Re: Relaying message from Neal

Thanks so very much to everyone on SMT for their kind thoughts and words to me. While in the rehab hospital, I was able to read some of the posts here through Google, but not very many. After getting home, I realized that I actually saw very few of the messages here. I forgot to put a modem in the borrowed laptop computer, so it was useless.

I'm sure that everyone here will understand that I really tried to break every rule they had in the rehab. I think the nurses, techs, aides, and PT people really enjoyed the challenge of keeping me in line. For example, they would have me picking up little wooden donuts from a box and putting them on a tall stick. That was to increase the endurance of my right shoulder, which had gotten very weak. I would pick them up 2 at a time and rest my elbows on the table, but the OT always caught me.
When they had me doing things like lower leg raises for the operated knee, I would gradually lean back for less resistance, but always got caught.

I had Tylenol stashed in several places, but got caught 2 different times. The nurse were really good about ignoring the "vitamins" I was taking.

Last Friday my knee extension had regressed back to -12 degrees. Two physical therapists were working on my knee, trying push down and force it into more extension with my heel propped up on a bolster. At some point I lost my cool due to the extreme pain. I asked Travis, the head therapist, what his last name was, but he wouldn't tell me. I then called him and Rob everything I could think of and told him if I were just a little bit stronger, I would whip his ass. I then told him that looking at him, I wouldn't need to be much stronger.

When they finally stopped the torture and took me back to my room, I was still boiling mad and panting like a dog in heat. Travis came by a little later and tried to explain that what they had done was necessary, but I was still too mad to listen. I told him all it amounted to was an ego trip for them, to get the good numbers on the report and also that if it wasn't really necessary, he was a dead SOB as I had put the "Evil Eye" on him.

Later that night I starting thinking that they could really hurt me, so just maybe I should apologize to them. Rob came by the next morning and I did just that, not really meaning it, but sounding very sincere. Monday morning I saw Travis in the hall as I was making laps, and apologized to him. I believe the apologies made a lot of difference, as they never hurt me quite a much after that. Of course, the extension was back to -7 degrees, so maybe they didn't need to.

I drastically underestimated the knee replacement surgery and even more the rehab. I had expected to be in the hospital about 5 days and the rehab about 3. I still have a lot of outpatient PT to go through, but the knee is slowly improving.

One day I heard a cat meowing. I had missed my cats immensely. About that time Kristin walked in the room, carrying Jewel in a cat carrier. I was so thrilled to see and pet my cat, I cried. Kristin said she "sneaked" the cat in, but not very successfully, at the head doctor was following her into my room. It turns out she had actually called my nurse and gotten permission. A loudly meowing cat is pretty hard to "sneak" into a hospital.

Oh yeah, Griz, the bed was electronic with hard and soft controls powered by air valves. Seems like I messed with that for hours, trying to get the bed just right, but it never was. Last night, sleeping in my own bed at home was heaven!!

Neal

Griz wrote: 
I'm really just trying to imagine Neal hog-tied to a bed, having to be a
manual bed, not an electronic one because lordy what the man would do with
that!! LOL!

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Neal!


"Liz" <lizhug1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:N4-dnUi1OMe9MOLenZ2dnUVZ_tSdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I had the knee replacement on Nov 1. Had a couple of problems that made 

for

a longer hospital stay than expected.  A minor infection developed in the
knee and I had a stomach ileus, where the stomach completely stopped
working.  They got that all cleared up, and I came to the rehab hospital


on

Monday, Nov 7.

The rehab is very hard work and extremely painful, but I am making 

progress.

I am now walking with a walker, a quad cane, and sometimes unassisted. 

Have

been getting PT and OT daily on an individual and group basis.   Basically
have been taught how to do everything from standing up, getting


dressed.....

everything!

I am supposed to be discharged Thanksgiving day. Thanks again for 

writing.

Please let everyone on SMT know I am doing okay. They are letting me use 

a

computer in a room, recreastional therapy, they call it.  I have been able
to read SMT from here, but not post.

Neal






.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Relaying message from Neal
    ... I'm sure that everyone here will understand that I really tried to break every rule they had in the rehab. ... When they had me doing things like lower leg raises for the operated knee, I would gradually lean back for less resistance, but always got caught. ... Later that night I starting thinking that they could really hurt me, so just maybe I should apologize to them. ... About that time Kristin walked in the room, carrying Jewel in a cat carrier. ...
    (sci.med.transcription)
  • Re: Relaying message from Neal
    ... While in the rehab hospital, I was able to read some of the posts here through Google, but not very many. ... When they had me doing things like lower leg raises for the operated knee, I would gradually lean back for less resistance, but always got caught. ... Later that night I starting thinking that they could really hurt me, so just maybe I should apologize to them. ... About that time Kristin walked in the room, carrying Jewel in a cat carrier. ...
    (sci.med.transcription)
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  • Re: Keith Reynolds: UpDate
    ... It requires a pretty extensive reworking of the knee. ... One of my students trashed his ACL in both knees twice over a period of about four years. ... or perhaps the surgery and/or rehab were not top-shelf ...
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