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Thursday, October 20, 2011

A Post-surgical Problem

(Today's post is real truth shared with a liberal amount of tongue-in-cheek fiction.)

Grammy Bear - the author of this blog
(pseudonym photo)
Here it is, Thursday, and I've done very little of the house work I had planned to accomplish this week.  In addition to that, I needed to steal some time by myself to add another chapter to my novel, but with Beloved home on disability from his total knee replacement surgery, well, it's not been easy.  He has the most endearing ways of drawing me into whatever happens to be on his mind.  This morning was one of those times.

Beloved with his personal nursing staff,
Mandy Sue (left) and Rent-a-Nurse (right).
It was on Tuesday that he began to complain about itchiness, redness, and growing discomfort underneath the steri-strips on his surgical incision.  We thought at first that perhaps the fabric of his jeans was irritating the area.  We have had 2 nights this week where the temperature dropped down around 32 degrees, so Beloved had changed from wearing shorts around the house to blue jeans.

This morning, however, we decided that it might be more than fabric incohabitability (I made that word up), and he should seek professional medical advice.  We called in his nursing staff. They looked at his knee, rolled their eyes heavenward, and shrugged their shoulders.  Beloved grew more anxious as he watched their expressions.  We all decided he should make an appointment to see his doctor.

This proved to be the right decision -- when in doubt, consult a professional.  He does have a small infection going on the surface of the skin.  The knee joint appears to be in no danger.  The steri-strips were removed (that's a nice relief!), the area was scrubbed with that cleanser that makes your skin turn orange, then an antibiotic  ointment was applied, and a bandage was put over the tender area.  He was instructed to fill a prescription for an antibiotic to be taken every 6 hours, clean the area twice daily with hydrogen peroxide and add the antibiotic ointment, then cover it with a fresh bandage.  We were greatly relieved that the solution was as simple as that.

Beloved's bandaid
The nurses helped Beloved out to the car
while I got the engine started.
Before going home, we stopped at the pharmacy to drop off the script for his pills and then since the wait was forecasted to be 25 minutes, and Beloved was already starting to feel better, he suggested that we walk to the end of the shopping center to get lunch at one of our favorite places.  Never being one to turn down lunch, I readily agreed.

Firehouse Subs
(click on the name for more information)

 We like to eat at Firehouse Subs because we feel safe there.  If trouble breaks out, they've already got coats and gear available to all!

Smokehouse Beef & Cheddar Brisket on a whole wheat bun
We always order the same thing. We have no idea if any of the other menu items are good; we've never tried them.  Oh, and we usually leave the pickle. That's just pretty much for decoration.

After lunch we paid for the prescription, Beloved checked his blood pressure at the free machine at the pharmacy, and we headed for home.  With all of us here at the house fussing over him and giving him undivided attention, he's going to be just fine.

Beloved and Grateful Grammy sitting beside the television
Now for those of you who want to see the real deal, here it is:

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME!  There is more information about our adventure with my husband's total knee replacement if you will look to the "cloud" in the right-hand column and click on the words KNEE REPLACEMENT.  That will give you all the posts I've written on this subject in descending order (most recent at the top and keep scrolling down for the older ones.  If necessary, look to the bottom right and click on "older posts."

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad it wasn't any more serious than that! (And the Firehouse Subs were a nice benefit to soften his discomfort!)

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  2. Wow! What a day! So glad to hear the patient has received care & is feeling more comfortable! Of course, it looks like that sandwich would make anybody feel better. Some would argue that all life's woes can be cured not with carrot juice, but with a good hearty sandwich ;)

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