Hello all,
Sorry for the delay in posting this very important update. But I do appreciate all of the well wishes I received via my blog and via twitter.
So yes, I have a new titanium hip! I went in for surgery on Aug 17 (Wednesday) and got home on Aug 22 (Monday).
I got to the hospital at around 6:30am. I checked in and then sat in the waiting room for about 10 minutes. I was then called in to put on my hospital garb.
I had my vital signs checked, including my blood pressure, temperature, etc. I then went into another room with my father and waited to be seen by the anesthesiologist. He went over all of the pertinent info, including the fact that I’d be receiving a nerve block (aka big scary needle in my back!) I was scared…I don’t like needles in by back! (Though I’m clearly okay with shoving large needles into my own arm haha).
Shortly afterwards, I kissed my Dad goodbye and it was off to the “room before the OR” room. I walked there with the anesthesiologist. It was a long walk…maybe 2 minutes. I joked to him that the walk was quite long and I felt as though I was headed to the electric chair. He laughed and said “kinda like the Green Mile, huh?” And I said “yeah, dead woman walking!” He laughed and said he was thinking the same thing but did not know if he should make such a joke since he didn’t know my sense of humour. We both laughed at ourselves and each other’s crude sense of humour.
I went to the room before the room and the anesthesiologist put the IV into my hand. I must say that I’m a big fan of having anesthesiologists putting IVs into my hand. They’re quite good at it and never miss. Well done.
Soon after, I found myself putting my face into a contraption similar to one that you’d put your face in if you were having a “sit down” massage. The nerve block was put in and there was little pain.
I was taken to the OR and greeted by nurses and my doctor/surgeon. I laid down on the bed and made it clear that I wanted to be completely knocked out. Soon…darkness.
I woke up and heard what sounded like a chisel and a hammer on a piece of stone. I looked down and saw a big green cloth blocking my vision to my hip. Yep, the surgery was still going on. I was not in pain, but I felt it necessary to make it known that I was awake and unhappy about it. I said “ow.”. Then soon after…darkness again.
What happened afterwards is a bit of a blur. I went to the “room after the room” and was taken care of by a nurse. She asked me to wiggle my toes. I was only able to wiggle the toes on my un-operated leg, She told me I was doing well and I was soon taken to my room. Much to my surprise (and delight) I was taken to a private room. This is probably because I would need dialysis and it would be much more convenient to be in my own room vs. share with someone else.
My dad was there and I was happy about that. I looked to my right and saw my PCA pump (patient controlled analgesia). I used it. I was allowed to use it every 5 minutes. I later found out that there was a kink in my line and I wasn’t getting ANY of the morphone…but when the line was un-kinked, I DID get a large dose (22 hours worth) of drugs. Let’s just say I was high for about 24 hours.
The first bandage on my hip seemed to be a pressure bandage in order to ensure that there was no bleeding/leakage.
I had lots of visitors and that was nice. Having the private room was especially nice since I knew that I was not disturbing my next door neighbour.
I actually wanted to document a lot of my surgery via video, but the camera I’ve been waiting for samsung to send me a pocket cam to replace a defective one. I first sent them my defective device in mid June. Well..let’s just say that I don’t have a camera yet.
Anyhow, after a couple of days, my pressure-typed bandage was changed to a regular gauze bandage that wasn’t as bulky.
I had the PCA removed and used a lot of oral pain killers.
This breathing apparatus helped me to practice taking deep breaths. I was told why this is very important, but unfortunately I cannot remember.
I’m at home now and I’m adjusting to the whole “not being able to walk” thing. Well, I can walk but I have to use a walker to walk, and a cane to go up and down stairs. I use my cane in my room as it is much to small to use a walker to get anywhere. My staples are supposed to come out next week Wednesday, which would mark the 14th day since my surgery. I am going to make sure that THEY make sure that the staples have been in long enough. I don’t want/need my leg popping in like my stomach did when THOSE staples were removed too early. But the person who will be removing them will either be a close family friend (i refer to him as my uncle) who is a very experienced ER nurse, or I will head to my family doctor to have him remove them.
The next pic is of my staples in my leg. It doesn’t look gross to me, but if you are sensitive, perhaps scroll quickly and pass this picture.
There are other stories to tell, including my stories of physiotherapy, and of hospital nurses (one in particular-I know everyone loves a good ol’ nurse story..!). Those posts will come in the future.
That’s all for now and again, that’s for all of the thoughts, prayers, and positive energy!
Glad you are doing well. Your blog has been really informative. Thanks so much! Take care!
sorry if this is off topic, but do you mind telling me what skincare products do you use?
Thank you for your kind words, Jen!
And Anonymous, that's quite alright!
For my face, I recently started washing it with African black soap. It is really helping my skintone. After washing, I use a spray on neem leaf extract as a toner. To moisturize, I use cerave skin lotion and add a couple of drops of grapeseed oil. If I'm going out into the sun, I use Solar Protective moisturizer SPF 30. I like the sunscreen because it doesn't break my sensitive skin out, it doesn't leave a white residue behind like most sunscreens, and its paraben free. I periodically exfoliate with raw honey and brown sugar. I also periodically use a green clay or bentonite clay mask mixed with sour cream (the lactic acid in sour cream acts as a low grade peel:good for acne scarring).
In a previous post, I mention some white spots/hyperpigmented spots on my face. My dermatologist recently prescribed me stieva-a 0.025% cream for the spots.
For the rest of my body, I usually use just any body wash that smells nice. Right now I'm using a grapefruit scented body wash from bath & body works. I moisturize with Nivea extra nourishing milk with almond oil.
I hope this answers your question..!
Miz Flow