Rehab

There was some concern about Judy’s artificial hip surgery with the complication of cancer because her bones would probably be weak, which they were, and her anemia could have made it difficult to stop the bleeding.  It wasn’t. So, we rolled the dice with that surgery instead of putting in screws.  This way, if she beats the cancer, she won’t have to take out the screws and put in the new hip.  After a week of recovery at Methodist Willowbrook, she was transferred to HealthSouth for physical therapy.  She has her own room there and the food service is much better.  Because she got there on Friday evening, the first two days were easy.  Not much PT.  Today is her first day of intense therapy, which includes occupational and physical.  They have her scheduled for three hours!

As each day goes by, she gets stronger, more lucid, and more hopeful.  One freaky thing that happened in this process — water-weight gain.  She checked into surgery tipping the scales at 100 pounds and afterward, for some reason (waiting on the doc’s explanation) she has gained 30 pounds.  It’s all in her tummy, hips, rump, and legs.  It is definitely not swelling from the surgery or an infection.  It is not red or hot and is in both of her legs.  They feel like over-filled water balloons.  After taking a diuretic, she had to make a lot of trips to the bathroom yesterday (Sunday).  I was really encouraged by her mobility as she had to go back and forth to the bathroom and was able to do it on her own power most of the time.  A long way from screaming out in pain when someone even touched her leg the day after surgery.  Seeing the progress, her spirits are better and we are both confident that she will overcome this setback and be able to resume her life at home as before, fighting the big “C”.

Chances are she will spend this week and possibly part of next week at HealthSouth.  Then she should come straight home.  The days are long because she’s either in bed or in a chair in one room.  Not many diversions.  Of course the PT may wear her out and she may be able to nap more, something she has not done much of after the second day.  The TV is dinky, but we don’t watch much TV anyway.  Julia brought the Echo machine over yesterday and I hope she will learn to use Alexa as it could provide lots of entertainment.  Of course she can read, but the weight of the KindleFire and the weakness of her eyes prevent long stretches.

Overall, I have gone from high anxiety to a sense of calm confidence.  Still, I haven’t forgotten that the longest and most difficult battle is still in process.  We are going to modify our house to make it easier for her to get around.  Life at home beats the hell out of hospitals and rehab centers.  I hope this experience will help her concentrate on every move when she gets home so she doesn’t fall again.

As always, your continuing prayers are much appreciated. -- Larry