Pre-sick /Pre-op

So Surgery is in 1 and 1/2  days and like a cruel joke I am spent my last week in bed before I am confined to my bed for a bit because of a upper respiratory infection...  ok... w/ all my planning, notes, calenders and checklists..getting sick was not on the agenda! My surgeon gave me one rule to follow prior to surgery..DO NOT GET SICK..ok I haven't always been one to follow the rules, but I was pretty set on not breaking the rules this time.  So I got a strict warning from my surgeon take my antibiotics, drink OJ (I have had 4 gallons in two days..my vitamin C should be doing just fine), tea and REST ,because I need to be symptom free for surgery..nothing like some added pressure and anxiety before open hip surgery...and oh yeah don't stress out...righttttttttt??? Pressure to get better, prepare to have my hip cut open ,and not stress out..puh-lease and I thought my surgeon knew me ;)

So I guess it was a trial run for bed rest..so being sick has now prepared me how to handle things for bed rest ..trying to put a positive spin on this...;) Which leads me into Pre-op..my trial run for surgery....looking forward to being on the Post side of things soon!

Pre-op..Children's Hospital style: 2/22/10
My Best friend Nicole (THANK YOU NICOLE) and I took on the Children's Hospital "adventure" together today..and it sure was an adventure: Quick Breakdown

1.3-d Cat Scan of my hip (find cat scan place..mini adventure..man this is one big hospital)

2. Go to Dr's apt (get there..they tell us that I need to go to xray..ok)

3. Mini adventure to find Xray....get Xray done and get a pair of hospital pants to wear in the process...they made not be fashionable, but they are actually quite comfy..;)

4.Go back to Dr apt....told I need to go to registration...mini adventure to registration..get to registration...they hand me a folder and tell me to go back to Dr and then come back later..hmmm they couldn't have gotten that folder there another way???

5.Meeting w/ My Surgeon and Nurse (had about 50 questions to ask, but was caught off guard w/ him telling me that he was concern about my upper respiratory infection and how that would effect being under anesthesia and all the complications that could possibly happen...started talking about possibly rescheduling surgery because of my cold...ok at this point my mind went blank..thank goodness for Nicole, because she helped me get my conversation back on track to go over details of my surgery and recovery)  Shed some tears and ended it w/ hugging my surgeon..apt went a little differently than I expected it to go...  But still feel like I have a GREAT Dr and I am in good hands w/ him..which is very comforting!

6. Go back to registration (where was registration again.....another mini adventure, but this time we got  a tour guide..ok well maybe not a tour guide but a nice lady who walked us to where it was)

7.Meeting w/ the anesthesiologist (went over the "lung issue" again..after a long discussion he green lighted the surgery but will reevaluate on surgery day to make sure my lungs can handle it then I will have the final decision. )
Fingers crossed that my lungs will be ok and my surgery will go well.
If Surgery happens they will take precautions w/ my lungs (my lung collapsed during my first hip surgery and w/ my cold and me having asthma it just makes them more cautious)
a.so I will continue w/ my antibiotics and other meds
b.take abuterol inhaler a few times a day
c. They will do a nebulizer treatment prior to surgery and post surgery
d. they will be on high alert for any respiratory issues..so I will be watched carefully...GOOD!

 8. Meeting w/ another nurse..get mini physical...and went over all my medical history,,blah blah blah
8A. anesthesiologist comes back and talks to me about doing epidural....will keep lower part of my body numb so that will help w/ pain and they can use less anesthesia which may be better for me as well so he put the request in..he also told me that he put in a request to be the anesthesiologist for my surgery as well.....wow now I am making friends in the hospital..hahaha

9.Get Blood Taken....The woman who drew my blood said..wow you handled that well..I laughed saying" if I can't handle getting my blood taken than I may have some major issues on Thursday"..she agreed ,but still gave me a big smile..Only at Children's Hospital..everyone smiles at you and gives you stickers..or tells you how great you are doing and how brave you are..honestly this is very helpful when you are scared.. who cares that I am 35 ;)

10. Go to PT (last mini adventure for the day..yay...this adventure has provided me w/ the most extensive work out I have had in a long time..how ironic) Realize there is no need for me to be there once we arrive because.. A. i will have PT inpatient and  B. I have had extensive time on crutches so I know how to use them..at this point I could teach lessons on how to use them...actually at this point I feel I am almost qualified to perform hip surgery ;)

 

Not only did I got a sticker I got a "cool" pair of hospital pants to take home :)

That's all folks.....for now....:) Wish me luck!  xox

Blood Part 2...NOT

Well just like a Hollywood tale..Blood Part 1 didn't get rave reviews so Blood Part 2 has now been canceled ;)

Ok well not exactly..but my life sounds way more exciting when I put it like that ;)

So I got a call from DR M.  last week (yes my surgeon actually called me) ,and he decided that doing another blood donation was not a good idea since my blood pressure was low, and I didn't have the best reaction to my blood being taken.. he reassured me that having blood from the blood bank is just as safe (as well as has the same risks)..I am just going to have to trust him on that...so that's that on BlOOD right now. Hopefully in the end I will not need a transfusion, but if I do I feel confident that my surgeon will take care of me as well as the blood bank.  While I also had DR. M on the line I figured it was a good chance to sneak in a few more questions about my surgery and to get some more reassurance from him that all will be fine...hey why not..he called ;)

2.5 weeks away and now just waiting..really waiting is the worse part.  Have a long pre-op apt on the Monday before surgery..3D Cat Scan, (double check my hipster),a meeting w/ my surgeon (final questions and to go over surgery and cat scan in more detail),meet w/ the anesthesiologist,a physical,register,and meet w/ PT.

Getting close to go time....ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

ps. Got my "Hip Chick" hat in the mail....in camaraderie w/ all my fellow hip chicks..plus I won't have  a bad hair day while I am at the hospital ;)

BLOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL.. Thought that would get your attention :)

Blood "Donation" Day

OK I am "donating" to myself....so pretty much it's not a donation..what would it be..I am taking something from myself just to give it back...hmmmm...It's kind of like when I shop for holiday gifts.. when I buy something for someone but realize how much I like it so I keep it and buy it again for the other person.....well it's kinda like that..ok not really..whatever ...I am just side tracking myself..maybe it's from the loss of blood ;)

Where was I ..oh yes...BLOOD!

For my surgery I may need to have blood transfusions..so the best match for blood for me is...ME! So I have to donate two pints of blood to myself . First One today..next one in 14 days..it gives me some time to regenerate some more blood to take....(and give back);)


First step in this blood situation is I had to eat a very iron rich diet the past few weeks..since I am a vegetarian and have Celiac..it makes it a little harder but the hospital hook me up for a iron rich diet for people like me :)
Raisins
Prunes
Spinach
Peas
Dried Fruit
Eggs
Peanut butter/Almond butter
etc

For the second round I will have to start taking iron supplements since you usually wait 56 days in between blood donations but I am doing the accelerated program of 14 days..

So backtracking a little I had a nice iron rich dinner w/ my Dad and Stepmom (THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! xoxo) and stayed over their house since they are right around the corner from my hospital.

Got to hospital at 10:15am (after eating my iron rich breakfast)
Got checked in by a nurse
1.Took My temp..no temp! Yay
2. Checked my Iron..scored a 14 (that is good..iron diet worked) Yay
3. checked my Blood Pressure..too low..huh????  Maybe because I am nervous??. Nurse: "No hunnie then that would mean it would be high"  hmmmmmm

OK so they had me drink a bottled water and 2 cans of apple juice..waited a few and then retook it..it went up a little so now I was good to go

Nurse was great...needle hardly hurt..got the blood going w/out me really feeling it..then i guess it slowed down..she said my hands were cold so she gave me a warm "hot" pack to squeeze..I guess that helped. Then I guess my vein started vibrating..so I felt a uncomfortable vibration for the rest of the donation..I guess some valves try to shut off during blood donation or something like that...I was a little confused (OK maybe a lot)..again blaming it on the blood loss...she said they would make sure that would not happen for my next donation.  The nurse and I chatted for the whole donation time which was nice because it took my mind off the whole blood draining thing....getting close to the end of my experience the nurse asked me if I was OK..I guess I was turning paler than normal and I did have this feeling of dizziness and nausea..she stopped the procedure..checked my pressure..down again..so she put ice packs on my chest and forehead and got me a huge glass of juice and ended the donation.  Good News though..they weighed my blood and it was a pint and that was all I needed for this round so in the end..job well done :)
My dad got me a delicious fruit smoothie and some raisins we chillaxed till I was not dizzy any more and then we left...with a cool new pen and hat....Thanks Blood Center ;)

I slept pretty much the rest of the day..feeling pretty tired..they said it would be like this probably for the next few days...hopefully a good night sleep will get me on track for a better day tomorrow.  Well that's enough for now..stay tuned for Blood Part 2 in 2 weeks ;) Until then "peace out hipsters!!"

ps. A big THANK YOU to my family, friends, and all my " hip chicks" for all your support and positivity ...much appreciated!!  xoxoxo