Quaratine and Surgery

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Thank you so much for the kind wishes, kristina. It warmed my heart and we sure needed them! 

On the way out of town, the airports were much busier than when I flew 2 months ago. Not the same sort of regular traffic, but busier. Most were leisure trips to sun spots and the US. My jaw kind of dropped when I overheard where these people were off to, but it completely makes sense that international travel is the #1 covid cause for us.

I holed up in the hotel. To be honest, besides SoluPrep wiping, pigging out on room service, watching some local Eurotrash tv that we don't get at home, and sleeping, I didn't do much.

On Thursday, my husband met with the surgeon. I think anyone with insider information expected to hear that my husband had further damaged his shoulder over the last year. Lo and behold, he sure did. He was sent off for another MRI and it was explained it would be a more complex procedure. Still, I was under the impression of 2 hours.

So, the early morning of the next day, after some SoluPrep bathing, I sent him off for his 2 hours of prep and then surgery. I expected to get a call by noon: prep, surgery, recovery room, ready to go. Nothing. I didn't even room service lunch because i thought, "Oooh they'll call me any minute." Nope, finally, around 4 pm, I got the call to come pick him up, but also wheel him in to see the doctor, then leave.

I was also advised that I wouldn't be picking him up outside, but I had to get screened and go into the hospital.

With the instructions provided by the nurse, I made my way to post-surgical care and called outside the door to be let in. They told me that he had already been moved out of there to the doctor's office. I kinda cursed because this was an extremely long hallway/walk and my jeans were obviously too tight from eating. I sat in the waiting room until a nurse saw me and asked if I was there for him and she then led me into the room.

There was my wobbly husband saying, "Ooooh, I don't need a wheelchair" as he wobbled. The doctor said he did, but guess what? I had to push him. Pushing a 100 kg man is not easy when one is like half that size. The doctor thought we would spend the whole weekend (recommended) because he advised of the emergency orthopedic team available if anything were to happen.

We actually had a really great dinner. He was higher than a kite and we kept laughing at the most mundane things. From a whole event that started off so stressful, it was finally at the culmination, and it was all good, and we were happy. We expected to spend two more days to let his pain stabilize. Well, something flipped in my husband's mind that he didn't want to wait and he wanted to rebook the flights for today asap. He said he would go crazy being stuck in the hotel eating, being propped up by pillows in a strange bed and he just wanted out. So we did that.

He was very uncomfortable in a sling on a plane. Seats are small to begin with, but this just made it worse. We had a 6 hour layover so we found an isolated corner and he sat in a wheelchair. You know what sucks though? There were two people that needed a wheelchair: my husband and a girl in her 20s traveling alone. She had a sprained ankle or broken ankle or whatever. Well, they brought out two wheelchairs, but one porter. I, again, had to push the 100 kg man, with our 2 carry-on bags and my purse. Needless to say, I am exhausted.

I feel as though I did my best to avoid the corona, but you never really know. Since we travelled to another region of the province that is a lockdown zone, we have to self isolate for 14 days. Home care can come in because they will be PPE'd to the max.

Glad this chapter is over but the next 6 weeks of recovery has just begun.

[MooseMom]

I'm glad you are both home safe and sound.  Good luck to both of you during the upcoming recovery period.  It sounds like surgery was successful!  I'm glad that's all behind you now.

[Cupcake]

What an adventure! Best of luck to your husband. And for you, I have 2 words--YOGA PANTS! When I recently had an epidural they told me to wear elastic waisted pants. I had to think if I even owned any other kind.

[kristina]

Hello again, UT and I wish you and your husband good luck with his recovery and I am so glad that the operation is now a thing of the past and "done and dusted" ... and now ... you both just need to get over the isolation-time & 6-weeks recovery-time and I send you both my good-luck-wishes from Kristina.

P.S. I am also very glad that it went so well with you as your husband's travel-companion. Of course, it was a bit risky and I am very glad that it went so well !!! Take great care.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

What an adventure! Best of luck to your husband. And for you, I have 2 words--YOGA PANTS! When I recently had an epidural they told me to wear elastic waisted pants. I had to think if I even owned any other kind.

Yoga pants are sooooo tempting. My husband gave me hell for going to the grocery store in a tracksuit (hey, I have a name to uphold here) so maybe yoga pants are a happy medium.

Ugh, so, we finally finished up our 14 days isolation period on the weekend. Only to find out that we are going into a province-wide lockdown on December 24. Should only be 14 days for our region, but 28 days for the rest. So, I'm going a little mad being cooped up without the ability to shop for non-essentials, so I left the husband alone this morning. Line-ups were back this morning too.

One more month to go of "sling-life" and it is my body that is ruined now. I am sore all the time from holding up one side of him from basic things, like adjusting him in bed. Why is he so damn heavy? 

I am utterly exhausted. It peeves me off when people say, "Oh *insert NFL football player* had the same surgery and he was out for x months." Super, great, but I am sure that dude had a lot of help and not his WAG lifting him up! And I doubt it got to the point it did here.

Besides that, I have to be booked for some electrolyte/magnesium IV's because it reached the point, it cannot be treated with supplements. My tx'd kidney is working great, creatinine is great, so no one really knows what's up, because this is not usually a great sign for kidney longevity. But alas, corona has left a backlog of hospital services, so I wait. Good thing is that when they ask, "Have you been outside of the district in the last 14 days?" I can truthfully say NO!

Now, we are perplexed as how to get him to the local doctor for a check-up tomorrow morning. Might just ring him a taxi because he cannot get into his vehicle.

Should I mention how interesting it has been to dress him? Good thing that we were isolating because his attire has mostly consisted of a blanket with a clothes pin plus sweatpants, or sweatpants and a poncho, because shirts with sleeves are beyond my patience right now. It's not at the point that I will drop down to the level and buy him a generic Snuggie slanket or one of those THE COMFY contraptions because hell would freeze over before he wore such a thing again. When he moves his arm outwards, there are a lot of grimaces and curses. He's bathed, and that's what counts, right? Tomorrow he needs to put on real clothes again. Help.



Is it too late to get him a cape like Elvis wore? You know, like, he would get a special cape for the doctor, rather than sleeves.

We still have home care coming in for the most basic wound treatment, watching for infection. Physio has been in and doing small exercises. (Obviously I've removed the mentioned blankets and ponchos so they don't think it is an abuse case.) They are PPE'd up and I stay out of the room to reduce contact not for myself, but their sake, etc.

[MooseMom]

LOL, I haven't heard the term "WAG" since I left the UK!  That's a blast from the past!

Oh, man, you're really going through the wars.  You're living a nightmare, having to be nursemaid for a big man who is otherwise healthy.  I really, really feel for you, and having to live this way under pandemic restrictions is the stuff of bad movies.  Ugh.

It is my understanding that the immunosuppressants we take (one in particular, but I don't remember which, offhand) leach magnesium from our bodies, so I am not surprised that you might need super duper IV supplementation.  I take OTC magnesium supplements, and my Mg level is just barely in the normal range, so with you having a double tx, it makes sense that you may need more magnesium.  Anyway, I hope you get your IV treatment sooner rather than later.  Do you anticipate having this treatment regularly?

A cape for your husband frankly sounds like fun.  Make it purple and sparkly just for its entertainment value.  You deserve to have a giggle any time you see him, especially since you are tasked with dressing him.  Be sure to include this in your movie!

[PrimeTimer]

Husbands! smh  What are we suppose to do? It's hard. I can somewhat relate to the issue of attire. My husband went to the hospital with only the clothes he was wearing, a tee-shirt and pair of shorts. Nothing else. Didn't pack a bag. That's what I call the 3 P's; pizz poor planning. And since we are without a car right now I cannot very well take him anything AND I should not be around hospitals. At least yours wears a cape.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

It is my understanding that the immunosuppressants we take (one in particular, but I don't remember which, offhand) leach magnesium from our bodies, so I am not surprised that you might need super duper IV supplementation.  I take OTC magnesium supplements, and my Mg level is just barely in the normal range, so with you having a double tx, it makes sense that you may need more magnesium.  Anyway, I hope you get your IV treatment sooner rather than later.  Do you anticipate having this treatment regularly?

Ah, see, I wish it was explained that way by the doctor. That makes sense. They just went into the spiel that chronically low magnesium is not a good sign for kidney longevity. So far, I've heard nothing from the hospital and the receptionist was a little snarky. Understandable since services are all a mess with this pandemic but she let it be known there are dozens ahead of me for a seat, so when I get called, i get called. So, just keep popping my supplements until then. At least it explains my unbelievable fatigue and muscle cramping. My iron is also on a downward trajectory...so I feel like I'm um, a really bad 800 years old right now?

Husbands! smh  What are we suppose to do? It's hard. I can somewhat relate to the issue of attire. My husband went to the hospital with only the clothes he was wearing, a tee-shirt and pair of shorts. Nothing else. Didn't pack a bag. That's what I call the 3 P's; pizz poor planning. And since we are without a car right now I cannot very well take him anything AND I should not be around hospitals. At least yours wears a cape.

So, wait, your husband KNEW he would have an amputation and went without a bag? SMH for sure. Damn right you shouldn't be around hospitals - even with a car in the picture - so I am just kinda stunned. Husbands for sure! You know, when we had to go through pre-marital classes, there should have been a poster: Avoid PPP - pizz poor planning! As that seems to be at the root of so much gone wrong! (My part too!)

You know how baggy ice hockey jerseys are? And how some Canadian people wear them as everyday clothes? Well, that was the doctor outfit, except I think people look sideways when they saw it was for some team in the KHL. Add some sweatpants and voila. Obviously he bitched and moaned that he couldn't believe how he went to the doctor like such a disaster. I ironed everything so it wasn't a complete disaster!

Lockdown now starts on the 26th so I've been able to pick up groceries and festive foods for New Years (Christmas isn't on the 25th for us, NYE is gift giving day). Didn't have to wait too long in a line, and then it dawned on me that I forget to buy presents. I'm not an early shopper (not last minute either) but with this whole month gone to pot with surgery and isolation, time flew. Online shopping is out of the question as I missed the ship dates...hahahahaha, what a dork I am.