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I won't know the result for a little while. Because it was a stat add on it could be in MyChart in a couple of hours, or it could take up to the standard 24. I think they found something, as she took a comparison shot on the right of the area near the groin where I have been in so much pain. We'll see. If that is the case I have a prescription for Apixiban at Chandler pharmacy to pick up, so mischief managed. And they did give me the Lovenox last night. So hopefully that'll help, if there is a clot, which we don't know yet, so I'm going to act as if they're isn't. Except I'm not getting in that bike until I get the okay from Talwalkar's office.

UPDATE

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: I have a driver! Yay!!! 👏👏👏👏👏
UPDATE: They just called and I took a 2 PM appointment to give me some time to get a driver. Don't know if that could have made it worse since it's in the middle of the afternoon. But if you aren't particularly busy and you can help, please let me know!!! Thank you!!!

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Okay, early bird Saturday friends, a general plea. Most of you know I am the only driver in our household, but I am currently unable to drive due to the total knee replacement surgery being just a little over a week ago. Yesterday I had a PT session scheduled. I had my main driver come in from a neighbouring county for a grocery and bank run, as well as the PT session, and when the PT agreed with me that I should call my orthopaedist about the swelling in my leg, she went to the ER with me, essentially spending 10 or more hours away from home, most of which were unplanned. She had plans with her sons this morning that she was willing to change, but.... The main thing I needed yesterday, the duplex venous ultrasound study, closed right after I got to the ER but before I was seen. The ER doctor, Dr. Creech (very nice, treated me very well, despite the shell game that was last night) tried to get a study ordered stat and get someone to stay to no avail, then ran bloodwork to at least rule out other causes of swelling and something that would still remain high in the case of post-op but might point to a blood clot. The labs did indicate that I should have the study, so I should receive a call first thing this morning from their imaging center there (it's right next to the ER, I believe, in a trailer). If I don't receive a call by 10 AM I'm to call them. So that I don't have to drag my friend back to Lexington again after so many unexpected hours, would anyone be able to take me to the ultrasound? Most ultrasounds don't take more than an hour. The plan should they find it is not to repeat the ER visit (protocol is usually to refer to the ER, but he said there was no need since I'd already been through. He already has a script waiting for me at Chandler Pharmacy of oral blood thinners to pick up if there is a clot; if the test is negative I just come back home and cancel the prescription. So it's really either a there-and-pharmacy or there-and-home. If you can do it, please let me know and I will message you my phone # and address if you don't already know it. It does mean being on standby until shortly after 10 AM possibly until I know more, unfortunately, as I have to wait till they call. PS I am still on a walker but ambulating pretty well. A very high vehicle might be too hard for me to manage, as I often have trouble with them anyway, although with enough leg room it may not matter; I'm not sure--in some ways this knee bends better than my other, I'm just not used to it yet. On the good news front, my flexion was 84° yesterday. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Up

at 5:30 am just as my roommate went to bed. Neither of us has the best sleeping ability on a good day, both of us deal with insomnia. My problem, I think, is while I went to bed fairly early, i had quite a bit of pain and had trouble sleeping, so I finally broke down and took some medicine, which messes with my sleep cycle, melatonin or not. Besides, I'm used to getting up between 5:30-6:30 for work still.

So here I am, my light alarm clock just coming on. I should probably get on the bike. But no, that is not happening this early.

Before I went to bed, I made my first actual to-do list since my surgery. It goes something like this:

• do morning PT exercises
• brush teeth/clean up
• get dressed
• take morning meds
• do internet jigsaw puzzle #1 in morning [https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/]
• listen to music
• return a text from a friend in Cicero, Illinois
• ride ROMTech bike #1 (8:00 am)
• read from book about public libraries
• get my friend to take my hamper of dirty clothes out to the washer
• do my laundry
• blog, including back entries where I never mentioned doing this surgery [I am so behind; I haven''t posted since June. I have kept this blog since October of 2001.]
• ice!
• stay ahead of the pain
• remember to use the knee brace on the non-operant (right) knee since I keep forgetting
• ride ROMTech bike #2 (10:30 am)
• set up bill pay to pay rent/grocery fund
• ride ROMTech #3 (1:00 pm)
• do puzzle #2 for the afternoon
• eat lunch
• do midday PT exercises
• return a missed phone call from yesterday
• have friend bring me the clean clothes in a hamper
• fold the clean clothes [these include the linens for Sabbath dinner tomorrow]
• ride ROMTech # 4 (3:30pm)
• do puzzle #3 for the evening
• ride ROMTech # 5 (6:00 pm)
• eat dinner
• watch episodes 1 and 2 of season 2 of 'Desperate Housewives'
• take evening meds
• do nightly PT exercises

It's not what I would call thrilling, but it'll keep me occupied. 🙂 I'm going to try something new tomorrow and cut the time in between the ROMTech sessions from three hours to 1.5 in an effort to get them knocked out in a reasonable time. We'll see. That may be too much at once. But I don't have any appointments tomorrow. If you're wondering why I am doing laundry rather than my roommate, there is a perfectly non-logical story involving oaths to long-dead relatives about that going back over two decades that I won't get into but suffice to say that I am perfectly capable of putting clothes in and out of a washer and dryer, especially if I open the other utility room door (I don't normally bother, I just open the dryer and pull things out by kind of leaning over, but there is a bolt that goes into the floor where the door in front does actually swing fully open so you have full access). I just can't carry at the moment. Actually, my clothes are in a rolling cart, but still....I'll ask him to do it, just to be safe.

Okay, it's 6:30 am. I'm not sure if I'm sleepy or no.t. Maybe I should start my day with a little music. Have a lovely morning.

Finally

Got the first session of the day down. Called the ROMTech rep. Apparently they are open from 8 AM-9 PM. Making a mental note about that. 🙂 They don't do the straps anymore because people were stepping out of the pedals without getting out of them and getting hurt. I can't say anything--it's something I might do. He suggested wearing something with a heavier tread, so I did and it was better. Not perfect, I had to stop a couple of times, but much better. The main thing is I finished, and I increased twice. I did have to resist the urge to pedal with my knees out rather than up. I've done that for years. It hurts and it's bad for them, and the whole point is to get height in angle anyway. So I'm trying to watch my form while making sure the machine doesn't slide forward. I need to brace it with something about a foot long.

Also, I am itching where my nerve catheter was and trying so hard to resist scratching. I'm hoping it'll settle down once I get a shower. Roommate's not up yet so that's for later. One productive thing I did manage to do earlier today was water all the plants. IT was going on three weeks and they hadn't been watered by surgery day, and I was worried some might die. One was very peaked--it's a peperomia that acts a canary in a coal mine. Anyway, I got everyone taken care of.

I think I will rest a little now and listen to some music, maybe make a list for the day. I do better with lists, but I'm a bit tired. That machine takes '12' minutes' but it's really something like 45, and then about another half-hour or 45 minutes of plotzing. Then it's time for the next one, it seems.

A-hah!

Well, that took care of part of the problem...since there are the two stop signs, I suspect she pointed to the other one and I thought she meant the physical one for both. Also, mine did not come with straps. Maybe I could get them sent to me? Thank you, VALOR Medical Solutions. 🙂

Frustration

It's been really dreary outside, and I've been listening to Ella Fitzgerald on Pandora, so I haven't done much more than my regular PT exercises, taken my meds (well, I'm working on that right now), dealt with the pump (only because it was necessary) and ate a banana. I'm ready to crawl back into bed. I have not done the ROMTech after the frustration of last night. I did not finish my fourth session or attempt my fifth one...instead I need to see if they're open on Sundays and they can help as my feet keep falling out of the pedals whenever we increase the pedal radius. I kept hitting the stop button but it would reset the session and I would lose my progress instead of starting back up so I know I'm doing something wrong. Unfortunately there is nothing on the machine or the website that is the same as the setup instructions given by the rep, just a specifications document on the machine and a brochure for why you have your doctor prescribe it. I may just Google it for YouTube or such rather than rely on the company, but really, not all of us process auditorily well. Why not just give a stupid information sheet, either on paper or online? Have they never heard of a FAQ? But I do want the acetaminophen to kick in before I start that, so maybe 10?

I am competent!

Celebrating the fact that my nerve block pump went off today and the last dribble of medicine meant I was able to take out the catheter, and even I, the weenie non-medical person with an issue for such things managed to do so (I was going to have Mr. CNA do it, but he's exhausted and asleep from a combination of taking care of me, doing chores he's not used to, cooking Sabbath dinner, and doing services for a holiday that is currently going on which commemorates a 25-hour period of mourning in the Jewish calendar, and involves fasting, so he wasn't going to get up to study over Zoom with a friend, so I'm leaving him alone and letting him sleep, and I handled it all on my own.) I boxed everything to send the pump back This means, of course, that I can take a shower, as long as I put a little cling wrap or a bag around the incision bandage (it's actually waterproof, but still). I will not do that until he's up because I'd rather he put the shower chair in and be up in case I have trouble getting in and out of the shower. I'm bending pretty well, though, which is good, because we have a glass-enclosed tub/shower.

I'm actually able to walk around the house without a cane for the most part, although I'm taking it around mostly for safety. I can kind a 'cruise' like a one-year old as needed and use walls. I've been off the walker inside since the second night here. But I'd probably still use the walker out in the world because there's just too much going on and especially the cane with the stairs. If I feel the walker gets in the way, I'll switch to the cane. Actually, I have my friend Glen to thank for the fact I have a cane--I left mine behind at PT because I walked with the walker straight over to checkout and went right out; he went back and got it, remembering after getting me into the car. At least we hadn't left. The one thing I seem to be missing from being at the hospital is a pair of sleep/headband earphones. I called Baptist's lost and found (security) and they didn't see them. So I may just have misplaced them. And I thought I had them here the first day here. Go figure. They're replaceable. It's all worth it. In the exercise programme, it's not the left I'm having trouble with, it's the untreated right. Ouch. 🙂

Anywhere, here's a before and after. Avert your eyes if necessary. Should have probably said that up front...sorry.

Oy vey

3rd session - forest. Last time I stayed awake afterwards but supine. This time I'm going to try to sit up. Next time is 8 PM.

Desert!

Just did my second session on the the range of motion machine this time the background was a desert scene rather than the Alpine village from this morning. I used to really bike through the desert when I lived in the Mojave. So it was nice. It's a 12-minute workout, 10 passive, 2 active. The first one put me out for most of the next three hours with some ice and a little pain increase. But I'm hoping to do better the second time. But I do have to lie down and elevate and ice my leg. I plan to hey back up and do things. Really. I did eat some cottage cheese and challah afterwards. That's in top of my banana breakfast. I don't reach much when I'm at home, don't get very hungry,

Also, Itook my next dose of Mounjaro to get back on track after surgery. I had to stop mine a week ahead. I stopped it 2 weeks out. IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP FOR USERS OF GLP-1 DRUGS such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, please realise that these medications work by slowing the emptying of the stomach, and therefore if your are sedated for any reason, you can aspirate and choke to death or get a form of pneumonia, either of which can kill you. As a result hospitals and other centres that sedate will not do so if you've taken one within one week. I knew this, but forgot before my colonoscopy and was given the option to reschedule and redo the prep or do it unsedated. I chose the latter. A surgery would have had to be rescheduled completely, though, so yes, I went two weeks out.😊

Update

Hey, guys, I just wanted to provide an update since I've managed to give almost no one any information about my surgery or its outcome, and I'm very sorry about that. First of all let me explain why you haven't heard anything.

Back in May, I had an event at work where I had sudden myoclonic tics/spasms come up that caused involuntary movement in my arms and legs. They are always there a bit, just like my familial essential tremor (I think I get that from my grandfather; his hands shook, too, so much later in life he couldn't hold a coffee cup without spilling it). Anyway, it was a little alarming at this went far more than a bit of a shaky thumb. My neurologist put me through a series of tests, including an EEG and a brain MRI to rule out things like epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain tumour, etc., and those all came out fine, so it went down as a myoclonus brought on by lack of sleep and stress. He upped my essential tremor medicine (a seizure med called topiramate) yet again, and it went to its current norm. But in the days of preparing for the surgery I got about 3-4 hours at the most sleep (not much than my norm, but still worse). On the night before, I got maybe one hour. So from the time I woke up to about noon yesterday, I had this thing I get where if I try to text or use a phone I 'double-tap' everything. Even after that, texting is hard and frustrating. And I tried the microphone. It was frustrating, because I'd still have to go back and correct on the phone. I meant to get on the computer once I got home, but it's taken a bit to get settled...so. I had a person to call a couple of friends, and he did, but didn't get through, so that didn't work, either. 🙁

Surgery went fine. There was no lengthy pre-op, even like you have with a colonoscopy or so. I just got dressed and had a quick word with providers, my friend, and then went on to the OR for my spinal. That's the last thing I remember before being in my room. I really must praise the staff at Baptist...not only were they very nice and professional, they apparently dealt with a difficult patient. I have been told that from the time I came to-I don't remember most of this, I wasn't really completely with it- I expressed my anxiety by trying to control the situation by ordering everyone including the staff and my friends (one of which is a trained CNA who worked Ortho/Neuro albeit 40 years ago, but knows a lot about patient care). I do not remember this, but I can certainly believe it. Whenever we feel anxiety, there is a need to control our environment. I am so going to have to answer this Press Ganey survey. I will say I sleep so much and better than I have in two years while I was there.

I walked all around the nurse's station with the walker the first day, and halfway to the PT gym the first day, did the same stair practice I'd done at the prehab, and felt fairly confident.

We got in the house with a few bumps, It was so good to be home!!!! Thank you Brenda Evans for all the shifting of schedules back and forth since the times were so uncertain. I really appreciate your help.

Yesterday I went to my first outside PT. I did make a mistake going down the stairs and jarred things a bit but didn't fall, it just hurt a bit. I had a great PT session and was able to reach 2% (they want 0% extension) and 73° angle bent knee heading toward a goal of 90°, which he said was really good for 2 days post op. Dr. Talwalkar also called me last night and he was very pleased. He's got an excellent manner about him, like you're talking with an old friend. He was also happy with those progress numbers.

Which reminds me, I'm go to go work on the new-fangled range-of-motion machine they have for me to do five times a day to help with that.