I’ve been touched by a scalpel only three times in my life: to
remove a cyst from my wrist, to repair a hernia, and to get rid of a couple of
cataracts. As a newbie to major surgery, I must admit to a little anxiety.
Well, maybe a lot of anxiety. Ok, I’m scared.
Kaiser Permanente seems to understand this. The description
of how the surgery is done verges on a do-it-yourself guide. A graphic slide
show removes the mystery of the procedure, the meditation, visualization and
affirmation tapes I can listen to before, during, and after the operation,
serve to reduce anxiety and promote healing. Click here for a sample: http://74.62.111.169/kaiser/files/successfulSurgery/02_Imagery_For_Surgery.mp3
The one I’ve found most helpful thus far has been a firm,
but gentle, voice inviting me to place myself in an operating room that features
a skilled surgery team, expertly going about their work, while exchanging comments
about how well it’s going. In the room with me are Karen, the rest of my family,
and a circle of good friends, looking on with smiling faces, admiring my
courage.
Yesterday Karen and I attended a 2 ½ hour hip replacement
surgery class. There were nine of us at tables in the conference room at the
Kaiser medical offices three miles from our home in San Marcos. At the front of
the room a screen had been set up for a slide show presentation.
While awaiting the teacher, we quietly filled out forms asking
us about our current physical activity, our daily pain level, and our scheduled
surgery date. Filling the silence, recorded piano music softly played a melody fit
for a funeral home viewing room parlor. An unfortunate choice, I thought, given
the audience. I was relieved to see smiling Nurse Sofia enter the room,
carrying her clipboard and a cheerful greeting.
After Sofia led us through the steps of how best to prepare
for the 1.5 to 2-hour operation, as well as what to expect during and after
surgery, she underlined the importance of preparing an Advance Directive,
naming someone to make health care decisions in keeping with your written wishes
if you’re unable to do so. Karen and I both have Advance Directives, specifying
our wishes to donate our bodies for medical science. Here’s how and where you
can do that: http://www.biogift.org/body-donation-faq.php
A physical therapist followed Nurse Sofia’s presentation.
She described how to keep your new hip from popping out of its socket. It comes
down to avoiding crossing your legs for a couple of months. That will be easy
for me. As a kindergartner I discovered, much to my embarrassment, I was unable
to sit cross-legged. To this day I have been unable to do so. A lotus position has
been only a fantasy throughout my life.
Our last speaker was a discharge agent who reviewed what to
expect upon leaving the hospital. I was delighted to hear that a physical
therapist will visit us at our home twice a week for three weeks.
During recovery I’ll listen to that tape of affirmations
intended to lift my spirits while I cope with the challenges of returning to my
old, but nimbler, self.
I now feel well-prepared for surgery on Tuesday. I can do
this thing. Watch for my next blog, My Aching Hip: Under the Knife Day,
to see how it went.
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