Wednesday morning that was taken away, the drains removed and the IVs were stopped. That meant getting up and taking a short walk. That afternoon, less then 20 hours after his surgery he was doing the PT exercises, and doing them quite well.
Stu's Self Portrait the morning after
Stu doing what he does best
Enjoying lunch the day after surgery
Heading out to PT with Phyllis, his therapist
LINK for those who want to see the incision/staples
From then till Friday the day was divided between get poked/prodded/stuck, sleeping, eating, sleeping, get poked/prodded/stuck, PT, sleeping, visitors, sleeping, get poked/prodded/stuck, sleeping...think you get the idea. Toes above the nose was the mantra for the week.
Friday brought a slight change to the schedule when he woke up feeling dizzy and week. His hematocrit had been dropping all week, even though they had recycled his blood during and after surgery. While they checked with his doctor's office, the PT folks came and pushed him to the PT room in his recliner. Yup, no stopping PT (which is a good thing).
By afternoon they had gotten the okay for two units of blood, not out of the normal for double knee replacement patients. Of course this delayed his discharge plans...by quite a bit. Long story short, he was finally discharged at just before 10PM. They loaded him into our pickup truck and we headed over to the rehab center. The discharge office managed to get him approved for 14 days there...much needed days for therapy.
Walking the halls of rehab, 4 days after surgery
Working on the machines at rehab
Resting on day 5 after surgery
So now he's made it past his first weekend at the facility, gotten PT done both days and is happily walking the halls. He gets around with a walker and does amazingly well. Kudos to his surgical staff and all the staff at Anne Arundel Hospital and the Joint Center. Nothing but praise for everyone we dealt with.
I'll report in again before the end of the week. Right now I'm slammed with taxes, writing, laundry, and my own medical visits. Pretty beat at the end of every day. Oh, and Scooby has decided he needs to see the truck doctor in my spare time. LOL!
Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu
Stu and Donna
Double knee replacement - brave fellow! You have certainly been busy Donna! Take care and all the best to Stu for an easy, speedy recovery.
ReplyDeleteMy wife wants to get both knees done, and not too long ago one of our friends had his done as well. Only thing was, he posted a picture of the scars on his Facebook page, which kind of scared the bejeepers out of her.
ReplyDeleteI may have to get her to read this entry tonight when she gets home from work. Of course, I'd have to remember to do that.
Can they do anything in the way of 'memory replacement' these days? My knees are OK, it's what's between my ears that's kaput.
Glad to see Stu is doing well!
ReplyDeleteGlad Stu is recovering well and doing his PT. You must be crazy busy keeping up with everything. Take time for yourself too. Hugs to you both !
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear Stu is doing well. Take care of yourself too!
ReplyDeleteI can not imagine having both knees done at the same time. Stu sure is not a whimp!
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear Stu is doing so well. Especially after a double knee replacement. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see Stu doing so well. Please, remind him that straightening the legs is as important as bending them. I didn't work hard enough on straightening and it has affected my posture.
ReplyDeleteGreat going!
ReplyDeleteMy friend did both knees at once too, and sure made recovery better by going to rehab center and doing her PT there. She said it was like a SPA! LOL
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
Yeah for Stu !! What a trooper.... We were a little nervous to click on the "scar" link, but wow, did they ever do a neat job !!
ReplyDeleteHang in there and this too shall pass ... hugs ... Tnt
That's a lot to be handling. He looks good though, and each day will bring relief.
ReplyDeleteHe is smiling in all the pictures, that must be a good thing:)
ReplyDelete