Dad went to the orthopedic surgeon who performed the surgery for his partial hip replacement today, Friday, February 14th. Great Valentine’s gift. X-rays are good. He still has to remember certain rules: don’t cross your leg, don’t bend over at a ninety degree angle, don’t raise your leg past a ninety degree angle, and listen to your daughter. He will see the doctor/surgeon again in 6 weeks.
This week has been a hallmark week. The doctor said his lungs sound clear, his pressure sores on his heels have improved and his hip looks great. Now we will get Dad’s emotions under control with a prescription for depression. He now has a working TV in the bedroom and one in the Living Room. He was crying tears of joy when he had seen what we had done with the TV situation. Direct TV upgraded their service to wireless boxes. He can watch whatever he wants wherever he wants, eat his popcorn, and if he gets up in the middle of the night he will be entertained until he falls asleep again.
The doctor suggested Boost and Ensure which we immediately stopped to get at the store. He actually likes them. He has had two today. He can supplement his popcorn lunch with Ensure or Boost. He now weighs 129 lbs. He has gained 5 lbs this week. He had meatloaf for dinner last night, my aunt dropped off three different soups during the week, and he actually had an egg burrito instead of tater tots. He likes the market salad with chicken nuggets from Chik-fil-A. He must eat more protein for those pressure sores to heal. He’s following doctors’ orders. He has seen 4 different doctors: podiatrist, orthopedic surgeon, primary, and a lung specialist.
Mom has been a trooper this week. She calls us when Dad wants to get out of bed. The bed alarm is still a good thing. He won’t use the tools they gave him to put his shoes and socks on, but he has the Velcro surgical shoes for the pressure sores on his heel. We added rails on each end of the bed so Dad could get out of bed without bending over at a ninety degree angle. He succeeded and is more independent now. We still have to help him with his pants, socks and shoes. Therefore the bed alarm will stay on the bed.
