My least favorite part of surgeries.

What is my least favorite part? The paranoia that comes along the road to recovery. I use the term paranoia quite accurately--just ask Dan. My OCD kicks into high gear for a while after one of Dan's surgeries or procedures. This is good (looking out for symptoms, catching complications quickly, etc.) and bad (the constant feeling of wondering when the other shoe is going to drop, being an annoying nurse-wife, tears, sleepless nights, etc.) I really don't mean to become this person, but it nearly always happens. Dan says I'm getting better. After 5 years of this non-sense, I'd better be getting better!

All of this to say, my paranoia is proving a bit correct this time.

In the post-op period of his hip replacement we knew we were going to be worried about several things and that we would have to be constantly on guard for certain symptoms. These include:

1. Deep vein thrombosis: watching for swelling in a limb that is already swollen from surgery is a little difficult. Asking Dan if he has pain in his leg is also interesting. Even though his platelets are low, he is still at risk for a blood clot. Since his platelets are too low for a preventive blood thinners, we have to just hope that Dan's mobility and exercises will be enough.

2. Infection: monitoring fevers, watching for infectious changes at the incision site, increased pain, etc. Unfortunately for Dan, his white count (the infection fighting cells) are also lower than normal. This could be simply a reaction from the surgery, but that means that his body does not have a typical army to fight off germs. Even movie theaters and fresh fruits and veggies can be the difference between home and hospital. And no showers until the staples come out--gross.

3. Dislocation: no bending more than 90 degrees, no crossing legs and no turning his foot inward. These are the 'hip precautions' that now rule our home. Elevated seats and toilets, grabbers for picking things up, sleeping with a very large pillow between his legs...makes for an interesting house! (On a good note: the surgeon said he tried to dislocate Dan's new hip after surgery and could not.)

4. Bleeding: Dan has low platelets (the clotting cells). This puts him at higher risk for bleeding. We have to watch out for hematomas or other signs of bleeding. Also, he has some pretty incredible bruises to show for it.

Now that we're all on the same page about what we're worried about, let me be frank about what's going on. Dan went for 3 days without fevers, so we thought we were in the clear. He finished his last run of antibiotics today and he was feeling good. Tonight, he developed a low-grade temp again. Grr. If it hits 100.4 F, he gets another trip to the hospital. So, he's now wandering around the apartment with ice packs and tylenol coursing through his system. It better work!

Also, he had a follow-up with his oncologist (cancer doctor) yesterday because his blood counts were not rebounding as fast as we'd like. He's now on bleeding precautions, neutropenic precautions (strict infection prevention) and waiting for the doctor to get some medicine approved to boost his immune system. He'll have to go in for shots 3 times next week (if insurance says yes). He's a bit irritated about not having fresh fruits or veggies, too.

He says the pain is very tolerable. He's literally walking all over the place. Per the physical therapist's recommendation, he doesn't sit for longer than 30-40 minutes at a time. He even tried walking around the apartment without a walker or cane--he did great! PT is very impressed with his progress. Yay!
He'll see the surgeon for a post-op next week, hopefully have the staples removed and get a general feel for how his recovery is coming along.

Dan is as optimistic as he has ever been. He doesn't complain about much of anything. He's still happy that he got the surgery and feels that things will smooth out fine.

I am the one who worries for the both of us. (Yep, the Bible says not to worry. Working on it.) We have moments that feel so normal and stress-free. Then, he gets a fever or his incision starts to bleed or his leg swells more than it has been. He stays calm, I go into hyper-vigilant nurse mode. Sometimes, I just really miss being a wife to a great guy, instead of a live-in nurse to a cancer patient. Dan, for the record, says he misses just being a hot husband instead of being a home health patient. Just a moment of honesty.

This period is just stressful. We know it will pass, but yikes, it is NOT fun right now.

For those of you in the area, I will be going back to work next week and Dan will still not be able to drive anywhere. He is fairly independent at home, but in the case of an emergent need, it would be good to have someone around. Also, since his immune system is low and he's not supposed to be out and about much, this apartment is going to get lonely fast. So, we are really hoping that people would come on over to visit or bring some meals for him or something. Prayers are amazing and needed, but we need some material and physical help, too. If you're willing, let us know!

Alright, so prayer requests seem pretty obvious at this point:
1. No blood clots.
2. No infections.
3. No dislocations.
4. No bleeding.
5. No more trips to the hospital.
6. The perseverance to be just be husband and wife.
7. No more cancer.