainy, snowy, or windy, effectively canceling their plans. So this year, we were happily surprised by the site of more than 200 luminaries around the street. It was so pretty and people drove by all night long.

We realize we need to amp up our exterior decorations next year but since our house is behind three big trees, our icicle lights wouldn't be seen very well. So I found this picture online and think next year we should work WITH the trees, not against!

Hippy Chic: Joint Camp

In preparation for my hip surgery in January, Mark and I attended Joint Camp at the facility where I'll be having the surgery. The head nurse on the floor and the PT lead each spoke for about an hour and answered questions. Of the ten patients attending, I was the only one with brown hair and the only one having my hip done. The others were much older and were all having knees replaced.

We talked about pre-op stuff, exercises, medications, check in, anesthesia, PT, recovery, walkers, and how to get in and out of beds, chairs and cars. It was definitely worthwhile, and good for Mark to hear too so he knows more what to expect.

I was surprised to get confirmation that I will only have three PT visits at home after my surgery, while a knee patient receives daily therapy for two weeks, then 3x a week for two weeks, etc. Hips are so much easier to rehab apparently. I already know I will have a posterior approach incision roughly six inches long, and a spinal anesthesia instead of general - also for quicker recovery.

Still trying to line up friends to come and stay with us - to help with driving mostly, because Mark cannot do half days for a month until I get clearance to drive again. In hindsight, I wish I would have had this surgery before we moved away from San Antonio, but our new friends here in DFW are ready to help with meals and rides, etc. Hopefully, I'll be able to drive after four weeks, which is much better than the 6-8 weeks mentioned in some of the literature!

I'm registered at the hospital and have pre-op appointments set up with my PA and operating surgeon in the next few weeks. I got new pajama pants and slippers for Christmas for my recovery outfit. Nothing to do but wait!

American Girl Girls' Day

Sarah's friend Grace comes to Dallas every year to celebrate her birthday at the American Girl store. This year, Sarah and I stayed at the Galleria with Grace and her mom and had a lovely shopping day with the girls.

They had so much fun, we took their new dolls back to the store the next day so they could play on more of the activity sets. We dread the day the girls grow out of this...

Catch Up....

Has it really been more than three weeks since a blog post? Bad!

The first weekend of December turned into a weather fiasco dubbed #IceMageddon. It started to rain Thursday afternoon and kept on through the night. By the time we woke up Friday morning, there was snow on top of a thick layer of ice. Travel was treacherous enough that school was canceled. The rain/sleet/snow continued to fall on Friday and froze soon after, as from that point on, the temps stayed below freezing. Cub Scouts was cancelled. The choir performance at Barnes and Noble was cancelled. So was tennis and the Pinewood Derby workshop.

By Sunday, we all had cabin fever, and a soon-to-expire day pass for the Great Wolf Lodge. We ventured out carefully for the short drive to the indoor water park. Due to the road conditions, they had many cancellations and the park wasn't crowded at all. It was a great way to burn off the cooped-up energy. The temps did get above freezing for a couple hours in the late afternoon and we saw many mini avalanches of snow falling from the roof of the park, not quite as big as this video shows but this was taken at the GWL right before we got there!

All the thawing that occurred would just refreeze overnight. It was bad enough that school was canceled on Monday as well, so we were extra thankful that we got a day OUT of the house.

The following week, we played catch up at school, for PTA, Christmas shopping, grocery shopping ...

Sarah walked in the Flower Mound Christmas Parade with her Girl Scout troop again. It was still very chilly, so those that braved the weather got as much candy as they hauled in at Halloween!

She also got to sing with the choir during the PTA meeting. And Ethan displayed his Pet Parade project - a voluntary project showing the process of selecting a pet, care and maintenance, toys, food, etc. He selected a brown guinea pig (because we used to take care of Fudge - a class pet from Sarah's second grade teacher in SA).

Then came all the class parties at school. Ethan's was a madhouse - there were more activities that we had time to do, but I'm sure the kids enjoyed the frenetic pace.

I helped plan the party for Sarah's class. Much more calmly, we finished the chalkboard picture frames that I had started the week before (painting two base coats and taking pictures of each kid). We also cut out snowflakes for the local hospital to use as tray favors.

Lucas' party was almost done by the time I could leave Sarah's party. But I did get to see him in a reindeer hat and try to eat a piece of licorice with no hands - made more difficult with the absence of his two front teeth!

One more half-day of school to get everything bought (and wrapped, dare I hope) before the kids are out for two weeks!

Sarah - Crohn's Update

After getting back from NJ, Sarah had an appointment with her gastro doctor. She feels so much better than she did a few months ago, and has lost a few pounds since being taken off steroids. The puffy cheeks are gone. She hasn't had tummy trouble in quite some time. We are very pleased and her doctor says we don't have to come back for three months! We will still have to do some blood work over Christmas break to check on anemia and other inflammatory markers, but overall, she's doing GREAT!