Friday, June 16, 2023

Friday, June 16, 2023

 

This day is easy to write about. I slept, did a little writing, took my Percocet regularly, and slept.

I got a few phone calls but was not up for anything. I've asked people not to visit.

I got some movement in. I walked the halls with my hospital gown. I needed someone with me whenever I was up and moving. A fall at this point would make the first one look trivial.

My roommate, Brigid, went home. I thought I would feel lonely without her. I was fine without a roommate and would be good in a room for four.

When I went to the bathroom, I checked my appearance. My black eye looked good. I hit it on Scott's trailer hitch when I fell. I also noticed bruising on the front of my chest from the shoulder injury. I did a bang-up job this fall. 

Thursday, June 15, 2023

 Thursday, June 15, 2023

     Today's surgery was scheduled for 11, but I figured it would happen at one. The orderlies arrived shortly before 10, so the operation would be on time.

The atmosphere in pre-op was great, and laughter bubbled.  I learned that Kevin, one of the nurses, was sadly leaving a job he loved for an administrative post. He needed the bump up in salary and a more forgiving schedule. He has a six-year-old and a three-year-old; childcare costs him $3000 monthly. The next thing I remember is waking up in my room.

I didn't do much more than sleep. My arm was killing me. I refused painkillers at first.  I changed my mind. The pain level didn't change; my mental state changed. What a sweet sleep. I was still aware of the pain; I just didn't care.

I did care that my pinky finger was completely numb, and the ring finger wasn't far behind. Dr. Chang said she was concerned about compression syndrome.  The fractured elbow would cut off circulation to my hand.  The doctor showed up around five pm. She unwrapped the ace bandage. That provided immediate relief. It had been applied tightly. Because of my broken elbow and shoulder, I had to keep the sling in place.  Dr. Chang said she and her physician's assistant were pleased with their job on my elbow. They didn't get a 180-degree angle, but someone who wasn't looking for it wouldn't know the difference. She spent an hour with me. She enjoyed my humor.

Boy, being here is an experience and a half. Some people think I'm a scream and a half, and some think I'm offensive.

 

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

  Wednesday, June 14, 2023

     Scott visited, bringing me items from home. I was scheduled for two surgeries, one for my shattered elbow and one for my shattered shoulder.  I was supposed to have the elbow reconstruction today but didn't. 

I made it as far as pre-op. I heard one of the nurses say, "Wait. The doctor wants to talk to her." Dr. Chang told me she had postponed the surgery because a part she needed hadn't arrived. My broken arm was under the blanket, lying across my legs. I moved it slightly for comfort. Dr. Chang asked what was going on with my arm.  While I knew she was asking if the arm was okay, I said, "I'm not masturbating." Dr. Chang laughed as I hoped she would. The idea of an 82-year-old woman masturbating under those circumstances was absurd. Fortunately, I read Dr. Chang's sense of humor correctly.

I was wheeled back to my room to wait another day. Fortunately, I wasn't in extreme pain.

 

Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

  Today was my sister's 78th birthday.

   Ah, this is the day I broke my left shoulder and elbow. I was in my front yard, starting out on my morning walk with Elsa.  She cut through a planted area, probably to pee.  I was trying to dial a number.  I was wearing Oofos, and a nine-inch sprinkler head got caught between my foot and the shoe.  I couldn't free my foot. Because I was in full stride, I fell.  I must have gripped the retractable leash in my left hand. Elsa pulled away in alarm, pulling my left arm under my body. I fell on top of my left arm and shoulder with my full body weight.

   I was lying there with my arm pinioned under my body and my left leg suspended in the air. My phone was just out of reach, having fallen from my hand as I fell.  I yelled for Scott, my tenant. No response there. I wasn't too worried. Someone would eventually find me. I started yelling. I didn't call, "Help!" It wouldn't carry far enough.  I toned. 

   Sure enough, my yell attracted the attention of my neighbor across the street. She was shortly by my side. She proposed getting me up. By that time, I knew something was broken.  I had tried to move and heard or felt my bone shift.  I felt I needed to be lifted by two people with minimal joint movement on my part. I did ask her to free my left foot from its stuck position.  I told her to go inside and get Scott. 

   He came out of his room when she went into the house and called his name. The two of them got me upright. One of them proposed calling an ambulance.  I refused. I could walk.  I convinced Scott to get me to Urgent Care so my arm/shoulder could be X-rayed. We set out to the south, only to discover none of the Urgent Cares had X-ray services. We had to go to the hospital. 

  Scott walked me into the ER and left me to register while he parked the car. The ER was full, and I shared a bay with another patient, separated by a curtain.  We arrived about 9 a.m., and I didn't have a room until after dinner that night.

  I was X-rayed and CT-scanned. Scott was wonderful.  He never left my side.  I wasn't alone through this until the moment they took me to a room. 

   It was late in the afternoon when a doctor came to see me, Dr. Viven Chang.  She showed me the X-rays and told me I had crushed at least one of the joints. "See the gravel."  You will need surgery on both joints, an elbow reconstruction, and a reverse shoulder replacement because of your age and osteoporosis. 

   Then she said, "You have Kaiser. You can choose to be flown to Oahu for the surgery."  I noticed her facial expression as she said that. I said, "You look disappointed. Would you like to do the surgery?"  She said, "I would love to. I love solving puzzles."  I said,” I'm yours."  People who love doing what they do are always the best.  

   Finally, I was placed in a double room.  I don't know if there are any singles at Kona Community Hospital.  I was happy to be in a double. I like company- prefer it. 

 Monday, June 12, 2023

    Elsa and I went up to visit Paulette. She is an amazing gardener.  She is the one who cares for the property around the upper house. She deals with mechanical breakdowns. I don’t know what they would do without her.

 

  I had a session with Mama K’s crew.  They had a problem  with the iPad. We had to do the session on the phone. Whenever when anyone called, we lost visual contact.  

    I covered the phonics rule on when a c= /s/ versus when c=/k/ with Twin A.  For those of you who don’t know the rules: 

 

     c=/s/ when the c is follow by an e, i, or y, as in reception, city, bicycle. 

      c=/k/ when follow by an a, o, u or any consonant. When c appears at the end of a word, it is pronounced as a /k/ too, as in picnic.

  

  A similar rule applies to G: g=/g/ versus g=/j./  

      g=/j/ when followed by an e, i, or y, as in gesture, giraffe, gyroscope. Exceptions: get, girl.

      g- /g/ when followed by an a, o, u or any consonant, as in gather, go, gut

 

   With Twin E. I had her say each letter before she said  the word. As we moved along, I could allow her to say the words as long as her reading reflected her attention to the letters. If she stopped doing that, we would go back to saying all the letters again.  

 

I found these entries covering my catastrophic fall and follow-up, the hospital stay, and my time with 24/7 home health care. They were written shortly after the events. The earlier entry, detailing the events, was written a year later.