I'm Still Here!
One thing that becomes very evident when you get an earlier operation date, all the other meetings and assessments need to be crammed into a very short window. Something has to give… in this case it has been this blog and the attention I was giving to my little garden. I am getting a blog together covering a garden update, garden game plan going forward, and garden improvements I can make for next year. I will also give you my deepest darkest thoughts and recollections of the Hip Surgery, before and after. Squeezed in between these 2 topics will be more bee critiques for the craft brewery Canada Day beers.
The garden update will be rather short, since I have not paid much attention to the garden for 2 weeks, I was able to get some peppers, mini tomatoes, and a cucumber that was neally 16” long.
I can say that my second attempt with radishes was every bit as disappointing as the first. They certainly can fool you. I planted the seeds, and within 2-3 days leaves had already broken ground the leaves grew full and healthy and I assumed that below the ground was certainly a successful crop. Both times I ended up with this thin little bad excuse for a radish. Should I be thinning them out once they break ground? Not sure, had better check this out before I make another attempt, not working on the garden has also hurt the progress of the Beans. They did not climb up my cord twine as well as I had hoped. The Zucchinis seem healthy, lots of leaves and flowers, but not much else. I did dig up the Garlic for drying. They seem pretty good, but the bulbs are not as big as I had hoped. Going forward, I think I will dig up the radishes and beans. Not sure what I will plant in this space for the rest of the summer, I may try another zucchini. The cucumber is the one thing that seems to be almost out of control. I am getting regular harvest from both of the plants. The beefsteak tomato plant finally seems to be getting tomatoes, I did read that the larger tomatoes this year did seem to be slower than normal. I need to enlist the services of an assistant, so, I can get another feeding for the plants, don’t think I am mobile enough to do this myself, yet. What I have learned is, I think the tomatoes would have a better chance for success in larger pots than the ones I used this year, I need to maintain the soil better (fertilizer) to help the plants and to feed the plants on a pre-determined schedule. More earth in both of the present planters would not have hurt either.
On the Beer front, I have shamelessly had to enlist outside people to critique the beers since I am on all of these medications since the operation. We will be visiting Northwest Territories, Yukon, Saskatchewan, and P.E.I. I am not a big fan of wheat based beer, but the NWT beer had a definite European flavor that I found quite appealing. Cannot say the same for the other northern entry from the Yukon, it was a dark lager that had a harsher taste than I prefer. The Prairie selection from Saskatchewan had a definite German influence, I would order this lager again, and again! On the East coast, the PEI beer can be simply described as sweet, too sweet for me.
Now for the section that has consumed the majority of my time recently… The Hip!
My pre-operation routine consisted of using the cane (thanks Gerry) properly on the stairs, and practicing the post op exercises I knew I would be expected to be doing. The Thanks Gerry is because the cane I am using was hand made by a golf buddy “Gerry Aho.” His ability to transform wood into something beautiful is amazing. Go to Pre-op registration, only to find that there are a ton of people having surgery every day. My number comes up and the process begins, I did have all the documents and information required so this part went quickly, culminating in the fashion forward wrist band (Yes, I should have taken a picture). Get to sit in another area now, and not too long later get the Gown Time call. Go into this smaller than you cubicle, take off your clothes and put on one of the Credit Valley, one size fits all gowns, and my new, never to be probably worn again house coat. Just like the gown, I get to put on one size booties to finish my operation ensemble. Back to the waiting room… knowing the next time I get called I am going into the pre op room, where everyone I meet wants to know my name and date of birth. Here I had a surprise meeting with Doc Shine, a Trafalgar member, who doubles as an anaesthesiologist, but has not been my guy for both of my hips. Must have answered the questions properly, because they wheel me off to the operating room. One thing I know for sure, there is a ton more papers and protocol (Thank you Lawyers??) than with my first hip replacement. It is explained to me that I will be getting some gas to relax me and then the juice to freeze me up. They provide me with a pillow like the one you see in a massage parlour for you to rest your head. I remember taking in some gas, moving my head towards the pillow, then I remember waking up, operation all done! Couldn’t hazard a guess how long I was awake in the post op room before I am wheeled to my room, had requested semi private, that’s what my extended health plan was to provide. You can’t fool me, if I see 3 other patients, that’s not semi private. Drugs are doing their job, can’t bother complaining. To be honest, for the most part, space is the only real difference and since I was not up and running around “C’est la vie.” [ed. Note: hope you are impressed… bilingual] I have posted a rather ominous photo that brought back memories of my first hip. I call the picture “Friend or Foe?”
I used to import millions of catheters, back then it was a way for Traders to make money, seemed like a good plan to me , now it presented itself as a medieval tool of torture that I personally would sell the farm to avoid. 2 reasons, best explained with these responses: You’re putting what where? and who’s doing this?
Want a small world occurrence, the fellow in the bed next to me worked at Anaconda Brass, one of the Big 3 places to work in the Lakeshore, the other 2 being Goodyear, where my Dad worked and Campbell Soup. His son, about my age, lived on Beta Street in Alderwood, my Dad lived on Beta Street for a time. His family doctor, is the son of the surgeon (Dr. Nguyen) that gave me both of my hips.
At the hospital, their goal is to get me up and moving ASAP, I am progressing as hoped and discharge after 2 days seems like a reality. Final test, the STAIRS, have an edge here as I have been practicing before the surgery. Yippee, I pass the stairs and I am getting out. There is far more material to read and precautions to take than I remember with my first hip. I have some personal goals to achieve, as I have a date with a wedding in October I definitely want to be able to get up the aisle with Katie on my arm. So, I am obeying their guidelines to the “T”, but that causes, for me, another problem. I am doing everything soooooo sloooow. As a result my dear wife has had to do so many things for me, I appreciate her help immensely, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating that I am dependent on others. Off to do my exercises, signing out for now
