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.
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