Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Home Again! Hospital Week - abbreviated version

Mommy's home!

Today we ended our one-week stay at Hospital for Joint Disease at NYU. Head Nurse Jim, with the help of my brother Frederick, made all the travel arrangements (which included a pre-travel Frappucino -- what? Doesn't everyone?). Snuggled at home in my big old NJ bed, finished reading stories and giving kisses, I can say -- "whoa! What a week!" But with relief.

For those of you checking in, I'll give a quick summary tonight before collapsing, and for those of you who really like all the juicy details -- check back! The expanded version of will be posted soon (for most, this will be plenty, tho :)).

Basically, the surgery and initial recovery went great, a little longer than expected (4.5 hours), but all "normal". The first night something went wrong with my pain epidural which took several agonizing hours to work out. I had a good morning the 2nd day, but then all the narcotics from the previous night sent my digestive tract into a tailspin with a new multi-hour screamfest. Poor Jim had to witness that one -- not sure he'll be the same!

The pain issues were definitely tempered by the fact that my beautiful setting (the Pediatrics Unit, HJD) had no more that 5 patients with all private rooms and had only been opened 3 months! Everything was gorgeous and state of the art. The view from my window was lovely and I had 2 HD flat screen TV's all to myself!

By the 2nd night, the worst was definitely behind me. Day 2-3 I made my first attempt at standing. Day 4-6 included first steps and finding the actual bathroom. It was painful, like the stiffness you would experience from a 12-hour drive with no breaks, with something heavy on your lap. It doesn't really let up. Not much eating/ appetite of any kind before day 4. Me -- imagine!

It was decided that Day 6 (Tuesday) would be the good day for discharge. While I still need help getting my surgery leg in and out of the bed, and walking to the bathroom might be done with a mid-way break, I can stand, step, and even hop up and down a few steps with someone propping up my right side. Any of this lasts for a total of about 5 mins before I need a break right now, so it's not very impressive.

Today we headed home and my lovely little people kissed and hugged and gave big sighs of relief and looked at my "new" leg with wide eyes but we all drank it in and realized we're going to be OK. We put away and set up all the new equipment sent home with us from the hospital and the kids showed me a full weeks' worth of missed projects, newly learned talents, school gossip. Groggy though I was, it was delicious to drink it all up.

Tomorrow Jim goes back to work, the kids head off to school, and I begin to do my "tour of recovery duty bed rest" for the next 6 weeks or so. We have hired some wonderful gals to help cover the home front and make sure I stay in bed without the house falling to pieces or the kids getting hopelessly lost, so this has been a great stress-reducer!

My cell phone works, as does e-mail. Drop a line any time -- cuz you sure know where to find me! I'd love visitors who want to just come and watch a movie, share a story or remind me how to knit again...

Thanks for checking in and keeping an eye on us. It makes all the difference facing the road ahead.

Hugz!


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2 comments:

  1. HipSk8October 14, 2009 at 11:32 AM

    Welcome home and let the recovery begin. Your "wish list" is a great idea! Terri

    ReplyDelete
  2. mariolaOctober 15, 2009 at 3:37 AM

    I beg your pardon not been able to join in, it is hard to accept I find very difficult to go through new way of communicating. Finally Carlo from Rome by phone gave me the solution!
    I congratulate how great you are to take all decision and face how to go through this step. Confident of the new surgery progress in the field.
    I have a great admiration of you and your family but now I can say you are brave, no fear, lot of confidence in your family and friends.
    I suggest you should write during this long resting period some notes about your feelings going along. People need to share for learning what is your secret taking always the positive part of life.
    During our work together in the new year I want to discover more about the dear girl you are. I know why Liane was so proud of you.
    It is a peaty that I live so far away and I have to limit my feeling with this short note but my love is next to you and prayers as well.
    A big and warm hub Mariola

    ReplyDelete

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My Support Crew

My Support Crew
Jim, Nick, Madie & Liana

The Countdown Begins...

First blog, first major hip surgery, first chance to lay on the couch for weeks on end (well, in about 25 years, anyway...). Here we go!

Jim and I have spent the better part of the past week "laying down the runway" as we prepare for takeoff on Wednesday at the Hospital for Joint Disease at NYU in NYC where we will be greeted at dawn (it's always dawn for these things, is that so you too tired to change your mind?) by our rock star surgeon, Dr. David Feldman.

While Liana, Madie and Nick head off for school ( and hopefully just a little oblivion) I will get fully acquainted with the blue-ribbon anesthesia team who will set me up with an epidural and hopefully knock me out so well that I won't notice the piles of surgery tools (Home Depot sale, anyone?).

Three or four hours later I will wake up with a completely re-aligned hip socket (if you really want to know more, I have included links here in another box about osteotomy) and hopefully pain-oblivious through the wonders of epidural support. The last 3 times I ever had an epidural, they handed me a baby within about an hour. That would be a little unnerving here, but would make for a great story, right?

By the time I really figure out where I am, hopefully it will be in the new pediatric unit at HJD which is all-single rooms. Ahhhh... to be a kid again! This piece of good news is side perk of being cut up by the guy that runs the whole place. He mostly works on kids, and since I basically have the full-grown version of a kid birth defect, he is now cleared to use his power tools on me.

Then the makeup and styling team arrives.... or maybe just Jim, my wonderful Head Nurse who has seen me through 3 babies pretty darn well (he does a great post-op puppet show, just ask him!). He and I will get cozy and hopefully enjoy at least a day of epidural bliss (um, that would be just me).

Then there will be a few days of training and workshops -- How to be a One-Legged Mom for a whole bunch of weeks. Hopefully this will include lessons in How to Obey the Laws of Bedrest, because that is the class I could seriously fail in. Pretty sure these workshop days will include a bunch of narcotics, so this would be a good time to ask me for money.

So that's what's on my calendar this week.

Check back for more updates, and if there aren't any after surgery day (can you believe these hospitals without wi-fi! the nerve!), you can text Jim on his cell, because I am guessing he will be watching a lot of Oprah for a few days.

If you've read this far then please know that I can laugh a lot more than cry about this next big step because of friends and family like you -- who walk with me each step of the way, and who know that this is not a fatal illness, far from it, and that having love, laughter and support will mean that we can do jumping jacks together at Christmas. Because I have never done that, have you?

Hip Helpers: