Being the two biggest hospitals are next to each other, we could visit our parents together!

Who says I don’t know how to party?!

8trackdisco wrote:

I'm amazed with modern medicine. Not including pre-op and post-op, her operation was a 90 minute process... I take an hour or hour and half while I lazily change the oil and oil filter in my car.

BuckyB93 wrote:

A hospital herf! 🤦

deadeyedick wrote:

In a nitrous oxide tent.

8trackdisco wrote:

thanks for the support, brothers...

my sister just watches TV...she used to be an avid reader, and I've brought her a variety of books, but she no longer cares to read. I'm not sure if it's due to loss of strength and dexterity in her left arm and hand making it difficult to hold a book and turn the pages, or what. It could be her mental impairment and short term memory issues negatively affects her reading comprehension and retention of information, making reading less enjoyable.

Taking her out and about is extremely difficult because she weighs 135 lbs, and has to be lifted out of her transport chair and into the passenger seat, and then vice versa. She cannot stand on her own, so it's like a 135 lb sack of potatoes. Lifting and pivoting in such tight quarters without banging her head is tough. I can barely do it, and I'm fearful of dropping/injuring her during the transfer.

We have suggested seeing a psychologist, primarily to replace the Prozac she's taken for years. Her primary care doctor made a referral...sister declined. We'll monitor her progress as she gets deeper into her radiation treatment and revisit this if warranted. She may change her mind if her depression worsens.

delta1 wrote:

Loss of the retention of the information is a bummer and would ruin reading for me as well. You are doing everything you can. Be sure to take care of yourself in the care taking process.

8trackdisco wrote:

I do have some good news...about me...

had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor today regarding my arthritic left wrist/thumb...she had me take some additional x-rays so she could get different views of my left wrist and thumb...

I explained the pain had been getting more constant and severe with any activity that involved squeezing, lifting, holding and twisting with my left hand. The pain was most severe at the base of the thumb.

She identified on an x-ray the area with the damage and showed me two significant bone spurs and the muddled cloudy appearance of the damaged cartilage. She compared it to the same bone and cartilage in the x-ray of my right hand - the difference was shocking. She said she could do a steroid injection which would provide immediate pain relief, but she acknowledged the steroid could do more eventual damage to the bones at the site of the injection.

She said she believed that surgery was the best next step, and that she is a hand and wrist specialist who has done similar surgeries for the past 13 years. She said she would remove the arthritic bone, clean out the damaged cartilage and debris. The she'd remove a section of tendon from my left arm that would be used to provide a structural replacement for the bone and serve as a tendon to hold that area together.

She said the actual recovery would be about a year...when many patients who have had the procedure done reported the wrist and thumb felt normal and pain free. First is post op immobilization for six weeks, then two months of physical therapy to "teach" the new joint how to function. After that it would be my responsibility to continue physical therapy on my own, doing exercises to strengthen the thumb and fingers so that I can pinch the thumb to each finger, make a fist and grip large and small items...basically dexterity, mobility, flexibility and strength. Along the way there will be periodic visits with her to monitor my progress.

Finally...a game plan to fix an ailment that has annoyed me for more than 50 years!!!

delta1 wrote:

I do have some good news...about me...

had an appointment with an orthopedic doctor today regarding my arthritic left wrist/thumb...she had me take some additional x-rays so she could get different views of my left wrist and thumb...

I explained the pain had been getting more constant and severe with any activity that involved squeezing, lifting, holding and twisting with my left hand. The pain was most severe at the base of the thumb.

She identified on an x-ray the area with the damage and showed me two significant bone spurs and the muddled cloudy appearance of the damaged cartilage. She compared it to the same bone and cartilage in the x-ray of my right hand - the difference was shocking. She said she could do a steroid injection which would provide immediate pain relief, but she acknowledged the steroid could do more eventual damage to the bones at the site of the injection.

She said she believed that surgery was the best next step, and that she is a hand and wrist specialist who has done similar surgeries for the past 13 years. She said she would remove the arthritic bone, clean out the damaged cartilage and debris. The she'd remove a section of tendon from my left arm that would be used to provide a structural replacement for the bone and serve as a tendon to hold that area together.

She said the actual recovery would be about a year...when many patients who have had the procedure done reported the wrist and thumb felt normal and pain free. First is post op immobilization for six weeks, then two months of physical therapy to "teach" the new joint how to function. After that it would be my responsibility to continue physical therapy on my own, doing exercises to strengthen the thumb and fingers so that I can pinch the thumb to each finger, make a fist and grip large and small items...basically dexterity, mobility, flexibility and strength. Along the way there will be periodic visits with her to monitor my progress.

Finally...a game plan to fix an ailment that has annoyed me for more than 50 years!!!

delta1 wrote: