Surgery a Success!

I have finally made it to the Inpatient Rehab Unit in the same medical center where I had the surgery.

From the onset, the surgery did not appear to be an easy undertaking. No one...the two anesthesists; the OR nurses; no one in that hospital could find IV access in me. My veins are completely shot from too many hospital stays and were always small and wiggly anyway.

So they were going out of the OR room to go and get a CT camera with which to seek a vein and put in a central line or a PICC line when I "remembered" something. This rembembering I put in quotes because I didn't remember it, I was reminded of it, by the voice of the One I love. He (the Lord God) whispered in my ear, "Remember the vein in the back of your forearm? The one they only found and used ONCE?

So I called out "WAIT!!" and told them of my secret vein. They accessed it and the OR cheered.

The beginning of the anesthesia process had everyone sweating a bit. After attempting to do a spinal block and finally admitting the impossibility of this ever working, due to my spinal fusions; the anesthetist decided to attempt general anesthesia (which was made risky by the asthma which I have). However, my neck mobility is severely limited by arthritis, and some fusions which have spontaneously occurred there as well. So he either got creative or he attempted something fairly rare by inserting the oxygen catheter which would do my breathing for me during the surgery, through my nostril until it reached my trachea. They have to do this with camera assistance (I believe they used flouroscopy) and I remember the first part of it anyway...unfortunately I had to be (or just WAS) awake for the initial part of that procedure. It didn't really hurt...just was pretty uncomfortable as you might imagine. The hardest part was to remain relaxed as they kept telling me to be.

But once I was out of the way and soundly asleep, the surgery flew by without incident or problem; in fact that was the first thing the surgeon said and is still the first thing out of his mouth everytime he sees me now. "I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW WELL IT WENT!" I just smiled and told him, "That is because you had people from all over the world praying for you." He looked a bit nonplussed by that statement but evententually seemed to accept it if not to believe it.

Everyone involved with that surgery, wishes we had signed consent for the second hip to be done at the same time should things have progressed so amazingly well, but honestly, (and I confess this with shame on my part) NO ONE expected that to have even been a possibility.

Nor did I have to remain in the medical part of the hospital for the week plus that I was initially "quoted" as likely. I was only there TWO DAYS and that INCLUDED the day of the surgery!! This is now my second day in the rehab unit (and getting the insurance company to approve of THAT instead of sending me to a nursing home was another HUGE unliklihood and thus a response of God to the prayers of His people on my behalf.

OK,

Thank each one of you for praying...even a short breath prayer you may have uttered one time on reading of once post...they ALL COUNT!! Thanks again.
(Oh, and as you may have surmised by now, the Rehab unit has a patient computer!! Amen and Amen!!)