Zach's Blog [ Recovery Edition! ]

I woke up this morning to head down to Englewood to my PM specialist appointment. Unfortunately, I reported that while things have been generally going better on the increased regimen, only hours later I was about to be subjected to yet another surgery. After my appointment, I downed my pre-surgery Ensure... it was really gross. At any rate, I checked in for surgery early and as a result got a bed so I was a bit more comfortable prior to the surgery. Around 1:30PM things started to kick into gear. I met with my anesthesiologist, agreed to be put under general for the procedure, but interestingly, given the abbreviated procedure (wasn't going to be 3-5 hours) they told me they didn't need to put in a breathing tube and instead something would be inserted into my mouth to just keep my airway open from my tongue. She then asked how I was doing on pain. I hadn't taken anything for the 12 hours prior, so she was kind enough prior to surgery to get some meds into my system. I end...

Brief PM update: after physical therapy, there is popping and some level of bending in my knee. I will need to let my limb specialist know this before I head into surgery tomorrow so they can check the screws and the cement to ensure there isn't (a)septic loosening of the fusion AND regardless hopefully fix the issue when they have me open. To me, if feels like something has come apart in my leg, things are unstable and it is quite painful at the current moment. Wish me the best and hope this is something simple they can fix without making the pain any worse than it is currently, or requiring a longer/more invasive surgery that will require some post-surgical hospitalization. So I just got back from an appointment prior to the holidays with my ortho specialist. Given the patch-up job from last Friday doesn't seem to be resolving my drainage issue, they are wanting to whisk me into surgery tomorrow. It would be sad, if it wasn't funny at this point stating that I'm used ...

I'd be remiss and/or lying to myself to not address the issue of the general lack of updates since I put this blog together. As mentioned previously, this is due, in part, by the fact I have just been extremely busy. A combination of provider appointments, sleeping and in general - additional life stuff that has come up (one of many being the sewer went out). Regardless, I am making the effort to put together a first post to this blog with the intention of not bringing us current (that is something I'll have to get to later), but rather to explain how I've been, what's been concerning me and how I have been managing to cope with these stresses. In order to be effective with this, I am really going to try my best to not go off on tangents on what has already happened. Anyways, I had four appointments last week. Tuesday, one with my PT, who I hadn't seen in a while. He was generally empathetic and sympathetic to what I was going through - he himself knowing my ongoing...

Note: please excuse the mess, this is a bit of a WIP, empassioned rant; by which I don't possess neither the time nor energy currently. This is some food-for-thought that attempts to hit at the heart of the paradox, ignorance, status-quo and general ironic-hypocracy of many doctors. While exposing the general heartless ineptitude that forces them to work brainlessly, algorithmically and using flow-charts in this one-size-fits-all approach to medicine. Which stands next to, in stark contrast, the real good ones out there... heart and soul people - really successful, compassionate free-thinkers, full of heart, capable of nuance and self-derived discernment, judgment thought and figuring out how to help you and in the event they can't... they will be honest about that too. You are welcome to read-on, but please realize portion of it may read like a rant until someday later, where I feel less sick. Remember, we all are deserving of love, kindness, shelter, food, compassion, respe...