*sigh*
Nana came through her second hip surgery in fine fettle.
Of course, the first thing Nana did when she woke up from the surgery was extract her catheter.
There are several folks around here — your Humble Scribe included — that wince every single time she does that, but she is adamant that “civilized people” go to the litter box to do their business, and at 99 years of age who are we to argue?
Less amusing was her ripping the surgical drain out of the incision during a foggy moment. I’m here to tell you, walking into the room about the time that she took a firm grip on the tubing and yanked rates right up there on the Top Ten Nausea Inducing Moments of my little life.
Whoof.
Anyhoo, since this was the second break in less than six months, the doctor recommended that her physical therapy be at a full-time centre.
Believe it or not, the nursing centre here in Bugscuffle, Texas has a first-rate physical therapy department, so Nana has been staying at the nursing centre until the doctor figures they can’t do her any more good.
Last week we noticed that the surgery site on her left hip wasn’t matching what the surgery site on her right hip looked like. When we brought this up to the staff, they agreed that things weren’t quite matching up and that the facility witch-doctor had put Nana on a just-in-case dose of antibiotics.
Well, couple of night back, things cut loose. Literally (and metaphorically) speaking.
So. Nana is back in the Big Hospital on I.V. vancomycin while a whole bunch of folks in white coats scurry about trying to find out how deep the infection in my 99-year-old grandmothers’ left hip goes.
Damn it, if she’d’ve let the sodding drain alone, I’m willing to bet this’d not have happened.
*sigh*
She doesn’t seem to have any pain, but how the hell would we know if she was? Her appetite is still good — at least, she was systematically getting on the outside of a plate-full of roast chicken with new taters and baby carrots when I left, so I think that’s a Good Sign.
Ah, well. Family. You gotta love them, ’cause whacking them is against the law.
LawDog
10 thoughts on “Nana update”
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LD,
I konw you didn’t ask for them, but my prayers are going up for Nana again.
BTW, hows your strep doing?
Another set of prayers from this home for Nana. I wonder what sort of nerve settling meds her guardian Angel is taking.
God love her and Keep her.
Maybe Nana’s an instrument of whatever Divine force exists in the universe. She certainly keeps us all praying. She must be a real treasure, though. I know I really miss all my stubborn old people. Of course, my grandfather didn’t break hips and such. He just watched Howard Stern’s TV show and recorded Spring Break videos on MTV. We don’t know why, and we really don’t want to know.
“Less amusing was her ripping the surgical drain out of the incision during a foggy moment. I’m here to tell you, walking into the room about the time that she took a firm grip on the tubing and yanked rates right up there on the Top Ten Nausea Inducing Moments of my little life.
Whoof.”
Jesus. Christ. Almighty.
‘Dog, I say this with all possible love, so don’t get too mad at me, but while she’s in you might want to have them check out the wiring upstairs…. I had one of those surgical drains in the end of my stump when I was seven years old and I STILL want to kill the doctor who took it out. For someone to do that to themselves… yeargh.
I think your grandmother may actually be entirely too tough for her own good. She has my unequivocal respect, but… wow.
I hope she comes out all right.
“Ah, well. Family. You gotta love them, ’cause whacking them is against the law.”
Not if you make it seem like an accident….
I had worked at an internationally known County Spinal Cord Injury Hospital in Southern California for the last 5 years, Lawdog, & what you described Nana doing isn’t that uncommon.
Damn about the infection. Keep feeding her GOOD FOOD & DRINK. The antibiotic’s only purpose is to gain time for the body to heal itself. I do hope that your Nana’s constitution gets her through this one, too.
In case you want to whack something, perhaps a trip to the store for some honeydews or even watermelons canhelp you out. In a desolate area. Just you, your favorite piece, 2 cases of ammo, and an afternoon of target practice.
Prayers en route to HIM for both of you.
Hang in there LawDog! My prayers are with you and your Nana. She sounds like a very tough, strong-willed woman. I bet she’ll pull through!
Now, if y’all could just get her to stop doing Things That Put You Into A Hospital, you might be able to sleep at night!
Lord knows 99-year-olds have earned the Right to an Opinion, but Nana really needs to listen to The Talk.
If, heavens forbid, she is once again hospitalized, and surgery is selected, the Nice Folks at the Hospital will again want to insert a catheter. The explanation should go something like this:
Mrs LawDog’sNana, while we have you in surgery you will be sedated, and while sedated you will not have control over your bladder muscles. We can’t have you leaking all over our operating room, so you will get a catheter.
We know you don’t like them, and we’ll get a doctor’s order to remove it for you about as soon as you are conscious enough to ask, but you must give us some time, and above all you must not pull it out yourself.
We know darn well that hurts. It hurts because the little balloon on the end is tearing through the muscles that hold the spigot closed. If you continue to damage those muscles, you will Leak. With all the will in the world, you will not be able to keep that spigot closed. The choice is very likely ‘give us a couple of hours’ or ‘a lifetime in diapers’.
She’s an adult; she’ll choose properly for her, with near a century’s accumulated wisdom.
You don’t want to know what it’s like when a man pulls out his catheter.
I thought I wanted to be just like “The Fruitcake Lady” when I grew up, but I’ve changed my mind. I want to be just as ornery as NANA!
Having spent 15 years working in various long term care centers in a previous life…I always loved people with personalities like your nana seems to have. Right full of piss & vinegar! Hope she pulls thru just fine, the world needs all the little old ladies like her that we can get!
Your Nana is an amazingly lady. I had a sugical drain removed and if I *ever* find that sorry sunuvabiscuit what did it…
Many prayers for her quick recovery.