POST-OP
It's been a week since my most painful surgery. I am ashamed to admit that I was writhing and yelling in pain in the recovery room. Until they pumped me up with pain medication. It was agonizing. Once in the hospital room, it didn't help that the first three times they helped me out of bed to use the rest room, the nurses and aids took me out on the wrong side of the bed. More agony. The night nurses shifted things around and got me out on the proper side and that helped, alot. There were two of us in the room - an elderly woman who had hip replacement. She did not have near the pain I had. I felt bad that she had to listen me. The nursing staff was pretty responsive, caring and helpful. They kept up with my pain medication. Although, I must say, that sharing a room on the orthopaedic floor with wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and chairs for visitors made for very crowded conditions and not much room to move around and get
out of bed.
I am doing better, slowly. I am down to three pain pills a day. Learning how to position myself to sit and stand up, using a walker, and having the knee brace fall down to my ankle since the swelling has gone down. I make my breakfast, lunch and part of dinner, feed the dogs, but the water is too hard with the walker, and do the dishes.
Everything takes such effort and much longer to do. It is hard to adjust to this different pace and I have to allow time for a trip to the bathroom. I will be so happy to take a real shower. I am living on the pulled-out sleeper sofa, easier to get in and out of as I lift leg onto it and off of it. It is not uncomfortable. LH has to bring down fresh undies and clothes and items needed from upstairs. I hope that after my doctor's appt on Friday, I will get the go ahead to shower. Then I can start doing the stairs.
I haven't started reading my novel yet, although I've journaled and done word searches and read the newspaper.
I pray that I will be able to preach the last two Sundays in July and then I am back to searching for a new position and starting rehab.
I am thankful the surgery went well. The doc had to drill three holes in my kneecap and sew down the quad muscle. I pray that none of you will ever have to endure such an injury or surgery. The pain is unequaled to anything else.
LH has been a real help and comfort. Sometimes at the end of the day when I am so weary, he will lift my leg onto the bed, rather than my looping an old sheet around my foot and hoisting up myself. He's even rubbed some lotion on the sole of my foot to help the dry skin. What a dear. I would do the same for him.
So, I am coming along, trying not to get cabin fever and praying I will be able to drive a week from Sat. Each day gets a bit better, but it will take 3 months of healing and rehab, lots of work, sweat and yes, more pain. I have done this before. I will get through it again.
And, I will have full use of my knee again! Thanks be to God!