Post-op Report

          This is a test of whether or not I can put together a blog on this tablet instead of my usual computer. I reported in to the hospital at 0530 on Tuesday morning. The actual time in surgery was about eight hours! I didn't see Durelle and Cindy until 1000 Wednesday morning. I was in the ICU for Wednesday night (space issue) and then to a room on the sixth floor for the rest of the time. I came home on Saturday afternoon. Here's a couple of shots of my view.

     
     The fact is that I could not complete the job with the tablet. I'm sure that, with additional practice, I could get it done, but I really need a full-size keyboard. It's now Monday, but I have a couple of tales from the hospital stay.
     I showed up at 0530 Tuesday for 0730 surgery which lasted about eight hours! There were large amounts of bone spurs to remove, squashed and bulging cartilage to extract, two adjacent vertebrae to realign, and three vertebrae ( lumbar 3, 4, and 5 ) to be fused. Obviously, I was lying on my stomach for the surgery. Almost as obviously, I was not lying on s comfortable mattress. I was lying on a padded framework for stability and registration. The resting places included my collar bones, the ends of my rib cage, my shoulders and the side of my face. As the anesthetic wore off, I felt as if my front had been hammered more than my back. Good News I : the surgery had been a real necessity. Good News II: everything was accomplished according to plan and without drama.
     During my recovery time on the sixth floor, the staff in toto was competent, compassionate, and congenial. There just weren't enough of them, which segues into my second tale. A major post-op task is to get the plumbing working again. At one point I went to call for assistance in getting to the pot, and I could not find the call button. I looked up at the white board ( visible in the picture ). There was a number for the kitchen because you could order from a menu...sorta. So I called a helpful lady in the kitchen and asked her to call the Nurse's Station for the sixth floor. She did, and eventually someone helped me out. I spent an uncomfortable hour on that pot until I called for help in getting back in bed. Wouldn't you know? Twenty minutes later I needed a urinal. There was no urinal in sight and the call button was up behind the head of the bed where it had been placed on the previous visit to get me into bed. Guess what? I called the kitchen again asked the same nice lady if she would be my secretary for the day. She laughed and made the call.
     I've been home two days and am up walking around and typing. The back's uncomfortable. Durelle is being a great caregiver, and I'm still sleeping in the Lazy Boy. By the way, Durelle is also taking care of a 15-16 year old dog and Cindy's 22 (!) year old cat. Baxter has had a couple of seizures in the past week.
     So, if Durelle stays healthy, we are all going to make it.