postoperative poopy-doops, and so on, and so, forth!

dear kind reader[s],

here's a [very] rough breakdown of Things Since Surgery, as composed earlier today [friday]:

one of the first things i heard while coming around was some news broadcaster calling newt gingrich "a nimble politician," so i knew i was either in hell or awake. 

here's a quick summary: 

the prosthesis was very infected, confirmed by frozen section during surgery
but whether it will grow in the lab is anyone's guess [if you have celestial influence, that's the wish to use it on]
he had to split the bone, unfortunately
he put in antibiotic laced spacer made of what's called "surgical cement"
i arrived in room from PACU with NO i.v. access and that was surely fun
on my birthday, i got a PICC line and a second regional block -- woo hoo!
the spasms arrived, along with dr. b, my favorite infectious disease doctor
dr. b, too, wants YOU to pray for The Crud to grow in the lab
spasms and pain brought me to my first ever declaration of 10/10 on the pain scale
needed 2 units of blood
they got permission, over my protests, to use my left forearm for the BP cuff during transfusion

i protested because that could cause CRPS spread in a freshly operated limb

and... the CRPS promptly spread
i was devastated
asked my ortho and dr. b to send me home so i could get pain control
they agreed
fred got to the hospital after the last drop o'blood, riding my wheelchair into the room like a knight in shining armor
we needed all kind of help to get my massively swollen and oh-so-fetching body folded into my wheelchair
[did i mention that the chair is on its last legs? that we were hoping the new one would arrive before surgery?]
fred had kept it nonstop on its charger
so, of course, we turned on the power, and... NOTHING... DEAD... KAPUT...
we got home but it was not pretty, nor comfortable
fred has been challenged and we are just trying to survive
we had to be at dr. b's place the next morning at 10
we made it... got re-trained in PICC line administration of vancomycin
by the time we got home, nerves and tempers were shot
but it's been uphill since then
fred forwarded all your email replies earlier today
and he was so wise to do that - as it gave me a wonderful lift.
he thanks you
i thank you
i love you!