Tag Archives: life after surgery

Do you ever wonder why doctors have wheels on their chairs?

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(l-r) Nurses at Chandler Regional, Jackie, Lindsey, and the third nurse is a roving nurse who I didn’t have for very long and I don’t remember her name. Jackie and Lindsey were with me my entire stay and are super wonderful.

While in the hospital recovering from hip replacement surgery, my eyes opened to something I hadn’t thought of before. The EMTs, the nurses, my surgeon, and the nursing assistants didn’t need to extend kindnesses beyond their job requirements. Yet, many of them did.

“Jerry, would you like some coffee,” nurse Jackie asked, noticing Jerry seated next to my hospital bed. He said he would and that he needed ice in the coffee to cool it down. Soon Jackie returned with a giant cup of coffee and a cup of ice. Count this as one of the many things I noticed that I wouldn’t have expected. I would have thought Jackie would say, “You can grab a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.” But to get it for him? I didn’t expect that. read more

Riding Naked in an Ambulance

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Things I planned for:

  1. Go to Oxaca, Mexico.
  2. Buy new luggage (preferably in deep burgundy).
  3. Plant a garden.

Things that happened that I didn’t plan for:

  • Lying on the cold tile bathroom floor for 3 hours, unable to move, enduring pain, waiting for Jerry to come home.
  • Riding naked in an ambulance and pleading for more pain medication. The kind face of an EMT hovered over me, saying as compassionately as he could, “I’ve given you all I can.” I did have a blanket covering me, but when you break your already fractured hip while getting out of the shower, clothes are not a priority.
  • Jerry saying to me in the hospital as I hollered in reaction to the shooting agonizing pain while being moved from the gurney to the hospital bed, “I wish I could take the pain for you. I’m sorry you have to go through this.”
  • Nurses calling to me from a long dark tunnel. I opened my eyes and a young nurse with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, shot a giddy smile with her face two inches from mine. She said,  “Everything went well. The surgery is over.” I recall asking in a fogged haze, “It’s over?” She replied with eyes glinting I’m-so-happy-for-you, “Yes, it over.” I wondered, when did it begin?
  • 15 days in the hospital and rehab after undergoing surgery for a full hip replacement.
  • Learning to walk again with a walker. Being excited over taking my first steps without it. “Yay, you’re walking!” Jerry said.
  • Feeling helpless, but very grateful for Jerry who has been, and is, the most wonderful caregiver.
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