It was a long night but not that bad. They wake you up for the silliest things in hospital. At about 3 AM they woke Deidre up at 3 AM to take blood!!!!!!!
Lots of official visits, including the surgeon, physical therapist, discharge nurse etc etc. I got my 10 K steps just walking backwards and forwards to the car in the garage with "stuff". "Transport" came with a wheelchair just before Noon and she was in the car and we were on our way at 12:30 PM.
The drive to 1212 was uneventful. Per the official instructions, we stopped twice for Deidre to get some exercise. By 6 PM she was planted in the living room with her pills and flowers! Now the fun stuff starts with "Nurse Bob"
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Quiet day. Blossoms in our yard are looking good. I did the shopping, raked three bags of leaves.
Monday March 21, 2016
Today is our 44th wedding anniversary and I did not forget. Got Deidre a cool present. (See photo below). As a bonus, the "nerve block" medicine finally ran out and Deidre was able to remove the two catheters in her thigh.
Mason and Kylie visited, and Mason was impressed with Grandma Deedees' boo boo. Mason also likes to admire his good looks in the big hall mirror. I would too if I looked that good.
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| This kid cracks me up! |
Tuesday March 22, 2016
Deidre is still doing pretty well. She has to keep her ankle higher than her heart, so spends all of her time in bed or in the lazy-boy chair with her foot on a stool. It gets pretty boring for her - only 5 weeks and 4 days to go!
Friday March 25, 2016
Deidre's knee has been swollen this week. She also seems to have a pressure point in her cast that is bothering her. We have called the hospital a couple of times for advice. This time they suggested we headed to the emergency room at UHSC. We headed out at 4 PM Easter Friday, great timing!
We were taken in quite promptly. Eventually the decision was made to "bi-valve" the cast and take it off so that Deidre's leg could be sonogrammed.
Our doctor seemed pretty young and had never cut off a cast nor used a bone saw before. I really wanted to take the saw from him and do it myself. (I read the instructions in the box). The cast did not come off easily. I was worried that Deidre's foot would literally flop off without the cast.
Once it was off we were sent to x-ray for a sonogram. Getting Deidre from the chair she was on to a rolling bed was a challenge. I was really stressed about her foot getting bumped.
The sonogram lady was very charming and professional. And she found a small blood clot! Now Deidre felt that she had made the right decision.
The vascular specialist lady gave us three choices of treatment:
1. Stay in the hospital on an IV for 5 days
2. Go home and have me inject her twice a day in her stomach
3. Go home and have a course of pills for 3 months
I thought #2 would work OK
Then the orthopedic doctor arrived. He was young, strapping, square jawed, blondish, blue eyed, good teeth, tall, thoughtful, gracious, well dressed, clean fingernails, professional etc etc. Deidre seemed to forget about her leg and fuss that she was wearing old undies and had not washed her hair for a week. She introduced me as her driver........
Back in the Emergency Room "Ken Doll" (that's what the nurses called him) and his buddy (who looked like Adam) installed a new cast on Deidre's foot. I must admit he did a great job and I was not inclined to give him any advice (I think that is a good thing with a doctor).
We still had one other major problem. I had not taken a walk that day and my steps were well under 10K. I was pacing around in the little treatment room and jogging in place, but not really making enough progress. The nursing staff would not let me do laps around the Emergency Room. Said I was making them dizzy. I explained that I had not missed the 10K minimum for two months!
We arrived home about 11:30 PM. Once I got Deidre in bed and settled I raced out into the street to get some steps but when the clock on my phone struck 12 midnight I only had 9,356 steps. Bad day.
Saturday March 26, 2016
I was woken by thunder and lightning at about 10 AM. (I am sleeping upstairs, Deidre is downstairs in the Master) I could hear funny noises about 10:30 and my conscience got the better of me so I went downstairs to find Deidre in the wheel chair but stuck in a doorway. She does not like to wake me!
Deidre is OK but feeling a bit beat up. Kylie popped in for lunch, and that was better for her than an ice cream and two pain pills.
Friday April 1, 2016
Not much going on here. Another week under our belt.
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| Its a tough life |
I have dismantled the "office" on Tide Hiker and brought it home to refinish. It is mostly solid wood and stained a dark brown that I have never liked. So I am stripping it and will finish with "Spar varnish" and make it more boaty looking. Its sorta nice to have a garage.
We are also thinking of replacing the carpet and maybe re-upholstering the couch (its a bit grandma looking). Gotta keep busy!
Every now and again we get to pick the boy up from "school"- its just around the corner, so I like to walk. Mason gets to ride in the stroller.
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| I think we need to buy a bigger stroller. |
