Thursday morning , my wife had knee replacement surgery . Things are getting better little by little . Still taking her pain meds and ice packs and walking around for a few minutes every hour . It seems like every time I sit down , she sends me a text message . " Can you bring me some water ? Where is my book ? The dog wants to go out " ..... The things you do for love .

My wife hasn't been able to walk for a year now.
(massive stabilization hardware infection)
I have 7 cockatoos and chickens.

Out the door for work by 4am. Hour and a half drive to work.
Saturday I have to do all the shopping.
Sunday is clean the house. To her liking...

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
My wife hasn't been able to walk for a year now.
(massive stabilization hardware infection)
I have 7 cockatoos and chickens.

Out the door for work by 4am. Hour and a half drive to work.
Saturday I have to do all the shopping.
Sunday is clean the house. To her liking...

What is stabilization hardware ?

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
My wife hasn't been able to walk for a year now.
(massive stabilization hardware infection)
I have 7 cockatoos and chickens.

Out the door for work by 4am. Hour and a half drive to work.
Saturday I have to do all the shopping.
Sunday is clean the house. To her liking...

What is stabilization hardware ?

For a broken ankle, plates and screws, stabilization rod(they call it a nail).
All of it had to be removed, including that 2 foot rod.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
My wife hasn't been able to walk for a year now.
(massive stabilization hardware infection)
I have 7 cockatoos and chickens.

Out the door for work by 4am. Hour and a half drive to work.
Saturday I have to do all the shopping.
Sunday is clean the house. To her liking...

What is stabilization hardware ?

For a broken ankle, plates and screws, stabilization rod(they call it a nail).
All of it had to be removed, including that 2 foot rod.

Sorry she is having to deal with that . I know it takes a lot of patience and understanding .

I spent a week last month taking care of my mom post surgery. This is my fourth opportunity to do so in about a decade.

When I went to tell two of my closest friends about the journey I was gonna have to take, starting with the 8 Hour drive and the night’s sleep in the hospital, I had to stop short because I remembered that I went to both of their mothers’ funerals this past year.

I was grateful for every aggravation that woman gave me last month.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Thursday morning , my wife had knee replacement surgery . Things are getting better little by little . Still taking her pain meds and ice packs and walking around for a few minutes every hour . It seems like every time I sit down , she sends me a text message . " Can you bring me some water ? Where is my book ? The dog wants to go out " ..... The things you do for love .

Best wishes to her on the recover, on the other topic, I joke that she's installed buttons in every chair I sit in, because as soon as my butt hits a chair I get the "could you, would you, bring me text", even bought a new chair and I came with one....

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
Thursday morning , my wife had knee replacement surgery . Things are getting better little by little . Still taking her pain meds and ice packs and walking around for a few minutes every hour . It seems like every time I sit down , she sends me a text message . " Can you bring me some water ? Where is my book ? The dog wants to go out " ..... The things you do for love .

Good men take care of wives, just who we are. But the best thing you can do post replacement surgery is encourage as much independent walking and activity as possible. The more you get up walk move weight bear, the faster you recover.

While there are other factors I will not deny ( insurance/ hospital crowding and more) there is no question in joint replacement the sooner you get home, the more you move and walk, the faster you get better.
If you would’ve told me 10 years ago we were going to be doing joint replacements as same day ambulatory surgery I would have thought that was crazy talk. It is now the standard, and complication rates like infection, failure to progress with motion and ambulation, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, are all lower as a result.
I first assist in joint replacement surgery and my wife is a therapist that gets people walking steps within a few hours of surgery.

^^^^^ this. Had my hip replaced this spring. They’ve got me up walking the hall. Physical therapist says “your kinda wobbly”, my answer was “I’m about 2 pitchers of margaritas into this party” I was feeling no pain whatsoever. A couple hours later I was moving much better, and sent me packing.

Within the last 2 1/2 - 3 years my wife has had a hip replacement and both shoulders completely replaced. I thank the Good Lord every day that she is around for me to be the nurse maid for. I don't know what I'd do without her and after almost 55 years don't want to find out. These are the only times she lets me wait on her so I take full advantage of them.

They got my wife up and walking a little bit the same day .They kept her overnight because her pain wasn't under control .Now that she's home she's using a walker and getting around pretty well . Still having pain but she's got some good drugs for that .

I'll tell you something. If my wife had any kind of injury or procedure which incapacitated her, I'd be at her call 24 hours a day and wouldn't complain one bit about it, not even to myself.

Others will do as they please, but not only would I feel ashamed if ever I felt this way, I certainly wouldn't complain about it publicly.

Imagine an existence in which no one needs you and perhaps your outlook might change.

I’m a widower and would give anything to be able to once again fetch my wife a glass of water any time of the day or night. Or anything else she might ask.

So stop yer bitchin’ and get to fetchin’.

In sickness and in health...

quote:

Originally posted by chongosuerte:
I was grateful for every aggravation that woman gave me last month.

It really is true that no matter how bad you have it, there is someone who would kill to have your problems. I try to keep this in mind when it feels like the world is out to get me. We really are blessed. It may not always feel that way, but it is shocking how lucky we are.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I'll tell you something. If my wife had any kind of injury or procedure which incapacitated her, I'd be at her call 24 hours a day and wouldn't complain one bit about it, not even to myself.

Others will do as they please, but not only would I feel ashamed if ever I felt this way, I certainly wouldn't complain about it publicly.

Imagine an existence in which no one needs you and perhaps your outlook might change.

If you're addressing me , you are totally mistaken . I'm hovering over her like a mother hen . She comments to everybody how well I take care of her . A few silly comments on a gun forum is not an accurate picture of how we roll around here . She has had several surgeries that incapacitated her and she'll be the first one tell you how well I cared for her .

I've take care of Tabitha for over a year with her cancer treatments and severe depression now.

Besides all the house chores, cooking, cleaning, cockatoos, I'm working 70 hours a week. Her cockatoo must have dinner cooked for him and he be spoon fed every afternoon.

She texts me to bring her water and food back to her room several times an evening, then at 3:45 before I leave for work.

Yeah, we know. You aren't alone. It's what men do.