This is one of those "be careful what you ask for moments"; I wanted to get my knee surgery over with so I could start healing. Whew! It was over in about 45 minutes. We arrived at the hospital at 9 AM for the paperwork and preparation, the surgery was at 11 and we were home by 3:30 PM. I delayed things a bit by spiking my blood pressure by doing some stress-related shivering, but some deep breathing exercises finally got that under control so the nurse would let me go.
What they sent me home with is really cool. It's a portable, liquid ice bag. The Igloo cooler is first filled with ice and then water and the hose is attached to a pad under my brace which constantly circulates cold water around the knee. I'm to leave it on for 72 hours at first and then use it a couple of times a day for 2 hours at a time until I see the surgeon again next Tuesday. This is so much easier than having to ask Denny or my mother to refresh my sandwich baggie of ice several times a day. As my dad used to say, "it's slicker than snot on a doorknob". We tend to be gross on his side of the family.
For right now, I'm still on the no-weight-on-the-leg, keep-it-elevated-on-the-couch routine until I see Dr. M next week and get an update on what comes next. I mean, I already know that I'll be in the brace for 4-6 weeks but perhaps we'll find out just when I'll be able to start moving this puppy again. This invalid routine is for the birds (Etymology: based on the idea that birds eat seed, which is not worth much). Slid that idiom lesson right in there, didn't I? Heh. I've come out of my drug-induced haze. And had some coffee.
1 comment:
I'm very glad to see you're okay. That cooler thing is nifty. I'm hoping that you have a very uneventful (and quick) recovery.
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