The Bees Knees
My mother had bilateral knee replacement on the 12th and was standing on her new knees 4 hours post op thanks in no small part to her fabulous surgeon who took a jar-full of goop out from her knee cavity and replaced it with s knee that’s made out of plastic, steel and titanium. By day two she was walking the halls. On day three she navigated a full flight of stairs and I had her back home by 10:30 this morning, less than 4 days after the initial incision.
My moms knees had deteriorated steadily for more than 15 years but especially so the past 4 leaving her stooped over and limping. When the cortisone shots stopped working and an x-ray in October revealed that she was bone on bone in both knees she was scheduled for surgery. How she made it to her surgical date, working 12 hour shifts is a testament to the minds ability to manage pain.
My mom, my uncle and I were at the hospital by 5am on the day of her surgery. They put her under at 9:00am and my uncle and I took one look at the waiting room and thought- uh- not for us. So we found an open bar and drank bloody marys’ until about noon when I decided to make my way back to the hospital. She wasn’t out of surgery yet so I curled up in a chair a fell asleep until a volunteer came and plucked me out of my drool so that I could go into recovery. Had my mom not been coming out of anesthesia, she no doubt would have clued into the fact that I managed to have happy hour at 10:00 am on a Wednesday. As it was, she was loopy in her own right so my vodka breath went undetected.
There was just this moment when we were in the surgical holding room waiting for anesthesia to start the epidural when she cast a backward look at me over her shoulder. Had she just looked scared as I knew she was, that would have been equally difficult. But what broke my heart was seeing her try to be brave so that I wouldn’t see how nervous she was.
On a side note, people get their knees replaced all the time. As orthopedic surgery goes, it’s routine and very clinical. The only element of my mom’s surgery that was unique is that she had polio as a little girl and had a paralyzed diaphragm. She can breathe fine, but she spent 4 months in an iron lung and were there to be any issues in surgery they could have been linked to breathing. Or not breathing. So her fears had some specificity to them which thank goodness were never realized.
Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, CA is the OC of the OC, a fabulously appointed hospital with Doctors and Nurses right out of a Hollywood Backlot. Her room was on the top floor with ocean views were we were treated to beautiful sunsets. This is a hospital where “back in the day”, John Wayne was a patient. They used to serve meals on china with real silver and real crystal.
Those bits of luxuries are gone, but the hospital is state of the art to be sure and the care there was tremendous. Last night, my uncle (the drunky unky) made dinner to take up. I brought vegan risotto which we served with tofu (for me) and swordfish for them. It was great and gave my mom a needed break from hospital food.
It was thrilling to have her home this afternoon but exhausting as well. She’s walking well, but there are still a lot of things that aren’t safe for her to do. So I played step and fetch it for a good part of the afternoon while also trying to cook for us and get myself packed for Vegas. My flight doesn’t leave for another hour but I left my moms early deliberately so that I could have a few moments to myself, to blog and to collect my thoughts.
I am humbled by my mothers’ strength and positive attitude. She’s met every part of this process, the pre-surgical exercises to strengthen her arms and her core and every exercise they’ve asked her to do in Physical Therapy. She has been thoroughly uncomplaining as she has met each new challenge and the grimace that’s been on her face for the last 4 years has been replaced with a look of peace. Of course that may be the vicodin. Whatever.
I also had an onslaught of prayers, cards, emails, and voicemails from friends of hers, mine and ours offering their support this week. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
Being in California this trip, being with my mom and my uncle does make me wonder why I don’t live out here. The weather is gorgeous and it’s no more expensive then where I’m living now. It’s not my kind of place exactly- but I wonder…
Then again, I think that when I’m in Kansas City…
…and I love being at home.
Received a sweet email from Wikipedia yesterday. Sweet, not because he said anything even remotely affectionate but because he was thinking about me from several continents away,
Great news about your mother. Where is KT-BUG these days?!?