Monday, October 15, 2012

#787 my manipulation Monday

I had my right knee manipulated early this morning. Here's what I remember:

I got to the hospital at 6:15 AM and went back to pre-op pretty quickly. The surgeon, Dr. F, came in and I made sure to ask if he had a good weekend and was feeling rested and happy. I think it's important for the man who will be working on your body to be in a good frame of mind and feeling well, don't you?

Anyway, the IV went in with very little trouble today and I was ready to go when the anesthesiologist came into take me to surgery. Whatever he used on me worked quickly once he got it started! I was chatting with the nurse then I started to feel drowsy and my eyes drooped shut. I heard the doctor ask if I has feeling sleepy and I told him that I was. Then he put an oxygen mask on and that was all for me. When I woke up, I was in recovery and the nurse there told me that everything went well and that Dr. F had got a bend of 125 degrees and he was very pleased.

When I was a little more awake, I was taken to the second recovery room and MT was there. My oxygen levels weren't where they should have been, so I was given more oxygen and encouraged to go back to sleep so the anesthesia would wear off. The thing is that I was supposed to go to physical therapy at 9:30, but with low oxygen and still being so under the influence of the medication, it just wasn't possible. Fortunately, the physical therapy department was very accommodating, so I was able to sleep it off. However, when I was ready to go to PT, the doctor I was going to work with was behind schedule. MT and I were told to go to lunch and return at 1:00.

When we returned, the doctor had a new problem: his nine year old son had dislocated his shoulder on the monkey bars at school and was on his way in so his dad could pop his shoulder back in place. Because of that, the doctor was understandably preoccupied. I offered to go out to my regular PT clinic near my house and after a brief but thorough consultation, we agreed that seeing my regular PT doctor would be fine. The PT doctor there at TOSH (The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital, where I had my surgeries) said the manip looked beautiful and that my bending was excellent. He gave me some instructions to do at home and sent me on my way. I think it worked out fine.

The PT area at TOSH is enormous and there are dozens of patients and physical therapists and PT assistants in there. I felt a little overwhelmed. I much prefer the clinic I go to here in Magna. There are two doctors and two assistants. I feel a lot more comfortable there and I think the care is excellent.

Lance, my regular PT doctor wasn't there tonight, so I worked with Dan and he was great, too. He also said the manip looked good and was happy with my range of motion. He reiterated what the PT doc at TOSH said about walking the fine line between keeping the knee moving and resting it frequently. My assignment is to warm it up using the bike for two to four minutes, then do the mobility exercises for five minutes, followed by the heel prop for about five minutes. Finish with ice for 20 minutes. Repeat every two hours.

I feel pretty good. It's been a long day, and I'm starting to feel a little pain in the knee. It's not bad, but another part of my assignment is to stay on top of the pain. If I'm feeling any little amount of pain/discomfort, I am to take a pain pill, as long as it's in the specified time period (one or two pills every four hours).

It has been a long day, and I'm tired and ready for my bedtime pill, so I think I'll go to bed.

Take care of yourselves, be kind and I'll write at ya later!

1 comment:

emtes said...

Glad to hear everything went well. It seems like you still have a lot of practice to do. I do hope the pain will gradually disappear.

Take care! Love you
Mia :-)