Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Days after Surgery
There are several fixed stages you have to go through. For example, the second day the catheter is removed at night. The intravenous is also taken out. Once all of the tubes are out you can start meeting with OT and PT to start walking and showing the needed skills to use the new hip at home. Due to my blood loss my hemoglobin levels were consistently dropping during this time frame and I was quite nauseated and weak most of the time. About day three I got a blood transfusion, which really helped. I was still quite nauseated, probably due to some of the drugs I was taking. In particular Kefalex, an antibiotic being used to combat possible infection of the incision.
The Surgery Day
I got into my surgical gown in the day surgery area and met the Anesthetist and the Surgical Nurse Specialist who were going to look after me. They placed an anti-blood clot stocking on my non-operated leg and initialed the leg that was going to operated on. I was also given some drugs orally.
Then I was rolled into a hallway and waited until the operating room was ready. Once in the OR the spinal was done...absolutley painless and I was pretty much out of it. I remember some jolting and hammering and talking to the Anesthetist just before I got wheeled into Recovery. I think I recall most of the time in Recovery, there were lots of nurses checking things and one in particular that spoke with me. I felt great.
Then I was wheeled up into my semi-private room. Once again, I still felt great. I remember talking to my wife and elevating the bed so I could chew on some ice chips. Then I felt nauseated and, apparently, passed out. I lost a fair amount of blood in the surgery and my blood pressure just dropped.
I recovered from that and was once again feeling good, just a little whoozy. I was very upbeat that day.
Then I was rolled into a hallway and waited until the operating room was ready. Once in the OR the spinal was done...absolutley painless and I was pretty much out of it. I remember some jolting and hammering and talking to the Anesthetist just before I got wheeled into Recovery. I think I recall most of the time in Recovery, there were lots of nurses checking things and one in particular that spoke with me. I felt great.
Then I was wheeled up into my semi-private room. Once again, I still felt great. I remember talking to my wife and elevating the bed so I could chew on some ice chips. Then I felt nauseated and, apparently, passed out. I lost a fair amount of blood in the surgery and my blood pressure just dropped.
I recovered from that and was once again feeling good, just a little whoozy. I was very upbeat that day.
A Christmas Present
So there I was in November preparing for my surgery in late April when I got a call from the original surgeon, there was an opening December 17th! Of course I jumped at it but it really came like a bolt from the blue. Two weeks after that the second surgeon also contacted me with a date at the end of January...amazing. So I said that I couldn't take that date but I did not cancel the April date in case some kind of disaster occurred with the December date.
I had only a couple of weeks to get a physical done and to prepare my home for my convalescence. A week before the surgery I attended a day long clinic with Occupational Therapists (OTs), Physio Therapists (PTs), a nurse and an Anesthetist. It went by in a blur and the next thing that I knew I was walking up to the hospital with my cane to get my new hip.
I had only a couple of weeks to get a physical done and to prepare my home for my convalescence. A week before the surgery I attended a day long clinic with Occupational Therapists (OTs), Physio Therapists (PTs), a nurse and an Anesthetist. It went by in a blur and the next thing that I knew I was walking up to the hospital with my cane to get my new hip.
Bureaucracy raises its ugly head
Joint replacement surgery is in high demand everywhere right now, its a baby-boomer demographic issue. The Big Beluga is on the tailing edge of the baby-boomer demographic, not a good place to be.
Anyhow, I had anticipated that a referral from the Musco-skeletal specialist would sort of position me in a higher priority group with the surgeon. Not so. It still took me about three months just to see the surgeon. I had also hoped that perhaps he could due a variation of a hip replacement called a "Birmingham", which resurfaces rather than replaces the ball part of the femur in the ball and socket joint of the hip. Advantage: may be stronger for younger people and allows for an additional revision of the hip joint at later times.
Alas, my hips were not good candidates for this procedure. Note I said "hips". The first thing that the surgeon said to me was "your hips suck." That is, we were talking about getting both hips done rather than the one that was giving me the most trouble. Then the next shocker: the waiting time for surgery was 10-11 months! The surgeon was sympathetic to my plight, he said that it was now possible to do both hips at one time, although not preferred, and that if my hips were really killing me in 10 or 11 months then perhaps we could do that. He also gave me the names of several other surgeons whom he thought would do a wonderful job.
So I had myself put on a "standby" list and went away to contemplate my karma. To me, 10-11 months was just too long, I would be completely crippled by then. So I tried some of the other Surgeons that were suggested. Their waiting times for surgery were 6-9 months but I would have to make an appointment for an assessment and that would be 3-4 months, so I was no better off. It appears that the mistake I made was not going directly to a surgeon a year ago when I had elected to see a Musco-skeletal specialist. This was, in effect, punishing me for trying to maximize my time on my own joints.
Then it dawned on me that I had already seen a surgeon years ago, the one that told me that my hockey playing days were over. If he had still been in practice I would have been seen much sooner. I went to my family Doctor and complained and she wrote a letter to the 10-11 month surgeon. I also asked a family member, who is a Nurse that works with Surgeons that do joint replacement, if she could help. She asked a Surgeon to see me and he very kindly did, on very short notice. However, he could not accelerate the surgery list so I was still 6 months away from surgery. At least I had some hope but the process leading up to getting the surgery was quite frustrating.
Anyhow, I had anticipated that a referral from the Musco-skeletal specialist would sort of position me in a higher priority group with the surgeon. Not so. It still took me about three months just to see the surgeon. I had also hoped that perhaps he could due a variation of a hip replacement called a "Birmingham", which resurfaces rather than replaces the ball part of the femur in the ball and socket joint of the hip. Advantage: may be stronger for younger people and allows for an additional revision of the hip joint at later times.
Alas, my hips were not good candidates for this procedure. Note I said "hips". The first thing that the surgeon said to me was "your hips suck." That is, we were talking about getting both hips done rather than the one that was giving me the most trouble. Then the next shocker: the waiting time for surgery was 10-11 months! The surgeon was sympathetic to my plight, he said that it was now possible to do both hips at one time, although not preferred, and that if my hips were really killing me in 10 or 11 months then perhaps we could do that. He also gave me the names of several other surgeons whom he thought would do a wonderful job.
So I had myself put on a "standby" list and went away to contemplate my karma. To me, 10-11 months was just too long, I would be completely crippled by then. So I tried some of the other Surgeons that were suggested. Their waiting times for surgery were 6-9 months but I would have to make an appointment for an assessment and that would be 3-4 months, so I was no better off. It appears that the mistake I made was not going directly to a surgeon a year ago when I had elected to see a Musco-skeletal specialist. This was, in effect, punishing me for trying to maximize my time on my own joints.
Then it dawned on me that I had already seen a surgeon years ago, the one that told me that my hockey playing days were over. If he had still been in practice I would have been seen much sooner. I went to my family Doctor and complained and she wrote a letter to the 10-11 month surgeon. I also asked a family member, who is a Nurse that works with Surgeons that do joint replacement, if she could help. She asked a Surgeon to see me and he very kindly did, on very short notice. However, he could not accelerate the surgery list so I was still 6 months away from surgery. At least I had some hope but the process leading up to getting the surgery was quite frustrating.
My Osteoarthritis progresses
Since I could no longer play or Ref hockey I set out to find some other activity to be fanatical about. Actually I didn't quite give up right away. I took about six months off to see if the rest would settle the pain down (it didn't). All I did was put on some weight. So then I decided to lose some weight. I did so fairly well, probably losing up to 50 pounds. Then I tried skating again, a disaster. Once the osteoarthritis begins there are inevitable changes that occur in the joint. Most notably with hips your leg begins to rotate outward, degree by degree. The end result for me was that it was like trying to skate with someone else's legs. I wiped out a few times and then went home and sold my hockey equipment.
In the meantime I kept up with conditioning as much as possible. I was usually working out 4-5 times a week at the gym, plus a lot of cycling. My conditioning level was good. The pain was becoming an issue and I thought that the time was upon me. I went to my Doctor but she elected to send me to a Musco-skeletal specialist rather than a surgeon. He proposed some exercises and drugs that helped get me through another year or so, after that I was referred to a Surgeon. By the way, the drug that I found the most useful for my particular manifestation of OA was Diclofenac. Later that was teamed up with Toridal, which worked for a few months. Then, finally, weaker narcotics. Even so, as surgery approached, walking with a cane was generally quite uncomfortable.
In the meantime I kept up with conditioning as much as possible. I was usually working out 4-5 times a week at the gym, plus a lot of cycling. My conditioning level was good. The pain was becoming an issue and I thought that the time was upon me. I went to my Doctor but she elected to send me to a Musco-skeletal specialist rather than a surgeon. He proposed some exercises and drugs that helped get me through another year or so, after that I was referred to a Surgeon. By the way, the drug that I found the most useful for my particular manifestation of OA was Diclofenac. Later that was teamed up with Toridal, which worked for a few months. Then, finally, weaker narcotics. Even so, as surgery approached, walking with a cane was generally quite uncomfortable.
My Hockey Playing Days are Over.
About 5 or 6 years ago I became weary of soreness in my hips and lower back that attended my fanatical devotion to the game of hockey. Up to that point I had been playing hockey year round for about 15 years, probably a minimum of 100 games per year, and then for the last 8 or 9 yearsI was reffing minor hockey at the rate of 100 games a year or so in addition to my Rec hockey. Anyway, I was gobbling down the Ibuprofen and having problems sleeping so my Doctor sent me to an Orthopedic Surgeon for an assessment. He said, "your hockey playing days are over". I said that I wanted a second opinion so he said, "ok, you're ugly too." He mentioned that I would be a candidate for hip replacement surgery in a few years and then sent me on my way. Then he retired.
Prior to my fanatical devotion to hockey I had had a similar fanatical devotion to Karate-do for 12 years or so. I am a full figured male, this activity also took its toll. Before Karate-do I Curled fanatically for about 5 years or so. This meant Curling at least one game every day during the Curling season, plus practicing. I estimate that in that five year stretch I curled somewhere between 1000-1500 games. Not easy on the old sliding leg, which in my case was the left one.
I came by the osteoarthritis honestly, there was nothing to do but retire from hockey and wait for the time for the hip replacement to come.
Prior to my fanatical devotion to hockey I had had a similar fanatical devotion to Karate-do for 12 years or so. I am a full figured male, this activity also took its toll. Before Karate-do I Curled fanatically for about 5 years or so. This meant Curling at least one game every day during the Curling season, plus practicing. I estimate that in that five year stretch I curled somewhere between 1000-1500 games. Not easy on the old sliding leg, which in my case was the left one.
I came by the osteoarthritis honestly, there was nothing to do but retire from hockey and wait for the time for the hip replacement to come.
Failing Parts in Middle Age
Would that I was a Beluga, rocketing through the depths, a perfect swimming machine. Instead I am a land bound primate whose characteristic upright posture has now lead to the inevitable result of fighting against gravity for a life time. I speak of osteoarthritis. In my case, of the hips, and in particular, the left hip. I seek relief in the form of total hip arthoplasty, ie, a hip replacement. This is my saga.
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