A day at the hospital, non-emergency

[Bob Womack]

It is eight AM and I am sitting in a brand new hospital operating center waiting room. The decor is shades of grey with white and cream and wood accents. If I didn't know better I might mistake this for a business hotel breakfast lounge. There is a coffee bar. It is modern, bland, generic, antiseptic. I mean, with the budgets these things are built under, you'd think they'd find a way to make them more soft and human and help allay the fears of patients going in for surgery. Nope. Still, I'm not surprised. There is unsecured WIFI and a TV on the wall playing Home & Garden TV. Innocuous.

My lovely wife is here for total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. It is the first surgery in her life and in our forty-four years as a couple. When pain therapy stopped a year ago after thirty years, she suddenly became aware that her knees were in bad shape. We began the journey then through various therapies but it was fairly obvious from the start that osteoarthritis had been eating away the inner pads in her knees. She had become slightly bow-legged and was experiencing bone-on-bone grinding. Not much you can do there. It had been entirely masked by the pain management. I've spent the last few days calming her and helping her get the home in shape for her convalescence. I will spend next week home with her to cook and wait on her. She is worth it and is a pretty good patient. We are best buddies.

We were both scanned for temperature as we entered and are both wearing masks. There are only two other people in the lounge except ourselves. My wife was called back at 8:10 to begin prep. I'll join her once she is set up for the procedure and we'll wait for the Doc. She's scheduled to go into surgery around 10am.

Bob

[Bob Womack]

At 8:40 was called back to the pre-op area to sit with her. Once they got her set up and with the line in her they called me back. Her nurse/consultant is extremely competent and very friendly. We had a couple of good chuckles together as she extensively discussed what to expect for the surgery, recovery, and post-op. The surgeon and doctor anesthetist in charge checked in with us and further discussed the procedure. I'm pretty impressed with how technical the whole process has become. At 9:50am the OR nurse and the nurse anesthetist who will be working with her arrived and wheeled her of for surgery.


I'm going to grab a bit and be ready for the doc to contact me when he comes out of surgery.

Bob

[TomB'sox]

Good luck with everything. Knee replacements have come a long way in just the last 10 years and I am confident she will do fine. Out best friend took about 3-4 weeks and was walking just great. Make sure she follows through with the PT as diligently as possible.

[SLJ710]

good wishes for surgery. While not easy, it is a common surgery. My sister had both done at different times and it did wonders once rehab was done.

[MrDB]

My knee replacement is scheduled for 8/23. The recovery and PT will be difficult as I am an amputee and won't have a right leg to help me out. It's going to be an adventure for sure.

[Sage97]

Prayers and positive thoughts to you and Mrs. Womack. She will be ok, cruise through Rehab and be back to enjoying long walks with you in no time.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

It's better to get these things sooner than later. Best of luck!

[lowrider]

Best wishes to your wife in her recovery. Please make sure that she stays on top of her physical therapy and home exercises. It will be the most important thing for her right now.

What hospital are you in? I have been to Special Surgery in Manhattan which is like staying in a Hyatt hotel, and the old Hospital for Joint Disease in Manhattan, which was like an old armory! Both hospitals were excellent but the staff at Joint Disease really went that extra mile.

I had bilateral hip replacements at Joint Disease and stayed there for 9 days. I had two roommates with knee replacements. It's a tough recovery. Good luck to your wife. You'll be surprised how soon they have her up and walking.

[Mr. Jelly]

Having dealt with a couple of surgeries my wife had not long ago my experience was that the doctors and all the people associated with the surgeries were great. The after care and hospital time is where they need advocates, big time. They can be totally different situations. Mistakes are made and often the patients don't get much attention.

Good Luck

[rmp]

good luck to your wife Bob. Keep us posted.

[Bob Womack]

Thanks, everyone. I am back and waiting in the hospital waiting room. It has actually been pretty amazing so far. As said, the procedure is fairly routine at this point. The plan to not use general anesthetic, opting for "conscious sedation" unless that doesn't keep the patient comfortable. That keeps it one level lighter than a general. We are some of the first patients to be served in this facility so it is gleaming and has all the newest gear. That and the staff's air of competence are comforting. Everything is pretty cool. I expect to be called by the doctor any time now and then she'll go into recovery.

Unexpected oddity: my computer doesn't recognize me with my N95 mask on. Between that and taking pulls on my lemonade, the mask has to come off far too often!

Bob

[Bob Womack]

Alrighty, then. I got a call from the surgeon on my cell phone (modern times, eh?) at 11am saying that she came through well and is in recovery. I can join her back there in about an hour.

Bob

[Bob Womack]

Oh, I've been using the time to work on my wordsmithing on the Bugera amplifier review. I love there is WIFI and I can do this to pass the time.

Bob

[rmp]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Alrighty, then. I got a call from the surgeon on my cell phone (modern times, eh?) at 11am saying that she came through well and is in recovery. I can join her back there in about an hour.

Bob

well good news then

hang in there, the worse of it is over

[Jim Owen]

Glad she’s in recovery. Let’s stay out of hospitals now!