Marilyn, That hospital experience sounds horrendous! I am really shocked! I've always thought that we have good medical care available around here, but now I really wonder!

Hospitals can be terrific or horrible. It depends entirely on the particular nursing staff. Your fall was horrible, Marilyn, but just suppose you had fallen at the top of the steps instead of the bottom! I cringe to think of it.
We love our chair lift. It makes the stairs so much safer. Our dealer was terrific - came out the same day, and was finished installing it in a couple hours. The brand you get is important. Be sure to get one in which the chair charges no matter where it is parked on the rail, not just at the very top and bottom. We have the Bruno brand, with no problems for the past several years we have had it. My parents had two of them, one for the stairs to the basement, and one for the stairs to the upstairs. If you have a basement laundry room or freezer (we have both) it sure makes hauling laundry and food up and down the stairs much safer and easier.

Thanks, Daisy, but we are NOT getting a chair lift for that house. Arm too tired to go into the many reasons why not. Once DD decides to leave TX, that house will be sold.

I will keep it in mind for when WE eventually move, but I already told DH "no stairs" (which he is kicking against).

...and NOW...

DH has picked up some sort of respiratory bug. Maybe from the grocery store?

So far, I'm fine....

He says that he will take a Covid test.

"If it's not one thing, it's another!!!

Whatever it is, I hope he gets over it soon!

Marilyn, you've had such a rough go of it lately. I am glad you're not sick at least yet. I understand the hospital ordeal. I have some horror stories about our local one.

Recover well!

Marilyn I can understand not getting a chair lift if you are planning to sell and move. And heartily approve that you don't want stairs in your next house!

I'd insist on a basement, though, if I were moving to tornado country.

My parents both grew up in tornado country. Once in nighttime grandma whisked all her kids to the basement during a tornado. It was good she did, because when they finally emerged from the basement, they found a brick lying on the pillow where Mom's brother had been sleeping.

Diana, thanks for the acorn!

To re-iterate, Daisy, while we own that house, DD lives in it.

The house that we own and live in, is one story, but there is 1 step up from the driveway to a landing in front of the front door, and about 4-5 steps down from the back of the house to the main garden walkway. (2 or so steps down to the patio.) No banisters for those exits/steps, which is why I've been using a cane on the steps. (There is another exit with maybe 6-7 steps that does have railings, but we don't usually use it.)

The rest of the property is of varying levels and safety, gopher tunnels and holes being one hazard.

Oh! All the steps are outdoors. Understood.

Saw the CA wrist doc today, who kinda rushed us through.

X-rays, splint off, stitches out, brace on. Range of motion exercises now (have PT prescription) but at least I can finally shower (brace comes off for exercise and showering), tho doing that 1 handed is iffy. (I was using bathing wipes like at the hospital.) Checkup in 3 weeks. Still no pushing, pulling, holding things for maybe 6 weeks (tho I have to hold light things like when getting dressed, going to the bathroom... no way around that, and getting my am pills).

Why do I think, as horribly painful as it will be, that knee replacement surgery/recovery will be better? I think because I believe that I can deal better even with pain and a walker, than with having only 1 hand.

Slowly, progress. Really want out of the brace though.

Well, some progress is progress. Hopefully you are able to get out and about more and can get that brace off, Marilyn!

After the doctor ordeal I was pretty tired yesterday, but I gathered up my courage and soloed down to the patio (2 steps) and back again. I did it to confirm AUTUMN CIRCUS ID and to take a pic of REALITY CHECK.

It's really disturbing to be so scared of a few lousy ERGONOMIC (not steep) steps, and I'll have to work on that, otherwise I'll never be able to go hiking again, even if these knees do ever get fixed.

Marilyn

Marilyn,

Physical therapy after surgery should be able to help with coordination and balance as well as strengthening and range of motion. Be sure you let the PT understand your goals.
After I broke 6 bones in my left foot, I told the therapist I wanted to be able to stand my left toes and do a pirouette. Then I demonstrated a pirouette on my right foot. He cracked up and said, "Okay, then - we can do that." I reached that goal.

Grats to you, Diana!

I started doing the range-of-motion exercises at home, and am trying to set up an appt with PT here to make sure I get the best outcome. DH managed to lose the prescription for that but I left a message telling them what doc and to get the prescription. I should hear back from them Monday.

Unsurprisingly, the exercises are NOT fun. We asked the doc for an exercise handout, but it also had desensitization stuff on there (massaging and wound stretching and lotions and stuff) which it's unclear if he wants those too (he didn't say and currently there's a row of bandaids over the incision line). More med emails, I guess.

I think I need to get some special candy or something to reward me after every one of these 3x/day sessions. Rationally, I know that they need to be done for a good long term recovery, but dang it, I need short term rewards!

Little rewards help! Do you have a favorite candy?

I would wait until 2 weeks post surgery to do the desensitization stuff. I'm really impressed that their handouts include that stuff. Although it is very helpful, my generation of doctors didn't learn it, and therefore the patients didn't get all the help they really needed. I learned about it in 2004, when I went for some extra training. Gentle massage of the thigh muscles that control the knee may be started right away, since that can be done without disturbing the surgical site. Reward yourself and hang in there!

I like dark chocolate mints so I guess I'll have DH detour over to See's, when we go out for PT.

Right now I'm enjoying an herbal cough drop, but wistfully thinking of the lime popsicles in the freezer.

We were supposed to start planting the tomatoes today but I'm tired out, and DH has already had to go to the farmer's market and drug store today, and has to make dinner, and he's still not up to snuff yet. He's going to be my hands for that operation.

Mmmm, dark chocolate mints would be a worthy reward in my book, too!

Thanks, Diana.

Right now we are at 2 weeks post-op exactly, and I asked the wrist doc in my email if I should be doing those things. Not sure what exactly I'm supposed to be massaging other than the incision site.... hand, wrist, forearm?

For sure it ain't the knees or thighs, which are again in a holding pattern.

I should also look into special lotions for scar healing? Vitamin E?

What bothers me worse (at rest) than the wrist is my tailbone (which tbh was sometimes uncomfy prior to this incident....arthritis or something else?). We don't see how I could have whacked that, but there's some discomfort there, in certain positions, and those awful hospital beds didn't help.