Twenty Days To Go

Yesterday was a long day.  We were at Grace Hospital at 8 am to check in for my day at the pre admission clinic. This is a day of appointments and getting ready for the big day. First we met with the anethetist. This is the doctor in charge of administering the spinal and the sedation. He assured me I would be completely knocked out and wouldn't be aware of anything going on! He talked us through the process of the spinal, assuring me it was a smaller needle than the one used for my epidural some 20 years ago, describing the morphine and fentanyl that would be pumped into my spinal cord. The best part about the spinal is that it helps provide pain control post surgery for a bit. He reviewed my current meds list and advised which ones I have to stop pre surgery and when. 

Next up was our appointment with a nurse. She was awesome. They have this whole binder filled with my info, questionnaires I have filled out, and papers from my doctor.  She reviewed everything with us, took some more notes and clarified things in the binder, talked about procedures when I arrive on the morning of surgery day, and answered all of our questions. After she was done, she sent me downstairs for X-rays. X-rays were taken so they could do proper measurements to fit me with the correct size prosthetic. They re took a couple of pictures to make sure they had it right. The worst part about X-rays was when I had to point my toes together and hold them there. My left leg did not like that at all! That was the one they had to re do because I moved.... Oops. 

Once X-rays were done, the physiotherapist came to get us. She reviewed how I was doing now, what the house set up was like (number of stairs, available help, and that sort of thing). Then she assessed my cane, made sure it was the right height and that I was using it properly. (I was!)  Next she took some measurements of how far I could bend my left leg at the hip and how strong my hip and leg are. We reviewed the exercises and the reasons for them as well as my movement restrictions post surgery. I will not be allowed to bend past 90 degrees, twist, or bring my leg to or past the midline. These movements all increase the risk of dislocation and disrupting the healing muscles. My favourite part of the exercise assessment was when my hip clicked. It made a horrible cracking sound. The physiotherapist had a look of horror on her face and she stopped everything to make sure I was ok. It was quite uncomfortable and painful when that happened. Ouch!

The occupational therapist was the next person we saw. She goes over all the day to day living items such as getting dressed, showering, and using the washroom. She wrote out everything I would need to make everything easier post surgery. We all went into their bathroom set up to figure out the right height for the toilet seat, the correct bath seat, using the rails properly... She was quite thorough. Everyone was. 

Our last stop on this crazy day was the vampires.... I mean the blood lab. They needed a little bit more blood to make sure they had the right blood type on hand, should I need any and a bunch of other tests. All in all, this type of set up was great. We left feeling more prepared than ever for something this big. Needless to say we both napped when we got home. 

Now I just need to make it to the big day!