good news and bad news for BBB

She is doing a lot better today. The bladder troubles have resided, in fact they removed it for a little while to have her stand and sit for the first time on her new hip. She did very well with that. They doubled up on her pain medications right before they got her up out of bed and she is feeling not much pain at all.

When I left, it was just starting to wear off a bit.

My brother said the bladder muscles may still have been affected by the spinal they gave her for surgery and it just took awhile to reconnect signals with her brain.

She's still a little fuzzy-headed from surgery.

They're already talking about moving her to a rehab hospital maybe tomorrow. When she's settled there, I'll see if she wants to receive calls from people.

Thanks for the update Butrflynet.

smoky has had bladder difficulties since his hip surgery.

the anesthesia is hard on older folks...

Glad to hear that BBB is doing better today.

Glad to hear that the bladder problems are better and that BBB got to stand and sit on her new hip. Sounds like her recovery is going reasonably well so far.

So glad to hear that BBB is on the mend!

Yes! And thanks for the update!

Yay!!!

Home from hospital. She's still doing great. They're moving her to the rehab hospital tomorrow.

My brother has departed for home today.

I am heading to bed for some long, uninterrupted sleep. Will post more tomorrow when I have more info.

Good!

Home is a good place to be, even if it's just for a day.

Thanks for the update, Butrflynet. BBB's bladder problems seem to be typical for someone over seventy; I've seen that with so many of my age cohert recently. Her fuzzyheadedness, no problem: We are all accostumed to that here at A2K. I hope you are taking care of yourself; caregiving is a dangerous business.

I am. I slept for almost 12 hours before I got a phone call saying they were moving her to Kaseman Rehab in a few hours. I'm going to head over there about that time and make sure she gets settled in at the new place with minimal drama.

Yesterday she was able to dress herself in her street clothing. The clothing keeps her much warmer than those thin hospital gowns and piles of sheets and took some of the pressure off of her joints.

They took the IV out the night before (too soon) and she wasn't drinking enough fluids on her own to compensate for her extreme state of dehydration. She hadn't urinated for 12 hours and had no fluids in her bladder when they did another scan. It took 4 attempts by 4 different people with increasing layers of nursing skill to find a new vein for another IV port because she was so dehydrated. About 45 minutes later she was peeing. It is a good thing she did. I was threatening to stick her hands in a bucket of warm water to induce some flow. Her primary doctor has been telling her for as long as I've been here that she needs to drink more fluids. I think she's been in so much pain these years that she's only been drinking minimal water so she doesn't have to move to use the bathroom.

Her appetite is coming back. She had chicken tenders for lunch and ordered salmon for dinner. First protein she's eaten that wasn't dairy-based.

She says she would welcome some calls when she is at Kaseman, so once I know what room she's in, I'll PM the info to folks upon request.

I'm heading out to take the dogs to the dog park and will then head over to Kaseman.

Glad you got some sleep and that BBB will be moved to the rehab hospital. I hope she settles in there with no problems and that she'll remember to keep taking in fluids. Hopefully, she'll find some interesting people to talk to while there. Thanks for the update--the news sounds positive.

Just catching up on this news... sounds like it's been a bit of a rollercoaster but positive overall. Good wishes to everyone, patient and caretaker alike.

No news since the 10th? I assume that all is going well (enough).

BBB is still at the rehab hospital and doing much better than expected. The hardest thing for her is to remember all the new mobility rules for her new hip. No crossing of the legs, no bending more than 90 degrees/ no hands below the knees, etc.

I've been ordering a bunch of assisted living devices for hip replacement patients. Most are due to be delivered tomorrow and I'm taking a day off from hospital visits so I can spend the day figuring out how to assemble them. Then, Thursday, I load them into the car and take them to rehab so the PT folks can adjust them and teach BBB how to use them.

There is a possibility that BBB will be discharged on Friday if things continue going so well.

Glad to hear that things are going well. Surprised to hear that BBB is coming home so soon.

And the puppies rejoice.

Thanks Butrflynet. One silver lining in this ordeal is that the rest of us elderly A2Kers who have not YET had hips replaced will learn much about the process, from BBB's experience. Assembling devices? and not bending over?

I ordered what is known as a "hip kit" that includes a reach extender for picking dog toys up off the floor and newspapers from the porch, a device for slipping on stockings without bending, a long handled shoe horn, a long-handled hook for brush extenders for the shower, and a couple other long-handled things I can't remember at the moment.

Also ordered what I call an "ejection seat" for her recliner. It is a hydraulic device that is supposed to help ease her down when she sits and help raise her up when she stands. Also ordered what is called a "sofa cane" that has a base that slips under the recliner to help stabilize her as she's standing or sitting.

Ordered a small bed rail/bed cane that slips between the mattresses to help her getting in and out of bed.

Also ordered a couple more reach extenders for other rooms of the house and few things to help her get in and out of my car, and later her car when she tries to drive again.

Hip dislocations are one of the primary complications within the first six months after the surgery until the muscles that surround the new hip get strong enough to help hold it in place. To help prevent that from happening, they tell the patients not to do any bending that is more than 90 degrees or extends the hands past the knee caps, whether they are standing, sitting or laying down.

I understand that the hip dislocation is extremely painful and requires a trip to the ER and the patient to wear an uncomfortable brace to keep it in place.

After her knee surgery, they taught her to stand with the hip doing all the work. Now, after the hip surgery, they're teaching her to use her upper body and back do all the work.

This means that she'll probably soon need more surgery to repair her torn rotator cuff in the shoulder due to all the extra work it is now being required to do.

I'm hoping that a lot of these devices will help prolong the need for that.