Hip Replacement Part 4–A Day at the Hospital

On January 3, 2012 I spent most of the day at Parkwest Hospital getting pre-admission tasks out of the way.  I had appointments for Pre-admission, Pre-admission Testing, a Joint Class and then a Pre-op meeting with Physical Therapy.

Parkwest is very well organized.  My first appointment was at 9:45 am.  Marie dropped me off and I checked in at the Admissions desk.  I settled in for what I assumed to be a long wait, but was called back within about 10 minutes.  The lady who checked me in was pleasant and efficient.  She gathered all of my insurance information, printed two patient bracelets… one I wore during my visit that day and one attached to my file for when I report for surgery.

After finishing my pre-admission process, I was escorted to the surgical ward where I did have to wait… about thirty minutes or more.  Turns out my RN case manager was delayed in returning form Paducah, KY due to wrecks caused by the snow and ice we received the night before.  She did not get home until three am and was late for work.  She verified my medical history and asked questions about allergies and prior operations.  Did I smoke, did I use recreational drugs, did I use alcohol and so forth.  After that I was swabbed to test for MRSA. (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type (strain) of staph bacteria that does not respond to some antibiotics that are commonly used to treat staph infections.)  If I am a carrier the doctors will have to take extra precautions during surgery and recovery.  When that was finished, the Nurse Anesthetist came and asked me a series of questions pertaining to medical history as well.  She informed me I would receive a General Anesthesia for the surgery.  Once the Q&A was over the Case Manager gave me an orientation as to where I would report on the day of surgery, what would happen when I arrived, what to wear.  After the orientation she pointed me to my next appointment… the Joint Class.

At 11:30 am Marie joined me for the Joint Class in the Grubb Room adjacent to the cafeteria in Parkwest Hospital.  The Joint Class was a review of the Joint Handbook given to me after my appointment with Dr. Cates.  The instructor also covered what would happen after surgery.  Up at 5 am every day… twice a day physical or occupational therapy… pain management issues, move as much as possible, etc.  She also covered what to expect and do after release from the hospital.  More on that in a later post.

At 2:30 pm I went across the street to the Parkwest Tower for my Pre-op Physical Therapy appointment.  It was short and covered the post-op exercises they want me to do twice a day after I get home.

One note, while I was in Pre-admission, Marie took the car to get the tires rotated and when they finished they ran into something and bent the bumper and right front fender.  Bummer!

Next up is my pre-treatment measurements for my Bone Rad treatment at Thompson Cancer Treatment Center on January 11, 2012.

Hip Replacement Part 3 - Pre Op Physical Exam, Most of It Anyway

On December 27, 2011 Dr. Cates requested that I get a pre-operative physical exam.  I usually do this in August but I had not made my annual trek to Dr. Bingham’s office, so this was a good time to kill two birds with one stone so so speak. 
My appointment was at 10:00 am, but I arrived at 9:30 am and was immediately ushered to the dreaded scales.  When I first started visiting Dr. Bingham some years ago, they still used the old fashioned standard with the double sliding bars.  The Army used them the entire time I was on active duty… they were supposed to be calibrated, but I suspected they were part of a communist plot to make everyone think they were heavier than they were.  Why else was I always 4-5 pounds heavier in the office than at home.  Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to see they have installed new digital scales… no improvement on the weigh-in.  Still heavier in the office than at home.  There’s basis for a new years resolution.
After weigh-in I was placed in the “private” waiting room… they call it an exam room, but actually it is just another place to wait for the doctor so you have the illusion of something happening.  The nurse (I assume) took my BP, which was slightly elevated and my pulse… she did not say I had one.
From there we went to X-Ray… I sure wish they could figure out how to warm those machines… was rather chilly  for a chest X-Ray.  After we finished it was back to the waiting room for an EKG.  Another surprise… no more messy cream and suction bulbs.  New technology again… tiny little stick-on electrodes and then just clip the leads, run the machine and we were done.  After that I was back to waiting on the doctor.  In between I was asked to leave a sample which required a visit to the bathroom. 
Dr. Bingham came in, read the EKG and said that there had been no changes in 10 years.  I think that is good.  He listened to my heard, my neck, ears, nose and throat.  The last exam involved a pair of rubber gloves on which I will not elaborate.
From there I was asked to donate blood.  I am not fond of this, but 20 years in the Army and flight physicals every year have helped me build a tolerance to the practice.  There must be a lot of test to run, instead of the usual two vials, they took six.  A quick swipe of antiseptic and a Band-Aid and I was done.
My next big day is January 3, 2012.  All day at Parkwest and Tennessee Orthopedic Clinic.