Putting in a photo

I tried to put this photo of me in the hospital bed right in the text, but just couldn't figure out how to do it.  This photo was taken with my phone.   But you can see that I have a regular hospital set up right there in my den.

I've been out of bed quite a bit today.  My knees really hurt a lot when I do my exercises, and it would be so much easier to just lay there.  In fact, I think that is what was making me have the low blood pressure problems earlier....just cuz I wasn't getting out of bed enough!!  But, when you are nauseaus it is HARD to do!!!

Jeez, oh man...Jenny's play only has a couple of weeks to go.  Her closing night is May 9th I think.  The play has been sold out and they are having to add chairs some nights.  I wish everyone could see her play.  It is really so good. I am so happy with her accomplishments.

I don't think I mentioned any of this earlier this week, but I was really scared at one point.  It was at Monday's physical therapy.  The therapist had me doing all my exercises and I had already taken a couple of laps around the kitchen.  Then he wanted me to go again.  It was also my first day of walking with 2 canes instead of my walker.   I had begun feeling ill about 5 steps into the 2nd walk.   By the time I reached the kitchen counter, I grabbed it and told him I needed to sit.  He brought a chair and got his blood pressure cuff.  John was in the other room and when he heard the commotion, he came in.  The therapist (his name is Brevard) was taking my blood pressure...he was on about his 3rd attempt.  He told John he couldn't get a blood pressure and maybe we should call 911.  Well....ordinarily, I would not hesitate to obey a health care official.  But this time, John was the voice of reason and talked Brevard into "let's just step back and take a look here".  They got me to the bed.  I had not passed out but I was close to it.

They got me to the bed and did get a blood pressure reading of 90/60.  We decided the best thing to do at this point was to call my primary care doctor because I have been on 2 different blood pressure meds for quite a while for HIGH blood pressure.  This low pressure was a mystery.  So, I called my dr. and as you would figure...he wasn't there but I talked to his nurse and she told me to just hang tight and drink plenty of liquids and she would get someone who could help.

About an hour or so later another nurse called and said they were still trying to reach Dr. Roser, and that I might want to go to the ER.  Again, since I had no pain or shortness of breath and my blood pressure had stabalized at 100/65 we decided to wait to hear from Dr. Roser.  In the meantime, she told me not to take any blood pressure meds and to stop the narcotics that I was taking for pain.  Needlesstosay,  that Monday night was not comfortable for me.  But I agreed that taking anything that might lower my pressure would not be good.  

You have to remember that my blood pressure had fluctuated wildly at the hospital and they had stopped my BP meds and I had started them back just a few days before.  Also,  I realize now that although I was getting up for physical therapy, I wasn't sitting up much and I did spend mostly all of the day in bed.  Getting up to walk for 10 minutes 3 times a day wasn't enough.  But,  it was so easy to just lay there.  The PT is hard.  I'm making excuses...

So, Dr. Roser called me Tuesday morning and by this time, my blood pressure was 132/82.  He told me to stop all BP meds and to start back with my narcotics for pain.  And he said if my blood pressure went over 140/90 then I should resume only the one BP med.  So far, that hasn't happened.   

All in all...that was a major turning point for me because I have felt better and been more motivated to get out of bed, get on the computer and just sit in the easy chair.  In fact, I have been out of bed for 5 or 6 hours today...a record for me...for sure.  But I know it is for the best.

Today is exactly 2 weeks after the surgery and I feel like it is the first REAL day of my recovery because I've not had to deal with the general "ill" feeling and I haven't had that fear associated with the blood pressure.  I was afraid of a blood clot and that might have been what was making the pressure so low.   John seemed to think I wasn't drinking enough water also, and he probably was right about that too.

I am looking at the last 2 weeks and so incredibly thankful that I had both knees done.   I would hate to have to think that I would be going through anything like this again.  But who knows, if I had done only one....maybe it wouldn't have been so bad.  Who knows?? I'm just gonna keep on taking one day at a time, and one step at a time.  First the walker, now 2 canes...my next goal is one cane and then none.  The hope of walking without pain in my knees drives me.