Personal blog: The Bionic Woman

Hello, and welcome to February, as I sit here in bed next to my lovely wife at nearly 4 in the morning on Valentine's Day.  

This was the day after her big surgery to get knee replacement for her left leg.  I'd planned on going in with her, waiting for however long the surgery was, and join her immediately when I could.  And that's what happened.  The surgery was around an hour and a half, maybe give or take ten minutes.  She chose only to be frozen and have sedation, which is what I did for my knee surgery nine years ago, though that was just to fix a tear and a scope.  She wanted to see the operation going on, but, as everyone does, she wound up snoozing through it, and I think that's for the best if you have any idea what knee replacement is like.  Janice is highly knowledgeable of the medical field, so it's not surprising she wanted to get her eyeballs on what they were doing, not to mention she's pretty much fearless.  But anyway, she was taken to post-op recovery, while I waited until she would awaken and go to her room on the sixth floor.

So as is with pretty much any hospital, the food isn't the most palatable, and I offered to go fetch her a chicken salad sandwich, a pop and a donut, and that's what our meal of the day was.  She wasn't keen on eating much more than that anyway.  She was in great spirits when I saw her, with the freezing still in effect, as she got a small needle in her back to freeze her from the waist down, plus she was still loopy from meds they had in her I.V.  But she was 100% my Janice.  She was actually up out of bed with a walker and actually walking about four hours after she woke up.  Even the nurses and doctors were a bit taken aback at how solid she was.  I was surprised, marginally, because I know how much she wanted this done and wants it behind her.  But man, she's tough.  I call her "The Tank" for a reason; there's just not a lot that stops her.  

In the evening, I hiked up to her work, Shoppers Drug Mart, to get a one liter bottle of Diet Pepsi - at a ridiculous price of $4.45 with taxes.  But my queen was thirsty.  I got back and a serving of hot something or another was at her table over her bed that was served to her, and she wasn't terribly fond of the idea of eating.  I saw it, I still don't understand what that was.  It got a bit busy in the room she was in, with three other ladies in there who also got replacement surgery of some sort.  We actually all got to know one another a little.  I should also point out that my buddy Pete, who works at the hospital, took time on his break to go see Janice, which I was immensely appreciative of.  The night grew shorter and the time came for me to go.  I hadn't gotten hardly any sleep the night before, maybe an hour and a half, because she had to be in the hospital for 8:30 that morning.  

I'd gotten home to share the night with Marvelous Marbles Hagler, who was a bit lonely that day.  I grabbed a bag of Yum Yum onion rings and munched a bit, cleaned up and got in bed.  The bed being half empty because Janice wasn't in it.  I hated it.  Laying here looking over at her side with her not being there was a bit tough.  We never spend time apart.  I took a dose of cannabis oil and waited, and hoped, for it to work to try to sleep.  A few hours later, after sleeping maybe two or three hours, I took another dose.  That enabled me to sleep during the morning, as I awaited the phone call from Janice to go pick her up.  And she did, right around noon.  I got everything all ready in the house and was pretty pumped to go get my girl!

I picked her up at the main entrance, on what was quite a lovely day.  We still haven't really gotten a knock-down-drag-out snowstorm or anything, maybe a brush of one, but there's not a lot of snow on the ground outside,  Very strange for February.  I went to Walmart after I picked her up to get her some of her beloved blackberry Diet Canada Dry, and we went home to reassume our lives.  When we got home, her sister was next door at her Mom's, and she went over to briefly visit and reassure her family that she did extremely well. (Don't worry, I was escorting her everywhere.)  It was beyond nice to see her get in the house and plop down on the loveseat and look so relieved that it's all done.

But here's the thing... when her surgeon checked on her before she left, she asked her how she felt, and Janice was pretty much like, "so when can I do the other one?"  The fine doctor told her that she can get it done in a few months, because her right knee wasn't in much better shape than the left one.  That means she's off work for most of the year (darn!!!), and by the time Christmas comes she will have pretty much two brand new legs to rebuild at the gym - modestly, of course.  She still wants to go to the gym anyway and do upper body stuff and get stronger on the treadmill.  That will be in due time.  I want her stitches out before we do anything like that at all.  In the meantime, I will make her walk around the house at times and see that she does her exercises.  She wants me to do all this, just in case you're thinking I made myself the gestapo of Belmont Street.  It is nothing short of remarkable how much progress she's made in one freakin' day!  She had her leg sawed off, basically, and a new knee inserted, and she's up on her feet walking with a walker or a cane??  Like I said, The Tank.  

Now we await the next surgery, which, as I said, is being expedited, so it'll all be out of the way.  We're both pretty thrilled with this.  

We're both extremely appreciative of everyone who offered their support and well wishes.  Every one of them.  If you're reading this, know that we love and appreciate you.

That's all for today.  Thanks for taking the time to once again read my humble blog.