October 14-15--A New Hip Joint for my Birthday!

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp. But, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.  --Nathaniel Hawthorne

True contentment is the power of getting out of any situation all that there is in it.  
--G. K. Chesterton

    Today, Oct. 14, is the day when I get a new left hip joint. I'm very ready. I've been hurting for years, and I'm weary of it. Throughout the day yesterday, I came upon two comforting thoughts. This can't be any worse than childbirth--I did that twice--and I had to do something to get out of the house! 

    While I know the mechanics of the procedure, and it's rather gruesome, I'm going into it with great curiosity--I do want to enjoy the "true contentment" that Chesterton references. I know a lot of stuff will happen between my arrival time of 6:00 am and the actual surgery time of 7:30 am. The surgeon says it takes about an hour to replace the joint. My sons and husband have been through surgeries and were quite goofy/dopey coming out of the anesthesia, so they are looking forward to my silliness then. I don't expect to be able to report that later!  

    Here's to curiosity! The story continues...

    I write this part on the afternoon of October 14, so you know that the surgery did not kill me. When I first came to, the pain was pretty bad. They keep having me state a pain number from one to ten, with ten being the worst. I said 14. So they pumped my IV up with good stuff, and I felt really stoned for a few hours, so much so that when the PT person got me up to go to the bathroom, I was too woozy to walk. That passed, and I have successfully made it to the bathroom using the walker. I had a late lunch of chicken noodle soup (of course!) and applesauce with no stomach upset. This place actually has a menu to choose meals from, so supper will be a fattoush salad with chicken. Dennis visited me twice. I am so grateful for all the supportive texts and emails. I talked with both sons, who are enormously relieved that all went well. "Icing on the cake" is cable TV so that I was able to watch the Rays-Astros playoff game. 

    Overnight... Don't even think of having a "good night's sleep" after a surgery. The electric lower leg compression (for circulation) machine makes so much noise, including random pops, that it was impossible to sleep through. I finally begged to have that turned off overnight. Between bathroom visits, pain meds, IV stuff, and a blood draw, I was awakened at least every two hours. I now have a fanatic appreciation for my own bed. 

    Today is a big day of physical therapy and hopefully returning home. Stay tuned!

        Leta

Costa Rica butterflies checking out my shoe, 2011

A dear friend's get-well wish, I LOVE IT!