Friday, August 26, 2011

Tim's Knee Surgery...{July 22nd}

BEFORE:
"Hey it's just knee surgery. What's the big deal?"

AFTER:
(doped on morphine)
"Wow...this is Awful!.. Oh and where are my sunglasses?"
It was so horrible to see Tim in so much pain immediately after surgery. He was not conscious but was moaning in pain. I had the nurses give him a few more injections of morphine in his I.V. & he felt MUCH better.  ....BUT then the funnies began!
He insisted on wearing his sunglasses inside the Recovery Room which gave me & the nurse quite the chuckle. He looked like Stevie Wonder as he bobbed his head back and forth and said such funny things.   He told the nurse numerous times how important it was for him to wear his sunglasses since "his eyes were so sensitive from his 3 eye surgeries." 
(..you had to be there.)
Tim also kept saying : "There has to be something the Doctor's not telling me." The nurse finally said "Ok Tim why don't you just relax and stop talking because you keep saying the same thing!" I busted up. Then doped up he started saying in his drunken slurred speech sweet things like: "Wow Audra, you stayed here my whole surgery....You're amazing." 

--Oh good times, good times...--

Wish I had video-taped his silly moments.
Because they didn't last long! Getting him in the car was horrendous & so was the 30 minute drive home from the hospital. He was miserable, pale & on the verge of passing out and vomiting.

Let's just say it's been a long couple of weeks!!
                              **Tim's Surgery was actually really complex. It was 2 hours long & it involved first taking 4 tendons from his hamstring, braiding them together & creating him a new ACL. To get it placed correctly the Dr. had to drill into his tibia & femur bones. Ouch!**

This was taken at his first Physical Therapy appointment @ East Valley Physical Therapy. I HATE when people post gross bodily harmed pictures on their blog like THIS:
(Sorry had to document it for history's sake.)
He did get his leg shaved.. which was a first.

The 1st week was absolutely brutal!... Tears were shed by both of us. We were up all hours of night in pain, giving/taking meds & with the 2 little boys. He was in a lot of pain, needing lots of care & attention. Meanwhile kids start school. Was in survival mode.
The 2nd week he was limited to work about an hour a day, I chauffered him everywhere, His bruising was scary & he was still on percocet, aspirin & crutches.

The 3rd week Tim began driving (which was so helpful!), had a job interview, got the job & celebrated his 37th Birthday. Tim was down to one crutch. Spence began school this week...the same day that Tim spent his full first day back at work. I felt like I was sending another child off.

The 4th week he is now progressing well. He is walking free of crutches& seeing my Dad 3 times a week for Physical Therapy. Other than a funny little limp he has, he is pretty much back to normal. He still tries to walk at his normal fast pace which provides us all a chuckle. 

Tim is now just literally Dreaming about the time when he can run up & down the BASKETBALL court again....but that won't be for AT LEAST another 6 months or so. I really am proud of how hard he has worked to get healed up to this point. He still has a long road ahead but it'll be worth it!

~We are just glad that his Surgery went so great 
as is his Physical Therapy. 
...He has a new knee & All is well. 


2 comments:

Ezra, Kian & Eden said...

Ugh! Those knee pics are awful (and kind of funny because the one leg is hairless...I was wondering why it looked so feminine!) ;)

I can't imagine how you juggle all of that PLUS regular life. You guys are amazing! I'm glad Tim is feeling better and he deserves a big, giant CONGRATULATIONS on the new job!

My fingers are crossed that life will slow down a bit...at least until you have to move again...in a few more weeks. ;)
Call for help or just to hang out!

Debbie said...

I completely empathize. Kevin had the same surgery and it was rough for awhile. And, no, it didn't slow him down either.