Since word is beginning to leak out I figured it was about time to bring everyone up to date with what's going on... even though we are a little ways from being done!
I'll cut to the chase then give you the whole story so you can read as much as you wish or jump to the bottom to see where I am right now.
THE CHASE- I need a hip replacement. When I injured my back 16 years ago I also injured my right hip. It was the pain in my hip that first sent me to the Dr., who also discovered the 3 herniated discs in my back. The back has always been painful but has remained about the same. The hip on the other hand has continually gotten more and more painful until it has become almost impossible to walk. My x-rays show my pelvis sits bone on bone on top of my hip joint.
Notice that I said I needed a hip replacement not that I was getting one! That happens to be 2 different things.
MORE OF THE STORY- Pt. 1 Pilcher's know, or they had better know that Hypertension and Cardiac issues go back a little ways. Mom battled it, I'm battling it, Kent and most likely Chuck lost their battles to it. Granted their smoking didn't help, but it is something all Pilcher's MUST be aware of. Adding to that I have been diagnosed with anxiety, a little bit of ADHD and a who lot of SOB!
Take that and add to it what happened last time I had a very simple surgery and I might as well go drink and drive!
WHAT HAPPENED- In 2004 I injured my back. As I stated before the pain in my hip and groin and the pain down the back of my leg sent me to the Dr.. That is where they also discovered 3 herniated discs (L3, L4, L5 with nerve impingements at 3 and 5). They could not however determine a cause for the pain in my groin. Since I had reported the pain as being a possible hernia and considering I had already had a hernia surgery on that side, it was suspected that maybe I had re-injured that old hernia.
THE FUN BEGINS- I was scheduled for an Out Patient, Exploratory, Laparoscopic Surgery to determine if I had reinjured and then repair if needed the old hernia. Surgery was scheduled for 10 am. on Friday morning and I would be home by 3 pm.
Checked In and Prepped. Nurse says now we're going to put you... zzzzz!
THE WTF PARADE BIGINS- I start to awaken after the surgery and immediately knew something was seriously wrong! My wrists are tied to the bed rails and because of the tracheotomy?, I can' talk.
I'm not in the Recovery Room but in the Critical Care Unit and it's not Friday... it's 3:00 on Sunday afternoon.
Marty alerts the nurse and gets my arms untied then tries to explain the missing part of my life from 10 am Friday to 3 pm on Sunday. Her story, and she's sticking to it, is that Friday morning when I went into surgery they had a problem getting an airway down my throat. As they tried harder my throat swelled closed forcing them to do an emergency tracheotomy. My surgery was postponed and I was kept in suspended animation until after the surgery the next morning. The surgery went well, the surgeon repaired some small tears, but nothing that would cause my groin pain. Butt, and this story has lots of big butts, when I started coming out of the anesthesia on Saturday afternoon... the new attachment in my neck was not very appreciated and I apparently showed my displeasure with such , let's say animated actions, that I had to be retrained and sedated... until Sunday afternoon.
THE PARADE CONTINUES- When I see the surgeon for the first time after the surgery he greets me with... "You gave us quite a scare in there!" I don't care if I made you poop pour pants... I'm in a Critical Care Unit with a Trach in my neck. The last thing I want to hear is that I almost wasn't!
The final wtf came in the form of suffocation. For reasons I don't understand a trach tube can collect moisture and can prevent air from reaching the patient if not cleared. Enough said! Absolute Sheer Panic. I was ready to start throwing things out my door.
BOTTON LINE- I knew it was coming but I didn't realize how I would react to it until we got here. I have told others that even though it was very common and very successful, it scares me to death. While I can sit at home and have a B/P of 130/ 73, when I get to the Dr. and especially the orthopedic surgeon... my blood pressure is off the chart. Way to high to even think about performing surgery. Until we can find an answer to that, there is a hip replacement waiting on me.
There is a lot more that I won't go into including the heart attack that I did then didn't have but I'll save that for another chapter!
Hope All Is Well!
