A lot of you have written to ask about Kaylyn’s knee surgery, so I thought I’d blog about it and let you know how it’s going.  As many of you know, she had a partial knee replacement at Beaumont Hospital, last week. Dr James Verner  did the operation and it was flawless! Here's a picture of the surgical assistants helping with the operation:

I learned a couple of things, last week. First, take everything anyone tells you and multiply it by three. If a hospital employee tells you something will take 15 minutes, you can bet it’ll be 45. Not their fault, really. Things happen. I got a kick out of it. Only the surgery was exempt from the “times three” rule.  Dr Verner did that in under an hour.

The second thing I discovered: Beaumont Hospital has a fantastic surgical waiting area. Flat screen televisions, free wireless internet, vending machines and really comfortable seats. Add the Starbucks and the café that are downstairs in the South tower and I didn’t want to leave. The only things that were missing were pool tables and a bar. In fact, when they told me Kay was in her room and I could go visit, I was almost kind of depressed. Don’t anyone tell her I said that.  But her room was very nice, too. More like a hotel room than a hospital room. Another flat screen TV, classical music piped in and mood lighting.

Kay was lucky. She got to spend the weekend in the hospital while I contended with the effects of all the storms at the house. Tree limbs down, power outages.. you name it. While she was getting really good narcotics, I was bailing water out of the basement. (I’m getting a generator next week)

Brought her home on Sunday and launched right into the physical therapy (artist's depiction at left). Twice a day, I put her through the paces with a number of exercises. Even with the pain pills, it’s still excruciating for her to do simple things, such as bending her knee or lifting her leg. She gets around with an aluminum walker, though she doesn’t go very far at the moment.  As I type this, she’s on the sofa with her leg up so that her knee is above her heart. There’s an ice pack on the knee. In about two hours, we’ll do it all over, again.

I’m learning to be quite a househusband. For example, yesterday, I discovered that tomato sauce can defy the laws of gravity. I dropped one bowl of beef and pasta and the sauce went all over the kitchen. I’m still finding splotches of the stuff in the darndest places, ten… fifteen feet from where I dropped the bowl. I may need to call Crime Scene Cleanup Services to handle the kitchen when I’m through.

Here’s a little note in case anyone from CBS corporate or our Health Insurance Company is reading this: You’re being taken for a ride. Kay’s supposed to have a nurse come by twice a week (she’s on blood thinners) and a physical therapist come by three times a week. The therapist came by once, so far. Haven’t heard from the nurse. Yet, I’ll bet my paycheck the insurance company is getting billed for all these phantom visits. Someone should get “Ruth to the Rescue” on this.

On the plus side, we’re getting a chance to catch up on television we never got to see. Finished up “Lost” and “Firefly” and starting in on “Heroes.”

I do want to thank those of you who have called or sent cards and flowers. Especially our boss, Deb Kenyon. You really didn’t have to do that, but they’re GORGEOUS. Much thanks. If you’d like, write something in the space below and I’ll make sure Kay sees it.

Also thanks to Girard, my mail carrier. He’s been bringing the mail to the door. Not sure if that’s because he knows Kay can’t walk to the mailbox or because he knows she’s only wearing a t-shirt.  Either way, she’s enjoying the extra attention.

Thanks, again, for your prayers and your support. And thanks to everyone at the Big and Rich concert for shouting “Get Well Kaylyn!!!” She got a huge kick out of that.

-Doc


UPDATE:  Well , here it is - the end of the week - and still no visit from  either a nurse or a physical therapist. The first  Home Health Care (HHC) company  claimed they never got the paperwork.  When we  told them , "That's fine, we'll  go with someone else," the paperwork miraculously turned up in Ann Arbor. No matter, we opted to switch  companies. Here 's where it gets funny..

We called our insurance company (corporate headquarters pictured at left) to get the name of another HHC company.  They gave us one, we called them and figured everything was set up.   Again, nobody showed up. By now, Kay's leg is seven shades of green and purple and I'm starting to really worry.  Called the HHC, again. They said they  couldn't get  approval from the  insurance company.... the same insurance company that  gave me their  name in the first place!!!   A very nice woman named Sharon  told me she'd been transferred from one number to another all day.

So, I called the insurance company. "Agnes" (probably pictured at right) claimed the HHC never contacted them.  In fact, she suddenly had no record of  any  of our calls or claims.   So, I told  Agnes  to hold on a second. I then got  the HHC on the line and (using that AT&T cell phone I'm so proud of)  I conferenced them.  It was so much fun to listen to Agnes squirm  as the HHC  read her the riot act.   It  was all I could do not to let out an evil laugh  (that's me on the left , in the middle of the conference call, letting out an evil laugh, anyway). I guess you could say I had a leg up on the insurance company. Or not


Long story short,  we should  FINALLY have a  nurse at the door by the end of the day. Hopefully,  Kay's leg will not have fallen off, by then.



Last , but not least, Kay is getting a kick out of reading your  wishes, below. Especially  the ones about  being waited on hand and foot.  Keep 'em coming!!

-Doc