[Rhodes22-list] I'm back from the hospital

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

Hi All,

My right knee replacement finally took place on Monday at Alma Hospital after being delayed 2 weeks because of overbooking due to COVID-19 infections.  The procedure took about 1-1/2 hours on Monday afternoon.  But, I was in the recovery room for several hours.  I had some weird reactions to the nerve block.  As I was coming out of it, I started uncontrollably shivering, bordering on convulsions at times.  I wasn’t cold, just shaking from head to toe.  It took 3 doses of IV Demerol to make it stop.  Monday night, the nerve block  caused my heart rate, BP, and blood oxygen to shoot up and down all over the map.  I was hooked up to an EKG, auto BP cuff, and blood oxygen monitor all night, with nurses in constant attendance.  Fortunately, by Tuesday morning, they had my cardiac issues stabilized.  The nerve block also caused my bowels to stop working for a couple of days.  But, I finally had a BM this afternoon.

Dr. Ware, my orthopedist, stopped into my hospital room early Tuesday morning.  He said the procedure went well and that the incision looked like it was healing nicely, with no leaking or signs of infection.  My right knee area is swollen about 3 cm larger in circumference vs. the left knee.  With great difficulty and a lot of pain, I can get the knee joint to bend to about 80 deg and straighten out to about 170 deg.  I had 2 PT sessions in the hospital on Tuesday and another PT session in Beaverton today.  All were very painful and exhausting!  But, the therapists say I’m doing well.  I have my next PT session in Beaverton on Thursday morning.  I’m getting around pretty well in my walker and I’ve figured out how to get in and out of the Toyota minivan by myself.  I don’t think I’ll be able to use our Subaru Legacy sedan for a while because the car is much lower and the doors are not as wide.  Obviously, I won’t be able to drive for several weeks.

I am on pain meds just prior to PT and to help me sleep.  As long as I can keep the knee joint in a neutral position, the pain is not bad.  But lifting the leg or loading it in any way is excruciating!  At the moment, I have a hard time sitting in the car for over an hour.  I am using my COLD machine to sleep and several hours each day.  It helps with the swelling and pain.

So far, it’s no fun; but, about what I expected.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

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