Today I went to a "Joint Class" at St. Francis Hospital for those future patients who are scheduled for joint replacement surgery. (knee or hip) St. Francis has a new Joint and Spine unit of which they are very proud. All but 5 of the rooms are suites. They have combined 2 rooms to have a patient room and a coach's room. ("coach"reminds me of childbirth) It is tastefully done in calming colors. By not having a rollaway bed in the room, it makes for more room for getting around using a walker, crutches, etc. The coach has his own plasma TV, sofa bed, bathroom, and phone. His room will be separated from mine with French doors. He might even get some sleep since a nurse will not be coming in all night to check on me in HIS room. If it weren't for the pain, this could have possibilities!
Here are some miscellaneous tidbits I picked up today.
1. In the early 70's, 51% of patients with osteoarthritis in their knees got replacements. Today it is 92%. Fascinating. Guess the airports have had to make concessions for all the alarm beeping knees and hips!
2. The night before surgery, after a shower, I will wipe myself down from head to toe with antibacterial wipes that the hospital gave me. Then I will don clean PJ's and sleep on clean sheets. (A friend of mine was told by her doctor to wash with Dial soap for 2 weeks prior to surgery. I will do that, too. Can't do too much to avoid infection.)
3. Before leaving the house for surgery, place frequently used items at waist level. (remote control, phone, clothes, shoes, etc.) Dr. O'Neill in his book had mentioned getting pots and pans, food, etc. out on the counter tops for easy access. My friend, Carolyn, who has had knee replacement, said that a grabber/reacher was indispensable-- to use for grabbing/reaching items above or below your waist.
4. There will definitely be pain to be dealt with. I will have use of a PCA pump (patient controlled analgesia), a femoral nerve block, injections and pills as part of my armamentaria. Oh, and ice packs. I should take pain pills at breakfast and at lunch because I will be having physical therapy after breakfast and after lunch.
Obviously there was much more to be learned, but these are the things that impressed me. They also gave us a large handout by the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses about knee replacements. Very excellent and full of practical and useful information. Oh, lucky you, I just found this wonderful handout on their website to download. http://www.orthonurse.org/ResearchandPractice/PatientEducation/tabid/490/Default.aspx
The above link no longer works. Go to this link and download the Total Knee Replacement Patient Education Manual. It is fantastic.
http://www.orthonurse.org/p/cm/ld/fid=29
Here are some miscellaneous tidbits I picked up today.
1. In the early 70's, 51% of patients with osteoarthritis in their knees got replacements. Today it is 92%. Fascinating. Guess the airports have had to make concessions for all the alarm beeping knees and hips!
2. The night before surgery, after a shower, I will wipe myself down from head to toe with antibacterial wipes that the hospital gave me. Then I will don clean PJ's and sleep on clean sheets. (A friend of mine was told by her doctor to wash with Dial soap for 2 weeks prior to surgery. I will do that, too. Can't do too much to avoid infection.)
3. Before leaving the house for surgery, place frequently used items at waist level. (remote control, phone, clothes, shoes, etc.) Dr. O'Neill in his book had mentioned getting pots and pans, food, etc. out on the counter tops for easy access. My friend, Carolyn, who has had knee replacement, said that a grabber/reacher was indispensable-- to use for grabbing/reaching items above or below your waist.
4. There will definitely be pain to be dealt with. I will have use of a PCA pump (patient controlled analgesia), a femoral nerve block, injections and pills as part of my armamentaria. Oh, and ice packs. I should take pain pills at breakfast and at lunch because I will be having physical therapy after breakfast and after lunch.
Obviously there was much more to be learned, but these are the things that impressed me. They also gave us a large handout by the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses about knee replacements. Very excellent and full of practical and useful information. Oh, lucky you, I just found this wonderful handout on their website to download. http://www.orthonurse.org/ResearchandPractice/PatientEducation/tabid/490/Default.aspx
The above link no longer works. Go to this link and download the Total Knee Replacement Patient Education Manual. It is fantastic.
http://www.orthonurse.org/p/cm/ld/fid=29
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