Hip-hop anonymous - a PAO journal

Below is my truncated version of my truncated hospital stay. While I am very optimistic and light-hearted about my upcoming recovery, explaining some of the hospital details in that way simply isn't possible, I'm sorry! Surgery and recovery (Monday) Woke up in a lot of pain, tried to throw up a couple of times, needed a breathing treatment, very groggy. Rolled into room, pain under control, very dry mouth. Start with ice chips, then a bit of water. By midnight, I've also had a small bit of orange sherbet. A long night. Both legs are numb. Wait for almost four hours for my knee cpm machine and then transfer into it. At this point, nurses notice my right foot is cold as ice and they can't find a pulse in the foot. They call my PA, order a doppler scan on my feet and load it up with warm blankets in the meantime. I have less than one hour's sleep at a time. Above, new hospital policy meant Dr. Mayo had to initial my hip before surgery. Day 1 (Tuesday) Pulse is back, th...

Cassie had a very busy day, she started oral meds at 10:00, the epidural was turned off at 11:00, and in two hours her PT, Vanessa got her up for the 2nd time and Cassie asked if it was ok if she took a few steps...we were amazed, she is definitely a ROCK STAR!!! That is three days earlier than the last surgery! She then went to X-ray for an ultrasound to check for blood clots in her leg; and got the all clear for take off. Her pain was pretty much under control until this evening, when all the activity of the day started catching up to her. Even though the meds make her groggy, she is having a lot of trouble getting rest. She says she is SO ready to go home! They started a transfusion this evening, and hopefully by 10:00 she will have had both units, (that is a whole other story that I'll let Cassie tell you). Looking forward to tomorrow, I know she will continue to push the bar, and we will be going home on Friday!

Hi gals, just a quick note to catch you up...we may get enough wireless signal for Cassie to post a little later in the day - that's how it worked yesterday. She has a lot of feeling coming back in both legs, and has requested the epidural be removed today as soon as possible, they will start oral meds first to be sure they have some pain coverage before taking it out. The PT and CNA arrived together this morning and decided to make it a joint venture (oh, that's funny!). Together they were going to give her a bath and get her to stand for a moment on her good leg. Then later this afternoon, hopefully...she can try a few steps! Though much sleep deprived she is trying to be very sweet, though she has had the unfortunate luck to be next door to a little old lady with Alzheimer's who is very confused and cries and screams most of the day and night. Poor lady, (I mean Cassie, of course!). It makes her even more determined to get out of this place as quickly as possible! T...

Other than being pretty groggy and unbearably itchy today, Day 1 post-op has been successful and eventful. Though my epidural has numbed both legs (the non-op side better than the op side, go figure), I was able to sit up and swing my legs off the side of the bed this afternoon, less than 24 hours post-op. Okay, so I didn't really swing my legs; it took Mom, Vanessa and me about two minutes to accomplish this! Vanessa (my physical therapist) also had me doing isometric exercises, which caused a few tears to fall, not from pain, but from the heartache of not being able to move more than an inch at a time. It's hard to make the switch from strong and athletic to weak and incapable. Vanessa told me not to be so hard on myself and that with my determination, we should be able to make it home by Friday. I think I'm going to go off the epidural tomorrow morning so I can stand and walk tomorrow. Yay! My pain is at a 1 when not moving, a 3-5 when I'm trying to get up. I am rece...

This is Cassie's Mom, after trying to connect to the internet unsuccessfully several times in her room, we have decided that Cassie will dictate to me and I'll try to keep you updated by taking the computer elsewhere in the building where there is a strong enough signal. Cassie's surgery took 5 1/2 hours this time, and Dr. Mayo said it went very well. He did find a cyst in the joint, in the same place as the left one...a matching set! He said that was kind of strange. She woke up in a lot of pain and Dr. Mayo said it took some time to get it under control, fortunately she did not remember much of that! She was out of recovery just 1 1/2 hours later and after a breathing treatment; into a room by 9:30, a little nauseas, and with a very dry throat. She kicked me out a little after midnight, and I took a cab to the hotel, since my carriage had turned back into a pumpkin. During the night they did a Doppler test because they were not detecting a pulse in her right leg, but th...

Below is my list of items I will be packing in my hospital bag. Some of the things I packed in the first bag didn't make the cut this time, and new things were added instead. 1 pair of very baggy sweatpants for the trip home. 2 pairs of loose, boxer short-type underwear (though I'll probably only need the one pair for the trip home. Underwear don't really work with a catheter). 1 shirt and bra 2 pairs of socks (though I don't need them as I'm forced to wear those tight TEDs). Comfy and supportive slip-on shoes Jacket Mouthwash (very handy when you can't get to the sink to brush) Toothbrush and toothpaste (when you finally are able to stand at the sink long enough!) Trial size shampoo and conditioner (yay for showering post-op!) Deodorant Lotion (in my favorite scent, for a small comfort from home) Cleansing facial wipes and moisturizer Baby wipes and antibacterial gel for my hands Dry shampoo Eyedrops (my eyes are dry since the Lasik) Ear plugs ...

U.S. News and World Report just did an issue on America's best hospitals, with a special section on orthopedics. While I was sad (though not surprised) to not see Tacoma General on the list, I do know that Dr. Mayo is one of the top surgeons for PAOs. That's enough for me. See the rankings.

Long-handled grabber My most useful tool. I will be bringing this to the hospital, as well. Get one here: AllegroMedical.com. Hand sanitizer and moist wipes Getting up to the sink was a huge chore, if not impossible at times. These were especially important in the hospital. Small pillow for car trips I used a pillow to place between my hip and the seat belt. It did not feel good to have the belt rubbing against my hip. I also used pillows to prop my leg and hold it in position since the car's stops, starts and turns made my leg move around. Get this one here: Potpourrigift.com Long-handled scrubber for shower A body poof attached to a long wooden handle was a dream for me to help wash my lower legs and feet while sitting on my bench in the shower (also a must-have). Recliner It was nice to be able to change positions by putting my legs up so easily. Water bottle with looped handle I filled mine half full at night, froze it, and then filled it with water in the mor...

It's so good to be home. The hospital was hard; there's no way to sugercoat it. I may expand on that later. The trip was neither horrific nor easy, but Mom and I got through it. I've been trying to catch up on sleep and energy in the past couple of days. I'm not as tired as I thought I might be, but the surgery and drugs are taking a toll on me. I'm taking 20 mg of oxycontin twice a day and about one 5 mg oxycodone tablet and 25 mg of hydroxyzine four times a day. Pain is tolerable and hurts the most when: sitting, getting in and out of the cpm machine, blowing my nose and laughing. The laughing part has been the hardest. Mom and Jamie experienced something so funny at the hospital that they: 1) ended up in the bathroom as to not wet themselves 2) took pictures of this so-called funny incident and 3) kept the joke from me because they knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. I'm still waiting to hear the story, but it probably will take another week or s...

Today started out with no hope. I had a huge emotional breakdown because I was so discouraged and worried about how I was going to get home. To sum it up, thanks to a pop in my hip and one really good physical therapy session I feel fantastic and want to have have a drink to celebrate. (Mom is going to have one for all of us) They took my urinary cath out this afternoon despite my fears of not being able to make it to the bathroom. My physical therapy following cath removal was fabulous! I walked out to the hall, turned around, saw the view from my hospital window (very pretty) and then came back to the room and sat and stood several times. I still have problems advancing my bad foot forward but I'm hoping that will be better tomorrow. I am using the bedside commode. Ever since my hip popped, my pain has been much more manageable. My sister leaves tonight, which makes me sad. We are hoping I will be leaving on Tuesday.

This is Jamie the big pain in the butt...er hip sister. I wanted to post a little something about today because after reading yesterdays blog I think it is ironic that today ended with me sobbing so much I couldn't talk to anyone. I am just really tired and miss my kids and husband and it was kind of a slow day because it was a Saturday and with Mom here also I guess I just went stir crazy. Too many cooks in the kitchen! Enough said about that. I will let Cass elaborate about her progress but just want to say she STOOD UP today and walked a couple of steps. Just want her to know I love her and am very proud of her and know she really Rocks! And I just know that that things are only going to go up from here! Love you sis!

Day 3 has been much better than the second part of Day 2, which ended with me sobbing so much I couldn't even talk to my mom on the phone. I think it was simply a tough day, mentally and physically, and it all just took a toll on me. It started with the nurses forgetting to bring in my lunch (not a big deal, really, just the start of the chain of events). Then, during my blood transfusion, the catheter site started to hurt really bad (we think because the vein was small and blood is thick.) So we pulled that catheter and added a new one. Again, no big deal. Plus, everyone said I got my color back afterward. Cause I was really worried about my color. Later that night , one of the nurses inadvertently pushed an ice pack into my incision, which made me cry out in pain and then start to cry uncontrollably. "Oh, are you still sore there? Is that where your incision is?" she asked. Yikes. So I was hurting and upset at that point and then my sister noticed I was violently trembl...

This is being typed by my wonderful sister who is unappreciated and overused!:-) Today has been a pretty good day despite the fact that I only got 2 hours of sleep at a time last night. I'm hooked up to the hip CPM, and thanks to the epidural, my pain hasn't gone higher than a 3. The physical therapist came in at 8am which I thought was going to be torture. Wende was very gentle and got me sitting and my legs swung off the bed. I had a very st rong shooting pain in my groin that lasted a couple of seconds, but the rest of it didn't hurt more than a 5. Unfortunately my right leg (good leg) has a motor block from the epi which means I have no feeling from the ankle up. Which means no standing until the epi is out which in turn, is slowing down my progress and motivating them to take me off the epidural by sometime tomorrow. Yikes. I'm just worried about the naseua I may feel from the oral medication they want to start me on after the epidural. I am currently getting...

It is now 7pm, 6.5hours post surgery. It took 3 hours in recovery before I got to see her and that was actually the longest 3 hours of the day! I am so impressed at how coherent she was when I first saw her. As far as her condition, she has 0 pain when not moving. So far, because of the epidural, maximum pain would be 3ish. They will be bringing in the CPM machine shortly, so that may change. So far not much nausea but the only pain management is the epidural. Her biggest complaint is her sore throat which we are trying ice water and soft things. She has actually been able to eat a jello and yogurt. Resting comfortably so far. Not looking forward to tomorrow when they insist on making her move.

At about 1:20pm Dr. Mayo came to talk to me and let me know Cassie was out of surgery and on her way to recovery. It can take 1-2 hours before leaving recovery for a room. Details of the surgery I will leave for Cassie to elaborate on but I will give my layman's rendition. There was some sort of cyst in the joint space that needed to be removed, which would account for some of her discomfort. It was sent to pathology but Dr. Mayo said there was really slim chance that it would be anything but benign. Also her labrum was torn so that was repaired. When I asked about the debridement of that joint space, he said it wasn't needed once he got in there. So that is the gist of what I know so far. I am so worried about her in recovery. I am dying to go in there!

Okay this is my first attempt at blogging, we'll see how I do. So after a nice quiet dinner and drink at our hotel we prepared for the big day. We didn't get the best night's sleep due to a couple of false starts, one being at about 1am when Cassie had a nightmare that we woke up at 6:30am as opposed to 4:15am as scheduled. So back to sleep, and then up again at 4am due to me having the same panic attack! So we were up! As we were walking through the hallways on the way to surgery check-in I linked my arm around hers because I was afraid she would make a run for it. But after we made it through the surgery doors she did great! We found ways to amuse ourselves right off the bat and woke Mom up with a pic of us with surgical caps on! But let's get serious...Cassie did awesome. She wasn't nervous at all. Very silly actually. I got to see her victory dance that she uses at volleyball 'Fast Feet, Slow Hands' is what I believe its called. What a geek! I told her...