Hopefully my personal Independence day will be in 30 days time. About a week late for celebration of the Boston Tea Party - but I'm sure a nice cup of tea on the ward will go down just fine all the same.
I have just returned from an afternoon at the hospital. I saw the surgeon and we discussed the 2nd stage operation and agreed on 10th July as the planned date for surgery. This means I should be admitted on Weds 9th July provided there is a bed available. With luck I should be standing and taking (some) weight through my right leg 2 days after surgery. Then it should be a matter of waiting for the incision to heal sufficiently to be discharged.
This afternoon I had a further x-Ray - this time it was a full length femur ( normally these have been done as 2 X-rays for the top and bottom ends of the bone. I think the surgeon wants a single X-Ray to work from because he needs to assemble a jig to ensure correct alignment and leg length. I'm sure this is normal practice but given the relatively small amount of remaining femur I got the impression the kit would need to be modified a little and perhaps this can be done in advance of me lying on the table.
After the X-ray I went on to the Pre Op Assessment unit to complete another canter through my medical history - guided by the one taken a few months back for the first stage operation.
So I was weighed and my height measured - the computed BMI was acceptable ( just!). My Blood pressure was taken and again OK although a little raised - well I had just made my way down a flight of steps ( on 2 crutches) rather than wait for the lift - so not surprising.
An ECG followed and I was provided with copious amounts of water to encourage me to be able to provide a urine specimen. Unfortunately I had waited so long in the Orthopaedic clinic and again in the adjacent X-Ray department that I had grabbed the first opportunity to visit the toilet just before setting off to go to the Pre Op Assessment Unit.
We deferred the visit to the phlebotomist for various blood counts and cross matching as I will be returning to the hospital on Friday to have a cannula inserted and some iron infused into my arm. This is a great opportunity for taking blood at the same time so once I have been cannulated I shall be in position to donate as many samples as required by both renal and orthopaedic units.
