Dinner Is Served!

When Nyel’s surgeon said, “I wouldn’t be at all unhappy if you told me at your next appointment that you had spent the intervening time as a complete couch potato,” we sort of laughed. Yesterday it began to sink in.

Except for necessary transport to doctor visits, it seems likely that Nyel will spend the next three months in bed. For everything. So, we’ve been in training. First there are Exercises-for-Two-Arms-and-One-Leg. Then there are the Turn-to-the-Right-and-Prop-with-Pillows positions to master. Next, the same thing to the Left Side. Always being careful to support the bad leg and make sure the muscle is not tightened, even inadvertently.

“You have to guard against bed sores,” said one worker bee. “Remember to keep your leg ‘quiet’ even when we’re moving you,” said another. “Don’t try to do anything by yourself,” they all say. “Not at first, anyway.” “Pretend your leg is dead,” said someone else.

Moving the Good Leg

And speaking of dead – someone came in late in the day and said, “Oh good. You’re nice and pink!” It seems that the monitor was reporting that he had flat-lined. All I could think was, “So why weren’t you running? Or at least not sauntering?” It was scary.

Meanwhile, the hospital computers were down most of the day so communication was pretty limited. We don’t know if arrangements have been made for a hospital bed. Nor do we know if any progress has been made on home health care. The last we heard is that it is not possible but, of course, we know it is. I think it’s time for the non-combatant (that would be me) to go into the Ramona-Quimby-Great-Big-Noisy-Fuss mode.

We still have tomorrow morning to get these ducks in a row. So maybe it will be one of those “all of a sudden” things. We can but hope. We want to give Number One Couch Potato every chance to be successful and to make his doctor proud. But it ain’t easy…