The nurse took out all the staples from Mrs. Major’s knees. The tool she used looked nothing like the staple puller I have in my desk. No wonder Mrs. Major didn’t want me to do it. The tool looked like a small pair of pliers that had two teeth on the bottom and one on the top. When she squeezed, the staple would bend upward from the middle, unhook itself from the incision, and Mrs. Major would gasp. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Gary Varvel’s post today says it all.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

“After twelve years of therapy my psychiatrist said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, ‘No hablo ingles.’” –Ronnie Shakes

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Mrs. Major continues to make improvements. She’s got her CPM dialed up to 99º. We don’t know what her actual flexion is, we’ll find that out when the PT comes on Tuesday, but that’s a full 9º more than two days ago on the machine. Mrs. Major continues to work very hard at her exercises even though she’s in almost constant pain. She says it’s not any worse than before the knee replacement, but it’s different…mostly in the muscles around the knees. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

“It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man in argument.” –William G. McAdoo

Which quote reminds me of a story I heard back in the 60s:

A man was driving on a one lane bridge when he met another one driving in the opposite direction. The second man said, “I never back up for and idiot.¹”

“I always do,” said the first. He promptly threw the gears into reverse and backed off the bridge.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

1. or any other nasty name you like [↩]

Mrs. Major’s Knees

Well, here you go. This is what Mrs. Major’s knees looked like yesterday when I changed her dressings¹. 

All in all, she’s doing very well. Monday, the home care nurse and physical therapist were amazed at her mobility and flexibility. She’s walking around on her own using a walker, but she can get herself anywhere in the house she needs to go.

Yesterday, the home health care company delivered a constant physical motion (CPM) machine. We put her leg in it and it flexes and extends her leg from fully extended to whatever degree she chooses to have it flexed. The scheme is to keep increasing the flex as time goes on. She started at 70º at the hospital but is now up to 90º. The physical therapist was here today and said she’s way ahead of schedule.

This morning her left knee was very stiff and painful. She was a little worried because she thought it was a setback, but after her exercises, the knee loosened up and the pain subsided. The PT said that it was normal considering she didn’t move her legs all night long. Maybe we’ll put her on the CPM tonight while she sleeps.

The only disadvantage of the CPM is that she can’t get into or out of it without help, so she’s not as independent as she was on Monday, but the therapy is doing tons of good, so the inconvenience is worth it.

She has been working very hard at her exercises. She’s very determined and courageous. I’m proud of her.

She has appreciated all the cards and calls she’s been getting. Thanks to all of you who’ve sent your well-wishes.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

1. You can click on the picture or title to get a large sized photo if you care to [↩]

Hallelujah, we’re home. Charlene did so well, she didn’t have to go to a rehab facility. In fact, she just got herself out of the chair and headed for the bathroom refusing any help from me. 

I think that will be it for now. Tomorrow, we have the first visit from the home health care folks and I’m going to try to compose my thoughts on the last three days. 

Suffice it to say, Mrs. Major has been a real trooper during all of this. 

Again, we appreciate all of your prayers, thoughts, and encouragement.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Mrs. Major had a much better day today. She’s getting herself to the bathroom without help (or groaning). She went to PT twice today and did better than the women who had only one knee replaced. Everyone was amazed. She’s in much better spirits and not so goofy from the pain meds (She’s on pills now, no IV drugs).

We expect she’ll come home tomorrow afternoon.

By the way, I wore jeans and a sweatshirt today. Very comfortable.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Mrs. Major had her ups and downs today. Around 4am the morphine from her spinal began to wear off. She failed to tell the nurse so by 7am her pain was beginning to get severe. They started he on a morphine on-demand drip, but since she’d been 3 hrs without pain meds, things got worse before they got better. By 9am she was feeling better. Read the rest of this entry »

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

It’s now the end of a very long day and Mrs. Major is recovering nicely. She was a little groggy for the first few hours but became more alert as the day progressed. The morphine they put in the spinal is holding out and so far she has no pain in her knees (or anywhere else for that matter). 

Dr. Duke used a relatively new technology on Mrs. Major, women’s replacement knees. They’re sized a little differently and angled a little differently than men’s replacement knees which, until just recently, were used for all replacements. Using women’s knees should speed up recovery and reduce complications later.

Cool, huh?

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.