Wheeze Alarm

It has been five days now since my left leg was sliced open and my knee was forcibly torn out and replaced with a synthetic and metal one. The first two days were relatively painless and I was naively basking in the euphoria of forgetfulness about the rumble of the pain train that was bearing down upon me, due to arrive on the third day. It stopped at the station on Wednesday evening and discharged all of its freight.

I also discovered that my right leg was not as strong after my August knee replacement, as it needed to be in order to facilitate safe transfer from the reclining chair to a standing position. Quite frankly, it was scary! Wanting desperately to avoid the complications of constipation I was only treating myself to half the recommended dose of hydrocodone (painkiller) in spite of urging of visiting nurse and PT (pain and torture) folk. Thursday saw the return to full doses with out the need for much convincing.

Yesterday (Friday) had some drama after I inadvertently mentioned to the visiting nurse that I had noticed a brief period of minor wheezes while lying in bed at night. Before I was even able to spell the word STOP, she had called my physician and told him … even though my lungs were clear, no noises, no pain, no difficulty breathing … it was all hands on deck to get me to the hospital for a CT angiogram to see if there were any clots. Girlfriend loaded me into the car and drove me off where I was stuck for blood test and burly man and tiny girl managed to lift me out of wheel chair and lay me out on the table like a Christmas dinner. They were very kind about the whole process. “When I inject the dye you may experience a hot flash and it will feel like you are peeing your pants. Don’t worry, it’s just a feeling and is not happening.” – (Lord help me!). Scan was clear of clots but there is a small amount of fluid around my lung which is in all likelihood a result of all the fluids that were pumped in me during surgery and the fact that my girlfriend has me drinking from a hose to assure that I have enough fluids in my body.

My wound dressing is soaked with drainage but it is not leaking. We were a little alarmed (I won’t gross you out with a picture) by its appearance so we requested visiting nurse to look at it today. She said it is fine as long as it is not leaking … so we continue to squish onward. Pray that we will continue to make progress.

Pray for my girlfriend … she looks tired at times when I look at her. She’s keeping house as well as keeping track of my meds, my food, my therapy, my bathroom trips, my clothing and she says I’m keeping her awake at night by talking in my sleep! I’ve never done that before? Could that be the result of all the drugs? So thankful for the spot of cheer brought my Charissa and her family in their visit yesterday and their help in putting the basement back together after the new carpet was installed and for the platform Ryan build so I can get in and out of my recliner in a much more safe and secure fashion.