Author: Doug Rutherford

I woke up this morning with about thirty seconds warning that Shawna was bringing Hanna and my Father’s Day present. I got a Toronto Maple Leafs condiment set. It is set in a stand with an umbrella and a salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard dispensers. This received in bed from a 14 month old, who immediately proceeded to open my present and play with the contents, is a fabulous way to start your morning.

I noticed that I’m feeling better today. After Shawna and Hanna left, after playing and two kisses for Poppie, I had a bit of lunch and sat around for a bit. Then, I watered the lawn and flowers, filled the feeder and did a few little lawn things. By that point, it was about 20° and sunny. I decided that I actually was in good enough shape for my first, unescorted road trip. This actually entailed going in to work to discuss my upcoming surgery woes, but it was a road trip, nonetheless.

I also got to see a few people, troubleshooted someone’s server issues and, generally, gabbed a bit. It was the first time in two weeks I’d driven by myself after the knee work, but yesterday was the first time I’d driven at all since then. I suddenly feel considerably better. Why? I’m not sure what the source is, but really don’t care either way…

If I remember correctly, the tagline for Jaws II was, “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…”

It seems that we have solved why I have been miserable all winter. I was not feeling very well late Friday night and all day Saturday, coming down with what I thought was a bladder infection, so I decided Saturday night that I was going to pop in to emergency Sunday and get some antibiotics for it. As I mentioned, I’ve had an ongoing colon infection all year too.

After discussing my symptoms, a urine test (damn, I hate the multiple choice questions) and blood work, the on call doctor handed me off to the on call surgeon who put two and two together and wrapped everything up into a nice little package. I’m supposed to go to a specialist in July to see if the current idea of what my colon issue was and she not only confirmed that was probably the case but also that the bladder problem was the same issue. Apparently, I have a fistula, a connection between the bladder and colon and not a good thing to have, by the way. Actually, I don’t think there really is a good colon problem to have.

I’m sure things could be worse. I’ll probably look far more cheery when it’s finally fixed and won’t have to answer people about why I look so different by saying, “Must be the new sweater” or “new glasses.” Remember to point your finger upwards when you use the last one…

Now bluntly, I’m actually happy that it’s finally figured out. One small part of my brain constantly reminded me that the last really healthy day I had, there was a cigarette in my hand and fixing the problem was probably very easy. I try not to listen to that part of my brain. 

The diagnosis, however, it means that I require surgery very, very shortly and I vaguely remember doing that two weeks ago. In short, this coming week, when I have a bit more mobility with my knee after the stitches come out tomorrow, will may well be my summer. It means that all the course prep work that I was looking forward to doing in August will probably be done the day before my courses start for all I know, although I have no real inkling if I will be back to work when that happens. I have to call the chair tomorrow and start looking at changing when my courses start and the length of time they run.

Daryl Stenson called me last week and asked if I want to go fishing on Saturday. I said that, in all probability, I’d like to go. The answer has now changed to “HELL, YAH!” It will probably be the only time I go this summer so I’m looking forward to it…

One week down and all’s well. Things have good as expected and I am moving around with no difficulties, other than I don’t really go very fast. I take my cane when I’m going on huge adventures, namely involving stairs and uneven ground, but don’t use it much indoors. My wild painkillers are Tylenol and Ibuprofen, and I still have half of my T-3s left over for a worthy occasion. I have a colon infection that’s been bugging me since February and, quite frankly, it’s been far more of an issue than my surgery.

I have been on several great adventures. Today, I went to the hospital for bloodwork and then downtown and for groceries. I’ve been upstairs several times and have decided that sleeping in my far more comfortable bed is tonight’s plan. I did some puttering in the yard today as well.

I will admit that this one has taken a little longer to recover from and I suspect he did far more grinding than he did last time. There were more than a dozen bone spurs to get rid of and one particular place where there wasn’t enough room for one piece to get past the other when I bent my knee which has been fixed.  Full recovery should take about six months. It’s just a question of time and now, it’s time for a nap, I think…

For those of you not familiar with the lodgepole pine tree, it is a beautiful tree. The name comes from its long, straight, thin trunks. Even in high winds, when you think they were so flimsy, they bend and flex and stand tall at the end of the storm. OK, I like pine trees. I also have quite a few in my yard and, given the wilderness surrounding the city, am completely enclosed in them.

But, most of us here have a complete week-long hatred of the pine tree. That’s because of their pollen, a fine, yellow dust that covers everything, inside and out. Those who are allergic to pollen find it even more hateful,  as they put out vast quantities of the dust and there is really no escaping it. I’ve had my computer out on the deck with me for 15 minutes and I will have to use compressed air to blow out the fans.

With my lack of mobility, I don’t have my usual method of dealing with this available… or at least until tomorrow. During the week pine trees pollenate, I usually have to hose off the decks and verandas, and everything on them, daily. The same holds true with the vehicles.

Note how much is on the windshield of my truck. Then consider that it rained yesterday so much of it washed off. And, then you have to keep in mind the fact that there will be as much the next day, and the next day, and so on.

But, we must take the bad with the good. Pollen time is definitely the bad part, but when you think of the wildlife that lives in my pine trees, it’s not so bad. We have lots of birds, squirrels, boreal and great horned owls and, of course, Dean, the pine marten who does hang out in the back yard from time to time. It’s certainly a tradeoff I’m willing to make…

Fortunately, I don’t have a lot of hair to pull out. Recovering from knee surgery, or any type I guess, is almost as exciting as watching grass grow. In fact, that’s one of the few different activities available to me at the moment.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining about substantive things. My complaint lies with the time-honoured intangible. I know there’s something I’d like to do other than hanging around the house. I’m not totally sure what it is, though.

I know that there are things I’m just not capable of doing right now. I know I should mow the lawn and I should clean out the camper. Ç’est la vie. None of these is going to happen for a bit. But, I have this stupid feeling that I should be doing something particular and can’t figure out what it is I’m supposed to be doing. It’s very frustrating. I realize that it’s probably a side effect of being laid up, but knowing this doesn’t seem to help.

I guess, in this case, there’s only one thing to do and that is quote the classics. And, there is an appropriate quote that seems to work here: “Oh, bother.”

Sums it up for me….

I slept pretty well last night, short of the fact that I woke up every few hours and was a wee bit restless. I can only lay in one position for so long and there’s big production values involved in rolling over.

That being said, I have far more pain today than previously and have been a bit more attentive about my pain killers. Like the slogan goes, “Just Say Yes to Drugs.”

This is the magic day, where the 48 hours after surgery deadline kicks in. In about 1 1/2 hours, I can legally sign documents. And, since this is Day 2, I got to take the dressing off. It’s not horribly ugly, you will all be pleased to know. My knee is a bit swollen although I did have to change the dressing yesterday and it was much puffier. I see they don’t use the horrendous yellow-orange antiseptic anymore. My paint job was a purplish-pink and looked a lot like I was quite bruised until I got it washed off. There are the three tiny incisions and they aren’t leaking at all.

I still, however, have the surgeon’s initials Sharpied on my left kneecap. It’s how, along with asking me about six times on Tuesday, everyone is on the same page with which knee is supposed to be worked on. Note: we are to always refer to the left knee as being the “correct” one, not the “right” one.

But, I really am not moving along very quickly and it will be a few more days before I even think of going out anywhere. I’m still not up for the adventure of going outside too far or upstairs to the 2nd floor. Stairs are a wee bit daunting yet. However, if the weather clears a bit, I may go on the grand adventure of going out to the deck. It’s a tiny little step down from the veranda and more than easy to deal with… even when you trundle along as badly as I do. The fun part is that, apparently, I’m allowed to drive now. That is, if I decided to avoid my pain killers (may cause drowsiness. May?)

That being said, it’s nap time again. I’ve been awake for 4 hours and that’s my record for this week so far. I’m not interested in setting records yet either…

I had my knee repaired again yesterday. I’m not totally sure how much of what got done, other than generically.

The plans were to grind down the rough spots, grind down any bone spurs that may be catching on other parts of the knee. He also washed out the joint to remove any bone pieces that may have been floating in the knee and cut any loose flaps of cartlidge that may be there.

Last, but not least, the idea of the surgery was a chance for an inspection tour and see if the X-rays may be a bit more optimistic than the actual facts. While the pain level is closer to what one would expect with Stage IV arthritis, the X-rays suggest that I’m only at Stage III. Stage IV, the worst case, is where you get a knee replacement, regardless of age.

However, I didn’t get to see the doctor after surgery. He had more in the queue so I’ll actually get the report when I get the stitches out in two weeks.

Generally, I don’t move very quickly and usually run around the house, when necessary, with my cane. It’s a bit sore but I have lovely drugs that keep it in line and I’m allowed to stack my pain killers. T-3s and ibuprofen are a legal mix and I have spread them two hours apart.

As for the visual evidence, there isn’t much to see. Just a tensor bandage over a 6×6 telfa pad, which I can get rid of tomorrow afternoon. There will be three little incisions: one for the light, one for the camera and one for the tools.  Each is an X less than 1/2 inch long.

The interesting point is that there are some important things to consider with anaesthesia. I am considered impaired and cannot drive for 24 hours after surgery. However, I am also considered impaired and cannot sign a legal document for 48 hours after surgery. I’m not sure why there’s a discrepency. It doesn’t really matter much as I have been condemned to imprisonment on the first floor of the house by Clara, and her rules take precedence…