When we showed up this morning, admitting wasn’t open, I guess. Amanda had to do registration at the front desk in the middle of the lobby. I wasn’t too pleased with that she’s giving her and my dob, our job titles, address, and so on. That wasn’t the most professional or secure way to do things with a lobby full of people. Amanda had to argue with the older lady registering her. She wanted Amanda to sign a spot about having a second insurance, and Amanda wouldn’t since we don’t have other insurance. The lady insisted Amanda sign, and I could see she was perturbed about it from across the lobby. Needless to say, she didn’t sign.
We waited a while in the crowded lobby before they took Amanda back to pre-op. After that, I had to wait in the waiting room; years ago, most hospitals would let families go back for the pre-op check-in, but not anymore. The surgery waiting room was busier than the lobby and with a worse crowd. There was a large family spread all around, talking across the room at each other.
I waited and waited to go back, I kept texting to see if I could come back yet. I saw the doctor come out to talk with a family, so I thought we were next. I was wrong; Amanda was the third case. I did finally get to go back. The second case would get pushed, and Amanda didn’t get to go back until nearly lunchtime. Which was a good thing because I was getting hungry! I was hoping I’d get to grab a late breakfast, but it was a cafeteria lunch. I got a mushroom barley soup and a few veggie sides. I’m out of practice and didn’t bring my backpack in with me to keep my MacBook in, with room to put Amanda’s clothes. It was a short walk to the car in this small hospital, so I just ran her stuff out to it.
After I grabbed lunch, I had to sit in the lobby because the single family had pretty much taken over the entire waiting room. Just a helpful tip to anyone visiting the hospital for someone having surgery: Your entire family does not need to be there! I have been a bit behind on my daily Bible reading plan, so I buried myself in that and caught up on a few days, along with the accompanying video commentary. I also had to make a phone call to the insurance about a denial of a pedal bike the doctor prescribed but I didn’t have any luck.
I’m back in the grove of the hospital stays and surgeries. I have a select few I update via text, and everyone else can catch up here. It makes it so much easier for me than having to tell the story over and over and talk with a bunch of people. I used to only call my mom and dad, so it was a bit sad when I didn’t have them to call and didn’t call anyone else. It’s funny how little things like that just sneak up on you with remembering those that have passed.
It was a long wait before I heard anything from the doctor; he called me with an update instead of stopping by. Everything went well, he said; the knee had good motion and stability. He was pleased and said not to worry about the pedal device. I never even got called to go to see Amanda in the PACU. I did receive a call with an update. Amanda, to no surprise, was in a good bit of pain; I told them that was usual and suggested what pain medicine does the best. The next call was to tell me which room she was going to.
So I went and grabbed Amanda’s clothes and the all-important snack bag. The chocolate-covered Trader Joe’s items we picked up didn’t fare too well in 100-degree South Texas weather! I got to the room before Amanda. She wasn’t feeling too good after the transfer to the room bed, and her pain got bad after that. PT came by, and I told her, if you’re who I think you are, she’ll need pain meds before you start!
It took a while to get the meds, and when they did, it was a low-level pain medication that we both knew wasn’t going to do the trick. PT had her do 10 unassisted leg raises to see if she would need a leg stabilizer. Amanda pulled them off and didn’t need the stabilizer to walk. She got up and walked further than PT needed her to walk, so that was good. She was riving in pain after that, though. They gave her another pain medicine, one we knew wouldn’t work either. So, we asked to talk with the hospitalist to discuss Amanda’s high pain medication tolerance. She was eventually shaking and in tears; the pain was so bad.
They finally got two new pain meds ordered, and one was in the muscle. We were both confused as to why it wasn’t done through the IV, but after a while, it began work. Then it really hit her hard about an hour later, and she was zonked. This recovery is so different than the last. The past surgeon refused to use ice, and this time, she has been on ice since she was out of surgery. Also, there is no CPM machine that manually bends the knee; Amanda referred to it as a torture device before. The surgeon said that the device was shown to not improve things years ago.
Once the pain was under control, I ordered dinner from a pho place via Uber Eats. Amanda likes plain soup after being under general anesthesia because it is easier on her throat and stomach. She was out cold when I came back with the food; the meds had put her out. Which was good because she needed to rest. She ate a little, but not much, so more for me! I don’t like her zonked, and she doesn’t like the feeling either, but at least the pain is under control now, so we can keep it down. It will just be a challenge to get the right mix for us to be able to go home on.
The nurses have been saying that they get everyone up early for PT, and it seems that the session might be long in the morning. They usually only keep knee replacement patients for one night, but I imagine it will be dependent on pain control for us. The night and morning will tell the story, though.
Amanda was up long enough to pick a movie, put it on, and then promptly fell right asleep. So, this is pretty much a normal night for us. She’s just in a deeper sleep, so when I asked if she was sleeping, she didn’t lie to me and said no like she usually does at home!