We survived our first surgery!!

Hey guys,
It is definitely time for me to post something on here!  The past week has been so busy that I haven't even thought about it. Today was a wonderful day. ;-)  I was ambitious and able to get a lot done around the house while Chris took it easy.  He has been an excellent patient and is recovering very well.  For the sake of this being my "journal" of sorts, I am going to write a bit about each day this week.

Monday, Jan. 30th  -  Was the day of Chris's knee surgery!  We woke up bright and early so that we could leave the house by 4:30 am. Chris's mom and sister Ashley met us in Pensacola at the surgery center.  His surgery was scheduled for 7:00 and by 8:00 he was out of surgery and in recovery. ;-)  Dr. Smith came out and told us that everything went well and showed me some pictures of the inside of Chris's knee!  Long story short He said that Chris's ACL and meniscus were in great shape and that as suspected they had found a hole (5mm by 6mm) in the articular cartilage on the lateral side of his knee.  They basically went in and cleaned out all the loose cartilage in and around that hole! They also made four smaller holes down to the bone inside of the larger hole to promote cartilage regrowth.  Dr. Smith said he is hopeful that because of Chris's age and the location of the hole that it will naturally regrow cartilage to fill in the hole. ;-)  Well ... it was now time for me to go back and be with Chris while he woke up from the anaesthesia!  Of course I was hoping the he would say something funny but the first thing He said was to apologize to the nurse for not cooperating when they first brought him out of surgery!!  Apparently they were trying to put a heart monitor on his finger and he kept moving so that they couldn't get it to stay on!  The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful.  Chris slept the entire way home and most of the rest of the day.  Here are some pictures!

   Tuesday, Jan. 31st - I had taken off all day on Monday but by Tuesday morning it looked like Chris was doing well enough that I went to work for the first half of the day!  We were supposed to keep ice on his knee for the first 48 hours so I came home and spent the afternoon running back and forth to the freezer to get a new ice pack every 20 minutes!  Chris mostly slept for the rest of the day due to the pain medicine that the doctor had prescribed him.  I was able to do some work from home which was a blessing.  By that evening, Chris surprised me by hobbling into the kitchen. ;-)  Using a cane of course, but "walking" none the less!!  I think he was trying to prepare himself for physical therapy the next day.  Here are some pictures of my home office!  Its amazing how much "stuff" you have to bring home just to do a simple task!  But it worked and I was glad to be able to keep up and get in a few work hours. ;-)

Wednesday, Feb. 1st - Wednesday was very much like Tuesday ... I worked in the morning and then came home in time to take Chris to his first physical therapy appointment here in Atmore at 1:30.  It went really well with the exception that I had "failed" as a nurse and hadn't made sure the Chris had something to eat that morning.  He had taken his pain medication on a nearly empty stomach and by the time we got to physical therapy he was light headed and not feeling very good.  With the help of some cold water and a fan, he made it through the session.  Needless to say I took him right home and fixed him something to eat!!  Lesson learned!  Chris is now walking very well with his cane ... Praise the Lord for a rapid recovery so far!


Thursday, Feb. 2nd - Thursday I went back to work full time and left Chris and home to fend for himself!  I did go home on my lunch break to fix him something to eat and to help him do his exercises.  Chris is very determined to push himself during his exercises which I'm sure will help him recovery much more quickly! If it were me, I'm sure I wouldn't be as tough!  Deborah Martin had offered to make supper for us and Chris decided the he was READY to get out of the house for awhile.  So we went over to the Martin's for a delicious supper of red beans and rice!  So grateful for our church family! ;-)

My "nursing" supply kit!

Friday, Feb. 3rd. - I went with the We Care staff up to Montgomery for a staff crusade wrap-up meeting.  We met at Frank Lee Work Release which is a minimum security prison where one of our chaplains works.  We spent the day discussing the details of the crusade and changes that should be made for next year. It was a good day full of lively discussion and many different opinions!  I'm not much for conflict so by the end of the day I had a significant headache. ;-(  Now don't get me wrong ... I don't think any toes were stepped on or feeling hurt but it just got to be a little much for me!  Anyway, Chris had another physical therapy appointment in the morning and decided the he could take himself.  I checked up on him later in the day and he reported that therapy went well and that they had put him through quite a workout!  Only 12 more sessions to go and he will be back to "normal"!  Haha  Here are a couple of pictures of the patient!  My handsome guy ;-)

.

Whew!!  Sorry, that didn't end up being short at all! ;-) Hope to talk to you all soon ... feel free to call us anytime!  Love, Hannah