Post-op

8/23/11 Post-op

My recovery in the hospital went well - I spent a total of 5 days. The choice here was: spend 3 days in the hospital and recover for a few weeks in a nursing/rehab facility or spend 5 days in the hospital and go directly home. This was a “no brainer”. Especially since Steve was now retired and would be able to care for me. A few friends came to visit me in the hospital- which really helped me emotionally. I am very grateful to them- Susan, Randye, Diane, Dale, Mitch, Sara and Elias. You're the best! The hospital food was really bad- but they did make sure to give me calcium every day. I had to ask for ice to put on the bruise from surgery- that was the one complaint I had- that the staff just didn't bring me ice on a regular basis.

Surgery

8/22/11 Surgery

My orthopedic trauma surgeon at Sharp Hospital seemed very caring and competent. He explained the options I had: a total hip replacement, a partial replacement or an open reduction/internal fixation surgical procedure - which salvages the existing bones. My husband and I chose the latter - which seemed to be the least invasive. Surgery only took about 1 1/2 hours and I tolerated it well. The anesthesia always makes me quite nauseous- but this time I handled the drugs better.

Hip Fracture Accident

8/21/11 Accident

A mundane home accident produced a life-changing event.  So, I’m sitting at the kitchen table working on my laptop (actually re-writing my resume for the 100^th time? I was about to get laid off from my job), when the phone rang. When I jumped up to get the phone, the laptop cord tripped me. And I fell hard with my full weight on my left hip on our tile floor.

I called for my husband who was in the other room. He picked me up off of the floor and sat me down. I asked him to help me stand up- but I could not put any weight on my left leg. My teeth also would not stop chattering. He carried me to the couch and we immediately put ice on my hip. But only a few minutes later, I realized that I could not even lift myself off of the couch since I needed to use the bathroom. Steve tried to help me but to no avail- it was way too painful. It was at this point, that we called our nurse on call telling Steve to call 911 immediately. The paramedics arrived, immediately inserted an IV and gave me morphine. Then they were able to put me in traction, place me on a gurney and transport me to the hospital. Once there, they took an x-ray that revealed a displaced hip and fractured femur. I would need surgery in the morning.