In March of 2022 I had my right hip replaced. In the way of today’s aging senior, that was the first healthcare domino to fall.
The second domino fell this week: I had my right knee replaced.
The date for surgery changed. Originally, I scheduled it for October, on the basis that I’d have the summer to enjoy the beach and riding the Harley. But when I went to the orthopedic doc in June, I was presented an option: get a cortisone shot, hope for the best and keep the October date, or, skip the shot, bear the pain but move the surgery up to July.
The constant pain from a bone-on-bone knee made my decision easy: take the earliest date possible.
And that date was this past Monday.
I couldn’t have had a better surgical and hospital experience at the brand-new Beebe Surgical Center in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Surgery was at 10AM and I was in my private room by 1PM. At 3 in-house physical therapy stopped in and I took a walk. 30 feet, mostly pain-free. I was thrilled! Oh, and the hospital food was positively gourmet! For hospital food, that is.
I’m now hobbling around my house. It’s kinda big with three stories. 30 steps from bottom to the top. I count them every time I go up or down. Now I fear them a bit.
My office is on the first floor which was built to be a master suite. So, I have a full bathroom, arm chairs and a king size bed in addition to my desk. Normally I spend a lot of time there. More so now!
The main living area and kitchen is on the second floor and I’m comfy there.
Finally, my bedroom is on the top floor.
I have a walker stationed at each floor, ready to assist me after navigating the stairs.
I’m doing pretty well. There’s a fair amount of pain, even with the magic pills they gave me. But the hospital’s physical therapist taught me how to use stairs and I’ve been up and down a few times.
Considering that I’m not allowed to drive for the first two weeks (I need to be able to mash the brake pedal with my right foot - an impossibility at the moment) I’m a prisoner in my own home!
I’m missing the 9:59 Club and all the good-natured s**t they dish out regularly. I miss my friends at my VFW. I’m missing my dog Jackie who’s being tended to since I can’t walk him at the moment.
I’m a flipping sad case!!
But I’m not. The pain I endured for so long has been replaced with pain from the surgery. I know it’s temporary and that time and physical therapy will eliminate it.
I will be getting closer to being able to walk normally again.
And then I can get my other knee done later this year. Oy!
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“To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.”
- Frederick Douglass
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Last week I wrote about Minor League Baseball. I didn’t mention a very infamous MILB team: the Savannah Bananas. So, here’s a CBS news story:
And here are some of their antics:
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so glad to hear you are doing that well, The morning talk was mostly about how is chuck doin, of course there has only been two or three show ups in the morning. And two out of three of them said "Chuck Who"