Day 175

It is hard to believe that today is day 175 of retirement or as I can now say day 35 with these 2 new amazing hips. I must apologize as I said I was going to keep people updated on my BLOG. Easier said than done as I did not want to use my phone to type. Today I have lots of energy so I will hammer the keys on the computer for a while to share some updates. I won’t cover everything today but this will be a start.

March 20, 2019….first day of Spring, start of Purim and Gord gets new hips.

I remember the morning very well. The sky was very clear and a brilliant blue as Roxanne and I drove to the hospital. I wanted to drive as I knew it would be a while before I could drive again. Even when we got the the hospital I let Roxanne off at the door with everything and I went and parked her car. I thought I could prolong the surgery just a little longer. I wanted to keep my independence as long as I could.

I won’t remember every detail of my hospital stay but over the coming days will try to write as much as I can. Surgery was scheduled for 11:10, we got there about 9:30. There were a number of other people also there to have knee or hip replacements. It was very apparent I was the youngest that day. Not only the youngest but the only one that day who was going to be having a bi-lateral hip replacement. “The 2 for 1 special.”

When it was time to come and wheel me to the operating room, I told the nurse we needed a moment. I wanted to pray with Roxanne before it was time to go, The nurse said she would even pray with us…Roxanne and I both shed a few tears, then it was time for me to go. I reminded myself NO FEAR, and the Lord is with you.

Into the operating room I go. I knew my surgeon and although he is quiet he is a great guy. I was introduced to the others and remembered their names. Just prior to them getting ready “to do what they needed to do“. I said keep working I want to pray. So I prayed verbally and thanked the Lord for their talents and abilities. I asked the Lord to bless them and their families, that it would be an easy surgery and that I would recover faster than normal. Then it was AMEN, there were 6 in the room and I heard at least 3 AMENS when I finished. It was a not a spur of the moment decision to pray, I had felt the Lord’s nudging for many days that I needed to pray before the surgery. I wanted to thank the Lord for the team in the room. Beyond their skills in the operating room, but even for their day to day lives.

After Amen, I did not remember anything else until I was in the recovery room a couple of hours later. A short while in recovery and then to my hospital room, where it would be wonderful to see Roxanne’s face. I will talk more about Roxanne in the coming posts, but I have seen over and over and over this past month how truly amazing Roxanne is. What a blessing from God. I could not have asked for a better wife and best friend. She is a miracle.

I am sure the pain medicine they gave me was good as I was smiling as you can see in the picture at the start of the Blog. We took the picture shortly after coming back to the room. We had 2 amazing couples come visit later in the day, it was great to see friends.

Physio came in later in the night and sat me up. They wanted me to try and walk a few steps. I think I could have done it, but they say that I looked a little “green” so they decided to pass on the steps but I did sit on the side of the bed for a while.

That was the end of day one. I can confirm that all arthritis pain was gone, the only pain I had was the surgical pain. So when people tell you that the arthritis pain is gone at the outset, it is…..

Well I hope you enjoyed reading day 1, and I will try to write more in the coming days. Thank you everyone.