Jan

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9:00am = I was planning on leaving for Minot about now, but it just isn’t happening…funny how many things popup when your trying to pack for a week away from home.

11:30am = Finally get on the road. It’s sunny and the roads are perfect. Only stop 3 times for a total of 20 minutes. Once for potty, once for gas and once for supper. Took the shortcut route, highway 281 from Jamestown to highway 52 in Carrington to Minot. Total driving time was only 6 hours and 40 minutes. While driving through Harvey, the ditch was on fire. Also, thank God for XM radio.

6:40pm = Arrive at Grandma’s. Visit with her until she leaves for the Moose Club. She’s an ‘escort’ for the monthly meeting of the Moose women. I unload my stuff and head over to Joleen’s.

7:30pm = Visit with Joleen, Josephine and Janet.

10:30pm = Bedtime.

4:00am = Alarm goes off – Dang!

4:15am = Pickup Jan at Joleen’s house.

4:30am = arrive at the ER entrance of Trinity Hospital. Meet with Aggie to fill out paperwork. Jan was pre-registered yesterday over the phone, so there wasn’t much left to do. Jan get’s a wheelchair to be shuffled around.

4:40am = Drew blood and gave urine sample. The nurse couldn’t stick the vein in the right arm. Felt for the left arm vein, but couldn’t get it. Went into the top of the left hand to draw blood.

5:00am = X-rays. Took 2 views, one from the front and the other from the side.

5:10am = Back to the front desk.

5:15am = Sent to room 677 (701-857-5677). She will be here until she goes to Rehab on Friday or Saturday. Her PIN is 894 – anyone calling for a status will need to give that number in order to be given an update. Linda is the current Aide. Nurse Susan came to ask a bunch of questions…medical history. Took vitals – her blood pressure was 149/105. Jan was asked what her pain level was on a scale of 1 to 5, she said 5. She declined a flu shot. They put a compression sock on her right leg (feels like nylons). Jan forgot her Thyroid pills back at Joleen’s house. I drive back to get them. As I’m looking in her room for them, I can’t find them and the phone rings – she has them with her. I think maybe she needs memory pills along with her other pills :o)

6:00am = Dr. Woiteshek comes in to mark the left hip – gotta make sure they replace the correct side :o) Nice guy…comes from Illinois. He will be putting in a "BioMed" device that’s made in Minneapolis.

6:30am = Joan comes to take an EKG. Patches are put on both arms, legs and all around the chest. Jan now has 3 wristbands: blood type, admittance info and allergy info.

6:35am = The cot arrives to take her to surgery.

6:40am = Goes to surgery. I’ll wait in the surgical waiting area. The surgery is about 2 hours and the recovery is about an hour. She’ll then be brought back to her room.

6:50am = I go for breakfast at the temporary cafeteria. The main area is under renovation. I have 2 strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, chocolate milk and a waffle with peaches and whipped cream – yummy!

7:40am = A volunteer arrives to monitor the waiting area – she takes my info so that they know who to give updates to.

8:05am = The volunteer gives me a Hospitality card that’s good for a free beverage in the cafeteria.

8:50am = Surgery is done. The Dr. came out to talk with me. It went great! No issues, very typical surgery – she did great!

9:00am = I went up to the room to wait for her to get out of recovery. I’m able to connect my laptop to the phone line and get on the Internet, so I can email updates.

10:18am = She’s back from surgery. Her first words are: I’m Pain Free !! She’s had 24/7 pain in her leg for over 5 months – it’s taken a huge emotional toll on her. So to be pain free, even if it’s only from the epidural, is a huge relief. It took 5 nurses and a ‘slider’ to move her from the O.R. bed to her regular bed :o). Jennifer is the day-nurse. She can wiggle her toes and only has minimal skin sensation from the waist down. Her numbness should be gone by about 4pm. Her blood pressure is 95/68. This sometimes happens with Epidural’s. It was also low during surgery. Jan has to do a breathe test every hour on the hour – she has to breathe "in" to put the plunger up to the 2500ml mark. So, she has to suck real hard 10 times, and put the plunger at 2500 each time. The epidural drip is still in her spine – it might come out tomorrow sometime. Epidural’s also show down the bowels to some degree, so before she can eat anything, the nurse needs to hear prominent ‘gurgling’ sounds coming from her stomach area. This tells her that her bowels are moving and then she can eat something. Because she’s still basically numb from the waist down, she says it feels like she’s sitting up – feels like her legs are bent, but she’s laying down. She has a catheter in that will come out in a couple days. When the first started the epidural in the O.R., she was sitting up. But she went numb very quickly, so she didn’t have balance enough to keep sitting up, so she kinda fell over and the nurse had to grab her. She was a tiny nurse, so another nurse had to come over to help :o). Jan remembers going into the O.R. that the air was extremely clean – it even seemed to clear up her sinus congestion. Besides the epidural, she had anti-nausea drugs, anti-pain drugs and a sleeping agent. She was awake for the entire surgery, but she did doze off a few brief times. She doesn’t remember hearing/feeling the ‘sawing’ of the bone. She didn’t have a care in the world. She didn’t care or notice what was going on because she was just way too happy that the pain was finally gone (since getting the epidural). She laid on her side for the surgery and there were lots of people in the O.R. She didn’t sleep in the recovery room.

11:15am = Her blood pressure is now 102/70. She has a device wrapped around both feet that squeezes each one every 3 seconds. It’s meant to simulate walking and is to help prevent blood clots from forming. She’s pretty tired, so I leave the hospital to try and take a cat-nap and Grandma’s. I’ll be back around 4:00pm. The numbness should be completely gone by then, and the blood that’s getting pumped back into her, should be all back in by then.

12:00pm = Pastor John (from Zion Lutheran) stopped by for a quick blessing. She went to sleep for over 2 hours. The cold shakes woke her up.

3:00pm-ish = She got the cold shakes. Shook so hard her teeth were chattering and her neck started hurting. The aides wrapped her up in blankets. Her compression sock fell down to just above the knee – it was so tight down there that it hurt and left an indent in her leg. The nurse massaged the area until the skin dent went away.

5:15pm = The shakes have almost stopped and she’s still cold. She got a heating pad for her back. That warmed her up almost too quick – shakes are gone and now she’s boarder-line sweating :o)

6:15pm = She had her 1^st meal - all she could eat was: 1/2cup of Tomato soup, ¼ cup strawberry jello, 1 slice of toast and 1 glass of hot tea.

6:45pm = I’m finally back to the hospital. I fell asleep at grandma’s for over 3 hours. That’s a miracle, because I can never sleep during the day. Her BP is 102/60, temp is 100.2 and now is 99.7 degrees.

8:30pm = Mike stopped by for over and hour. Told some jokes, harassed some employees and then had to go to his commercial property to scrub toilets and vacuum. I REALLY wanted to go with him, but, you know…..:o)

10:12pm = I leave the hospital to go beddy-bye.

9:15am = I’m back at the hospital. She had a great night’s sleep – very comfy. She woke up at 6am. The nurse forgot to put in her breakfast order – it should have been there around 7am, but didn’t come until 8:45am. She was given a menu to order from – she ordered a mushroom/green pepper/onion/cheese oblate and bacon. She didn’t have an appetite, so she only ate about ¼ of it. It had a bad taste and was kinda burned. They gave her a big glass of Metamucil, so that killed her appetite even more. She also had some milk and coffee. The toast was dry and cold. Drank 1 small can of Ensure. At 6am, Jan noticed her right hand and forearm was really swollen. The I.V. had popped out sometime during the night and the fluids were collecting under her skin. They then had to put the I.V. into her left arm. 3 nurses poked around for sometime and couldn’t get it in. They had to page a paramedic. He comes in and in 10 seconds had the line in! It’s called a ‘butterfly’ I.V. ?? I think it means smaller needles.

9:23am = the Dr. who put in her epidural tube, came in to take it out. We thought that since the tubing ran down her back and into her skin at the small of her back, that the needle was still in. Turns out, a needle is only used to get the tubing into and under her skin, to get it into the ‘epidural area’. There was about 4-5 inches of tubing under her skin! It came out in a split second. He says it could take 6-8 hours for the numbing effects to wear off and then the pain will start :o) Then she can ask for the pain meds. BP is 99/56.

10:30am = BP is 94/64, temp is 98.3 and blood oxygen is 94%

11:00am = The Young & the Restless is on :o)

11:30am = Ordered a Cheeseburger with mashed potatoes and gravy. I get a sloppy joe and mashed potatoes and gravy. She by chance got the brown gravy and I got the yellow gravy. Mine was great, but her gravy sucked :o)

12:00pm = The meals arrive.

12:30pm = Given 1^st set of pain meds – 2 vicoden. She has to wait 3 hours until the next dose. Her pain level is around 4 out of 5.

12:42pm = Dr. Young, the director of recovery therapy placement came to talk with us. He said that the feds are tightening their dollars and that hip/knee replacement patients are no longer candidates for being put into a place that offers 24/7 therapy. Sounds like a bunch of bull to me. He says most likely, after 3 days of therapy at the hospital, she’ll have to go home and have the therapists come to the home. My guess is that the therapy place doesn’t have a room for her. He says we’ll see how she’s doing after 3 days.

1:10pm = 2 gals from Therapy show up. They were supposed to be there around 9am. Jan is to not bend at the hips more than 90 degrees for 3 months. Can’t cross her legs. Can’t pivot on her left leg. Will need a bench to sit on to swing in/out of the tub. The Dr. will have pain med restrictions on driving.

1:20pm = She stood up for the 1^st time. The technique is to stick her left leg out straight, when she get’s in/out of the sitting position. She walked down the hall about 50 feet and back. She did great! No pain or funny sensations in her legs and didn’t get tired. They went over techniques on how to put on socks and pants with the aid of ‘helper’ devices. There’s the ‘reacher’ to grab and pick up things; the long-handled shoe horn and sponge and the ‘sock aide’. That’s a plastic thingy that you put the sock around and then put your foot into it, so you then can pull up on the whole thing to put your socks on without having to bend over, which would put you over the 90 degree being limit. There will be 2 physical and 2 occupational therapy’s each day for the next few days. So, she’ll have 4 sessions each day.

2:00pm = Temp is 97.8, blood oxygen is 95% with a 101 pulse. The aides help her back into bed and leave. They forgot to put her 'pumping feet' back on. The nurses were strict at saying as long as she's in bed, those feet have to be on her so that blood clots don't form. So, nurse Jason rose to the task and figured out the wrapping and starting the machine :o)

3:00pm = Pain level has been back to 4+ for about an hour. She never really did get down below 2 since the 1^st pain meds. We called for more meds. The numbness from the epidural wore off completely around noon – only 3 hours after removal. The swelling is about ½ gone from her right hand, but she still can’t get her ring off.

3:30pm = Pain meds finally arrive. They’re adding a muscle relaxant. The aide says it’ll take about an hour to kick in. That’s unacceptable. She’s already been at a 4 for about 2 hours and now they expect her to sit with that pain for another hour – makes no sense at all! I pushed the situation – common sense should tell them that she needs relief now. She said they could probably push some morphine through the I.V., but will have to ask the nurse first.

3:40pm = A nurse pushed ‘tordall’ (sp?) into the I.V. Within 5 minutes, she was feeling much better. She’s tired now, so will probably take a nap.

4:00pm = I leave to type up this latest update at Joey’s house. Had supper with Grandma and Dustin at the Moose Lodge. She had a $5 coupon, so the total bill for all 3 of us was $13.00. Had fried chicken, augrautin potatoes and green beans. Plus, a cup of maple nut ice cream was .50 cents. – yummy.

7:37pm = I’m back….BP is 84/50. She had 2 vicodin at 7pm. She’s feeling dizzy and weak. At 6pm she had a chef’s salad – they had called her for the order. At 5pm, Paster Mary Lou stopped by for a quick visit.

8:30pm = Nurse Sarah came in. BP is 100/68. Jan’s left wrist I.V. still hurts pretty bad. It’s a sensitive area to begin with, so this kinda sucks. Her right had only has about 30% of the original swelling.

9:30pm = I head out….

(Friday the 13^th ….Oooohhhh….)

8:55am = She went right to sleep last night. They only did the BP overnight a couple times. She only woke up once – had a great night’s sleep! She woke up at 5am and was a little stiff, but feel right back to sleep. Her pain level was only a 1, but wanted some pain pills as a ‘pre-emptive strike’ for the beginning of the day :o)

6:30am = Dr. Woiteshek stopped by to ask how she was feeling. He said the bandage will be changed today and the "JP" (drainage) tube would be removed from her leg. She’s been sweating all morning, we think it’s from the new pain meds she has. The gave her a synthetic thyroid pill, not the same type she has for her prescription, and that might have something to do with it. Around 5am, they took the catheter and unplugged the I.V. – yippee!.

7:30am = Breakfast was oatmeal, toast, coffee and milk. Only able to drink about 1oz. of coffee and 1 piece of toast – no appetite.

8:00am = O.T. came in for about an hour. She had a sponge bath and went potty by herself, although it sure was handy when she had the catheter :o) She took her compression sock off and washed her leg. She stood up with the walker while doing her tasks and also walked to the hallway to get in the wheelchair.

9:18am = Nurse came to listen to her lungs (sounded great) and gave her a multivitamin. Jan declined the metamucil. They removed the I.V. from her wrist – Yeah ! It’s been hurting ever since they put it in. She’s all black and blue on her arms/wrists.

9:27am = P.T. showed up – had her walk down to the other wing of the building where the P.T. room is. Made it almost all the way, about 100 feet, but then had to use the wheelchair. Had her lay on a bed to work her ankles and knees. Did leg bends. She started to get a sick feeling. The incision started to hurt really bad. Only made it for 5 minutes in therapy, too much pain, and had to stop. It would have helped if she could have had a little ‘warm up’ session first. She was rushed into this first therapy session – straight from lying down all night into doing all the physical stuff.

10:30am = Nurse Catherine came in to take the drain tube out of her leg. There was at least 4 inches of that tubing under her skin. It hurt like hell when the pulled that surgical tape off her skin, and then even more when they pulled the tube out – it was terrible! The staples and incision looks really good and clean. The incision is about a foot long. She also has a groin pain from the therapist making her get off the table too quickly. She took 2 vicodin. They forgot to put her air booties back on after she got into bed, so Nurse Jason had to perform overtime again. The staples will come out in about a week.

11:00am = I leave to let her have some rest. It was basically her worst morning yet and was kinda depressing for her.

2:00pm = I’m back – what a difference a short nap can make. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, laughing and visiting with her friend Marvel Bakken. It had been about 20 years since they’ve seen each other. They met at Loraine’s Beauty Bar, Jan’s first job after finishing beauty school. At 12:15pm, the cafeteria called and asked for her lunch order. She ordered a small garden salad. A woman in street clothes came by and was selling health care products/devices that help the disabled/recovery patients. They talked about the ‘leg lifter’ – 2 nylon loops at each end of a stiff 3 foot length of nylon. You put your foot into one of the loops and then your able to pull with your hand and lift the leg into bed. O.T. / P.T. came to show her how to get in/out of a tub. Did leg lifts and knee bends again; walked up/down 4stairs; used both railings and then just one railing; Got in/out of bed using the leg-lifter; Walked all the way back to the room!! She’s gone potty several times, got in/out of bed all by herself for the 1^st time!!

3:00pm = Was given her regular dose of cumadin.

4:20pm = Took 2 vicodin; Temp was 97.5; 99% blood oxygen; BP was 94/60. Her pain level was about 3.5. I leave for the night. Going out with Mike/Shirley/Grandma for supper at Primo’s. Then went to Marissa’s 13^th birthday pool party and visited with Jeremy/Amy/Amy/Aaron. Jan’s day had a bad start, but a good finish.

8:30am = I’m back to her room. Her right hand swelling is basically all gone. Around 10:30pm last night, she got 3 pills = 2 vicodin and 1 muscle relaxant. At 5:30am, she got the same set of pills. Right now, her pain level is a Zero for the 1^st time! She had another great nights sleep. The cafeteria called again last night – she ordered the BLT and chicken dumpling soup. Only able to eat ½ of the sandwich and soup. The lettuce was soggy and the bacon was hard to chew. BP is 97/60. Around 7:10am, Dr. Woiteshek came in. Said she’s doing great and that she could leave the hospital today. I/we don’t think she quite ready just yet. It’s seem mighty premature for the doctor to suggest this, since her doesn’t see her struggle throughout the day – he only reads the numbers on the chart. A nurse came in early this morning to take 4 vials of blood. She had no trouble finding a vein in her right arm. The cafeteria called for her breakfast order. Only could eat ½ of the oatmeal, toast, coffee and milk. Had a multivitamin and thyroid pill. Around 3:30am, she took her compression sock off her right leg. It was sweating and uncomfortable. It’s ok to do this now, since she’s able to walk around during the day. Same thing for the air booties – no more need. Her BP still seems low to me, and she’s always a little tired/sluggish. I’m guessing it’s the pain pills doing this.

9:00am = I ordered her a can of chocolate Ensure with a glass of ice. This time, the Ensure was cold, so she didn’t need the ice. I figure, if she’s not eating her full meals, she needs the nutrition in order to get better. I finally went to use the 'free-drink' voucher I got while waiting during surgery.  I got a bottle of Diet Green Tea with Citrus - it was pretty tasty.

9:30am = I leave to take Grandma to her Sons of Norway meeting. She had to go early, to setup coffee and stuff.

9:31am = OT/PT show up, of course, right after I left :o) The entire ½ hour session went great!! She did everything really well and didn’t get sore. The only irritation is the staples – they pull at the skin whenever she moves.

10:00am = Jan’s friend Ben called. They’ve known each other since they were little kids. His sister Betty was Jan’s maid of honor.

10:30am = Mike stopped by for a visit. I went with him for about 45 minutes to a new-car expo at the fair grounds.

12:00pm = Lunch came – Chef’s salad. Only ate about ½ of it. Also took the set of 3 pills. I leave to go eat left-overs and to type up this update.

12:30pm = Left for lunch. Went to Joey’s to type up this update. Had last night’s left-overs. Jan thinks that because she’s allergic to Keflex and Sulfa drugs, that us kids would have the same allergy.

2:45pm = I’m back. She’s drinking a can of vanilla Ensure – still tasty but not as tasty as chocolate. She had a nice nap. Marvel stopped by and gave her a christmas card with a picture of her family on it.

3:15pm = Nurse Tammi came to change the bandage. The incision still looks great, only minimal drainage. I was able to take a picture. There are 31 staples. I forgot to tell about a story from last night: She was reaching for something on her portable tray and she knocked the phone off of the bed railing – it made a heck of a noise when it hit the floor :o) She was thinking ‘damn, how in the hell am I going to pick that up!’ She didn’t want to bother the staff, so she improvised and used her ‘reacher’. She was able to grab the phone cord and pull up the whole works.

3:45pm = O.T. came in to talk. She said 10 weeks for the 90 degree thing and 2 weeks for the staples to come out. Now, let’s see, the nurses said 10 days for the staples and the Dr. said 7 days for the staples. I guess they’re not really on the same page. Jan did the same set of exercises and did great! She then took a walk by herself – down and back the entire length of the hallway – 1^st time she did that.

4:30pm = Ordered a set of pain pills.

4:45pm = The cafeteria called – she’ll try the special: chicken breast with mashed potatoes and gravy. We’re watching ‘All in the Family’ to pass the time – that’s some funny shit from back in the 70’s :o)

5:15pm = I leave to take Grandma to supper. I pick her and her friend Carol up and Miracle Mart (they were grocery shopping) and we go to Captain’s Cove. I had steak and garlic shrimp and a chocolate milk. Their french fries were fantastic.

7:30pm = Jan’s room sits right below the helicopter landing pad. Every since I’ve been going to the room, I’ve been dieing to see one come and go. Well, wouldn’t you know it, but one came when I wasn’t there. So, she had to call me to rub it in while it was there :o) After I hung up the phone, we had just arrived at Carol’s house, and that same helicopter she called me about, flew right over my head!

7:50pm = I’m back. Her supper had small portions, but she ate it all for the 1^st time! While she was eating, she got a sudden muscle spasm (charley-horse) in her left inner thigh – very painful. When the aide came in and saw what was happening, she ran and got the nurse. They then gave her a muscle relaxant pill that they had forgotten to give to her earlier at 4:30pm, with the rest of her pills. She’s still watching All in the Family :o)

8:04pm = 98% blood oxygen; BP is 102/61 with a 98.5 temp.

8:40pm = She got a chocolate Ensure and 2 vicodin. The 6^th floor is currently about ½ full, compared to when she came on Wed. She’s getting a whole lot more attention now! *** guess what *** a helicopter landed while I was there – yippee! (man, am I a cheap date!) Too bad it’s dark out – can’t take a picture.

9:15pm = I leave to go snoozy-pie.

9:00am = I arrive – she was in P.T. and did great. Walked all the way, to/from the room. Once in the room, as she was getting into bed, she had a bad muscle spasm in her left thigh. The nurse forgot to give her a muscle pill earlier, again. They gave her one now. They also gave her a heating pad. She has no numbness or tingling in her legs. The Dr. came in again for the usual 6am rounds. He looked at the incision. She told him about the muscle spasms and he said she could stay until tomorrow. Also, each morning, a different nurse comes by to take blood – they test it for white blood counts and to see how thin/thick it is. Her breakfast was 1 scrambled egg, 1 piece of bacon, a blueberry yogurt, milk and coffee. The ‘All in the Family’ 35 yr. anniversary marathon is still on :o)

11:30pm = I leave to pickup and walker at Grandpa Sand’s house. We visit for an hour. Then over Joey’s for this update and then grandma’s for some left-overs. Jan’s current pain med prescription is Darvaset – not as powerful as vicodin, so we’re not sure if they’ll work for her. Jan’s lunch is a bean casserole with mashed potatoes. She ate it all.

2:45pm = I’m back. Joleen and Charley stopped by a little while ago. The nurse changed the bandage – only minimal drainage. O.T. came in mid-morning – she will have Jan get completely dressed tomorrow and maybe take a shower, only if there is no drainage from the incision. The nurse who changed the bandages was very rude. Jan got a muscle pull in her left thigh – she needed her leg straightened out and her foot twisted back straight in order to relieve the pain. The nurse only straightened the leg and then just left – no bedside manor at all. She’s had a couple of these types of incidents throughout this last week. We attribute them to the people having a bad day.

3:55pm = BP 98/75

5:00pm = Went for a short walk. Cafeteria called for supper. Took her 3 pill set. The muscle pill is every 6 hours. The pain pill is every 3 hours.

5:45pm = Supper came – roast pork, mashed potatoes, veggies. I leave for supper. Grandma made fried chicken. As I was leaving, the music in the hallway played the short song that signifies that a baby was just born.

7:00pm = I’m back. I brought her some ‘bacon and egg’ treats from grandma’s. It’s small stick pretzels, with a drop of mint icing and a yellow M&M on top :o) Supper for Jan didn’t go well. Only ate ½ a bun and a few spoonfuls of the mashed. No appetite and an upset stomach. When she got into bed, she had another large spasm in her left leg. Luckily it goes away after a few minutes. She slept right away until I came back.

8:10pm = We’re watching Billy Madison. BP is 115/86! We don’t think it’s valid reading – the nurse put the cuff on wrong and too high – it pinched her inner bicep so hard that she got a large black/blue mark – hurt like hell. But the nurse didn’t care – didn’t even offer to stop the reading and fix it.

8:50pm = Nurse came in for routine check in – nothing to report. Jan ordered a chocolate Ensure.

9:00pm = I leave to tuck myself in for the night.

8:50am = I’m back. It was a busy night/morning for Jan. Didn’t sleep very well – kept waking up every couple hours. She had her 3 pill set at 10pm. She had a full bladder each time she woke up, which she thought was strange. At 3am, she had the 3 pill set again. Then the groin pull area started hurting again. Nurse said it’s the body’s healing process kicking in – it tends to pick a spot and start there. At 8:45am a pharmacist came in saying Jan needs to be on cumadin for 2-3 weeks. Jan doesn’t think that’s a good idea – yesterday, when she blew her nose, there was blood in it, and this morning there was blood in the stool, which has happened a couple times this last week. She’s been on cumadin before and knows her body pretty well. The Dr. made his 6am rounds again – she’s doing great. Breakfast came at 8:30am – 2 strips of bacon, 2 eggs scrambled and a pancake – only able to eat ½ of it. They took the bandage off for good – healing great with no seepage. She took her 1^st shower – yippee !! It’s 17 degrees out with a 30mph wind – the coldest since she’s be in the hospital – Murphy’s Law of course, since this is the day she get’s the boot. She had to get an ultrasound before they let her go. As she was sitting on the bed after her shower, she was putting on her sock and the muscle spasm in her left leg came back – it’s hurts pretty bad. She has a glass of metamucil that she couldn’t finish.. It was so thick that it looked like pudding! We’re thinking they may have put too much mix in with the water.

9:32am = Chaplain Mary stopped by for a quick blessing. A nurse came in asking if she’s gone for a walk yet. Jan laughed saying she ain’t got time to walk – too busy getting ready to leave :o)

10:45am = The O.T. came in – Jan declined her session – he will now fill out the discharge papers.

10:49am = Nurse came for the pain pills. Had to ask for the muscle pill. Last set was at 3am. The bandages will not get put back on. Also got the standard mallox cup to drink.

11:00am = Ultrasound finally came! They checked her entire leg for blood clots and the top ½ of the right leg – it all looks clean !

11:35am = She’s back from ultrasound. The actual test took less that 10 minutes. She wasn’t able to see the screen while they did it. The machine was really noisy.

11:40am = Nurse came for the discharge. Tylenol with codeine is the prescription. 1^st 2 weeks should be treated as an extended hospital stay. She can take the Darvaset, but not at the same time as the Tylenol. 1/25/06 at 10:10am is her next Dr. appt. with Dr. Scott. Jan’s worried about the staples getting grown into the skin, so she’ll call for a sooner appt.

11:48am = The nurse put’s her in the wheel chair to kick her out of the hospital :o) It’s about 20 degrees with a 30mph wind. She didn’t bring a coat last week because it was in the mid-50’s. I gave her my coat and froze my ass off until the truck heated up. I thought it might be hard for her to get into the truck, but she’s a pro at it, because she’s been dealing with that leg for 5 months now. We went to Joleen’s house and it was no problem at all for her to get into the house. I leave to run some errands.

5:00pm = I’m back to Joleen’s for supper. We had chicken, mushrooms in rice, broccoli and some wine from a local winery – the Point of View – everything was fantastic!

8:30pm = I head over to Mike’s for a visit.

11:50pm = I pick up Joey/Beth/Brittany at the airport. They’re back from their trip to Florida for the Home Builders convention.

8:38am = Jan calls. We were nervous how she would sleep in a new bed, with all the steps and no vicodin in her system. She feels great! And, she had to get up 3 times to go potty. She doesn’t have any pain meds in her system and she’s not in any pain! The bed is on the opposite side she’s used to getting in, so that’s the only adjustment she has to make. She’s able to do her leg lifts exercise with no problem. In the hospital, she needed the smooth board to do this, so the leg would slide easier.

*** The next big thing will be getting the staples out. From now on, I will only be posting updates a couple times per week. We’re all glad that the surgery, so far, is 100% success!

She has not used a single pain pill in 2 days and she's still feeling great!  She's even able to sleep well without the pain pills.  She put's vitamin E on the incision everyday, to help with healing and so that the skin doesn't get so tight around the staples, which get's painful when she moves.  Also, she's not using the walker anymore and is now using just a cane.