Sunday, March 25, 2012

Patient Discharged

Greetings on this overcast Sunday. I am sorry that I have not written for a few days but I have my reasons....

On Thursday, the big kid met with the surgeon who removed the sutures and taught him a few exercises to begin the rehab process. What a beautiful sight! The look on the kid's face was one of happiness and relief as he continued the healing process. He had been off pain medication for a few days, had the sutures out, was given exercises, and was cleared to take a shower. You would have thought that he won the Powerball! He was so excited that he could shower. Frankly, so was I. The house had a bit of a "guy" odor and now the scent was beginning to dissipate.

It was then time to return to school with his arm still in the immobilizer. We drove the three hour trip and he was in the greatest mood. He could not wait to return to college and see the guys and hang out with the team. It is the only thing that kept him partially sane over the past several weeks. He had a renewed commitment to training, his team mates, and baseball. Although, as his arm leaves the sling in three weeks, he is not going to like what he finds. The muscle has atrophied a bit and he will need extensive rehabilitation to get back to his normal level of strength.

It was interesting as the surgeon mentioned that his fast ball should creep up 10 more miles per hour. For the past three months, he had been pitching with a non functional shoulder and still doing well. Once it heals and he has rehab'ed, he will be a different pitcher. Even with a bum shoulder, his spring ball ERA was low and performance was overall quite good. Can you imagine what he will be like with a shoulder that is completely attached?

And so, off he went to school and I waited to hear from him as to the transition back to studying and attending class. He called that night and reported that LW tried to tie him in a lasso and knock him to the ground. OK, what the #$^###? LW, his room mate has eyes and can see that his left arm is in an immobilizer. Is he kidding? If he had hurt the kid, I would have taken the sling and immobilized him. Is that kid crazy or what?

Now that Buddy has been taken care of, I finally had my knee surgery. It was an arthroscopic procedure done in a surgi center by Dr. G's partner. I think that it went well. I have issues with cartilage would is probably due to overuse. I thought that exercising and participating in sports was supposed to extend a person's life. But in my case, I am going to live a long life, I just won't be running through it any more. Is this nature's way of slowing me down? Yikes, today I realized that a person cannot carry a cup of Starbuck's coffee and walk with crutches. I am going to have to invent a devise where I can attach my coffee cup to my belt so that I can move place to place and still have my caffeine fix. Or maybe I need a third arm. Not sure, but this will not do. No sir, got to figure this one out. It's my only means of survival.

With my own surgical procedure, I can relate to my son's discomfort. I have been blessed to have Tink home who has been quite helpful. On occasion, she disappears....so, I now have a little bell to call her when I need her. Pretty cool, huh? I am going to try it now...hold on.....I just rang the bell and she was prompt in answering....I like this part of the process.

Time to move on to my next project....have a great day!

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