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Joint Camp

Today Jess and I attended Joint Camp. It was a long and tiring day, complicated by the fact I also had to get my yearly mammogram today.

We had to be at Huntsville Hospital by 8am, with class starting at 8:15pm. Some traffic snarl-ups made us a little late for eight, but we still made it before time for class to actually start.

I’m glad my other doctoring stuff was postponed until later so I could go with him today. It’s good for both of us to know what he needs with this surgery. They explained things like what kind of clothing he’ll need in the hospital – they do NOT wear hospital gowns except to surgery. The rest of the time knee patients wear shorts and tennis or walking shoes - and shirts of course!

They also explained what to expect each day from the day of surgery to the day of discharge. Barring complications, Jess should be in the hospital for surgery Monday (December 8th), and be discharged sometime the following Thursday (December 11th).

From there he’ll go across the street to the rehab center. This is a plus because most patients – 99% according to them - have to book into a nursing home instead for a couple of weeks due to insurance changes these days. You can only get into the hospital’s rehab center for special cases. Fortunately, having both knees done at once qualifies as needy enough for insurance/ Medicare to pay for rehab in the hospital..

Other tidbits we learned:
  • All the rooms are private rooms.

  • There’s physical therapy three times a day.

  • No crossing of legs or ankles for the first few months until there’s complete healing.

  • No shower for two weeks after surgery (that’s why they give them private rooms).

We were also told there are three kinds of anesthesia available, depending on your surgery and other conditions, from general anesthesia to spinal blocks and epidurals. (Jess informed me tonight he wants “general amnesia” –- I think that was a Freudian slip indicating he doesn’t want to remember anything about the surgery, ha!)

They explained what equipment he’ll need, like a walker, cane, and commode seat. To get rid of throw rugs and to make sure he has a chair with arms high enough for him to reach while standing so he can get leverage himself into the chair without damaging his new knees.

We heard from volunteers, people who've had knee replacements, the nurse in charge of the floor, and one of the nurse anesthetists. After they got through all their explanations, they did one on one interviews.

While he was being interviewed by the nurse, I walked a couple of blocks to get to the Diagnostic Center and have my mammogram. Jess picked me up there when he finished his interview, and we went to lunch, then over to the Medical Mall for him to get all his preoperative paperwork and lab work done.

As I said, it was a very long day, but now we have a much better idea of what we need to do ahead of time to be prepared for surgery, what to expect while he’s in the hospital and the rehab center, and how to make it easier for him once he gets home.

He was the only one there today having both knees done at once. It’s going to make it more difficult for him in some ways, but also has some advantages.

I'm thinking it’s going to be quite an experience!

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