Bionic Man ...

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie has successfully completed in-home physical therapy (PT) - and would you believe he had to pass a test before  graduating to out-patient PT?

He had to demonstrate to the in-home physical therapist that he could stand without loosing his balance.  Then, while standing he was gently pushed left, right, front and back and then, had to reach way out in front of himself - first to the right - then, left -- all while maintaining his balance.

Afterwards, Ernie had to demonstrate that he could get up and down from the toilet, and get in and out of the shower (using a shower stool) without any assistance. From there, he had to demonstrate the new techniques he learned in PT for climbing up and down the stairs without using a crutch.  He basically walks up and down the stairs - slowly flexing his knees - using the handrail for support.

Last - Ernie was given a verbal test to reflect his knowledge that he knew the signs of blood clotting and infection.  Evidently, these are two events that can occur up to a year after surgery. 

Ernie now moves to out-patient PT - beginning Wednesday.  His PT is scheduled for three times a week for eight weeks. A schedule that takes us into the first week of May.  Quite a schedule with lots of homework!  Ernie however, is bound and determined to have us at the cabin after break-up - so PT is his absolute focus for a full and complete recovery.

Today, Ernie saw his doctor - as scheduled - and x-rays were taken of his new knees!   Below is a view of both Ernie's knees -- on the inside.  Rather amazing!!

Below is a side view of Ernie's left knee. 

His knee caps were 'shaved' on the bottom so they would fit accurately over his new knees.

Below is Ernie's right knee - same thing with the knee cap. 

The doctor told Ernie all looks well and fits correctly.

Below is a view of Ernie's knees - looking down.  You can only see his knee caps and muscular knees.

Ernie's next doctor visit wont be until April 19th - so that's a good sign.  All in all Ernie is doing well.  He tires easily and feels run down most of the time - and that's because he anemic.  The doctor said Ernie would feel that way for a couple of more weeks - in the meantime - Ernie is to continue taking iron pills three times a day - and eating lots of greens rich in iron.  It's a good thing he loves spinach.  Liver would be ideal - but Ernie can't stand liver - so a steak will have to do.

A big thank you to everyone for your calls and offers to run errands.  My brother was down from the Slope for a week and ran many an errand to stock us up.  The biggies was getting Ernie's handicap parking sticker at DMV and stocking us up on chipped ice for the 'ice man' - which Ernie uses daily to control swelling.

Again, thank you!

Staples Out ...

Hello Everyone!

On Wednesday, Ernie had the staples removed from his knee insisons -- a total of 66!  We found that amusing because Ernie turned 66 on his birthday - March 17th.  We were wondering if his doctor put 66 staples in to humor Ernie??  Not sure, but Ernie will ask his doctor when he goes in for an office visit Tuesday.

Below is Ernie's self-leg poritrate of his stapled knees before the staples were removed.

Below the staple removal gets underway.

After all 66 staples were removed, Ernie's insions were covered with surgical tape. He will need to continue wearing the compression stockings for 3-6 months.

All thumbs up!  Ernie is moving along and progressing with in-home physical therapy.  Below he is tackling the task of walking up and down stairs.  Next Wednesday he will start with his out-patient physical therapy.  We've been informed that Ernie will be doing physical therapy for eight weeks, three times a week - ending the first week of May. 

As you can see, Ernie is able to stand on his new knees - he does use his walker for walking however - just for balance.  It's amazing - to see him recovering quickly - considering that he had two set backs.

Thank you everyone for your calls, emails and well wishes to Ernie!

Two Steps Back ....

Greetings Everyone!

I've not posted for the past couple of days because Ernie had two set-backs. 

The first occurred when his physical therapist was here - her standard procedure is to take Ernie's vital signs before starting his exercises. One vital sign - is Ernie's intake of oxygen. After she - Sondra completed Ernie's vitals - she started with all the bed exercise Ernie needs to do in order to achieve flexibility and muscle tone.

From there she had Ernie sit up, get out of bed and walk with his walker.  At that point Sondra and I noted how hard Ernie was breathing - almost gasping for breaths.  So she put Ernie back into bed and took his vital signs.  His heart rate and blood pressure were way up - and his oxygen level was very low.

Sondra called Ernie's doctor and left a message - and told me to keep an eye on him after she left. Later, we received a call back from the doctor - instructing Ernie to go to the emergency room.  So Ernie and I got him up and managed to get him down 24 stairs, into the little truck and to the hospital.

At the hospital Ernie was hooked-up to a heart monitor and put on oxygen.  The ER doctor was concerned that Ernie had a blood clot or was developing a heart problem.  So a number of test were administered - Cat Scan, EKG, chest x-ray and blood draws. 

The end results - NO blood clots or heart problems!  However, the blood test showed Ernie was low on iron (anemic) - a result of blood loss from surgery.  Subsequently, his blood was not efficiently carrying oxygen through his system - thus, the labored breathing.  Ernie was told to continue taking the iron pills prescribed by his doctor and given various breathing exercises to follow.

Ernie was discharged from the hospital - and we returned home - slowly climbing back up the 24 stairs.

The next morning - on Ernie's birthday (March 17th) Ernie was doing fine in the morning - BUT  later was 'hit' by severe pain in his left leg. His pain medicine and ice packs were not working! His knee began to swell and his pain escalated. 

We knew that he had to get him to the ER - again - but Ernie couldn't use his leg because of the swelling and the extreme pain. There was no possible way to get him down the stairs - so we call the fire department (911).

The paramedics showed up - and it took them 20 minutes and six men to get Ernie down the stairs - mainly because they had to be extremely cautious maneuvering the stair angles. Ernie arrived at the ER via ambulance --on his birthday.  Below - Ernie in the ER room - no cake and ice cream.



The one good thing about having gone to the ER the day before - was the same doctor and nurse were assigned to work with Ernie - and both were able to see the difference in Ernie's left knee right away. 

After assessing the situation - the doctor suspected 'blood pooling' around Ernie knee.  Blood pooling - from my understanding - is NOT a blood clot - a blood clot is located in a vein or artery and can travel within the body.  Blood pooling is blood seeping into an area and staying there - not uncommon after surgery.  In turn, the pooling blood causes the tissues to swell - and the body has to absorb the pooled blood on its own - then, the swelling will go down.
Below is Ernie's swollen knee.  The band-aid is covering an injection site - where the doctor inserted a needle to aspirate out blood - but got nothing.  This was one of the indicators used to confirm the pooling of blood on the joint.  If there was no pooling blood - then, Ernie would have a different problem. Blood samples were also taken for testing to see if Ernie could possibly have an infection.  Results won't be available until early next week - so we wait.

Finally - we returned home after 2:00 AM.  Although it was late, we humbly celebrated Ernie's birthday with two 'Skinny Cows' - a circular ice cream sandwich.

Take care everyone!



Physical Therapy Really Begins ...

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie is moving along - slowly, but determined.  Tomorrow will be one week since his surgery -  hard to believe.  He still has pain and sleeps a lot.  When he's awake - he is either on the passive motion machines, walking, doing bed exercises or on the 'ice man'/ice packs. 

As you can imagine, his appetite is simple - no big dinners or pizza at this time - just soups, eggs, oatmeal, jello, Popsicles,cottage cheese, fruits, yogurts, and lots of water and juices.

Above is the 'ice man' - the electrical ice pack machine which Ernie uses throughout the day.  Those flat looking pads have little plastic bubbles that the ice water flows through - via the blue hose.  Chipped ice and water go into a cooler  - and recycled through the hoses into the bubble pads. It's a pretty nifty machine. However, we use a lot of ice - so I'm glad its cold out - because I can stash bags of crushed frozen ice outside in a cooler.

The thing in the back ground is one of Ernie's passive motion machines - each one weighs 40 lbs - and Ernie has two -- real fun to lift and place under Ernie's knees throughout the day.

This is what the 'ice man' looks like when its hooked up. Ernie has his legs propped up on pillows - the pillows offer a different position - while Ernie is bed he has to lay on his back or in a siting position - with his legs stretched out - so the pillows offer a bit more comfort.

Today, Ernie had his first in-home physical therapy (PT) session.  In the above photo Ernie is lifting his legs with a bed sheet - leg lifts. He also worked on bending his knees - and ouch!! Although it hurts for him to bend his knees - he MUST - so that he can regain a normal walking gate. 

The therapist, Sondra measured Ernie's knees for the 'degree of bend' so that he will know what to work towards - the goal is to have a 60 degree bend - right now he has a 30 degree bend. The degree of bend will increase throughout therapy - but at two weeks - post surgery - Ernie should work towards a 60 degree bend.

Ernie is scheduled for in-home PT three times a week for two weeks - then, out-patient PT for six weeks. Although the road to recovery will be challenging - Ernie is determined to reach his physical therapy goals so that he can walk without pain.

Again, our heartfelt thanks to our followers for your words of encouragement and support!

True Grit ..

Greetings Everyone!

Sorry to not have gotten back sooner.  Ernie was discharged from the hospital late Friday afternoon - and its been non-stop since then. 

Our first big challenge was for me to haul all of Ernie's recovery stuff out of the hospital - they sent him home with a very fancy blue electrical, circulating ice pack machine  - more like a high-tech ice cooler, loads of 4 x4 sterile gauze, surgical tape, 2 pairs of compress stockings, discharge orders, prescriptions and a walker.

Ernie - all happy to be leaving the hospital.

  I helped him shower at the hospital - and I should have wore my rain gear - live and learn.

Before Ernie was dressed, the nurses instructed and showed me how to prepare Ernie's knees for the shower, and how to change his bandages. 

The second biggest challenge we had - was stuffing Ernie into the front seat of a small Toyota truck.  In case some of you didn't know - our truck blew its' transmission the day before Ernie was scheduled for surgery.  So our truck sits at the mechanics waiting for us to move forward with repairs.  I actually don't know if stuffing Ernie into a small truck would have been any different than trying to lift and shove him into bigger truck.  Feat accomplished however!!

The third challenge was getting Ernie up 21 steps and into the condo! I expected us to take a good hour to climb that 'mountain' - but Ernie just held onto the stairs side rails and went right up - albeit slow.  He rested on the landings and achieved an awesome task in about 20 minutes.

Our first night at the condo was interesting - we both had to figure things out together - like when to use the ice machine, tracking his medications, exercise schedule, when to put him on the 'passive motion machines' and how to get Ernie in and out of bed without killing him. 

 I must admit though, we did have a rather lengthy recovery pamphlet - given to us by the hospital - on what to do and not to do at home to assist Ernie in his recovery. What is not in the pamphlet - is that Ernie would be waking up frequently throughout the night because of discomfort - which he did - every four hours.

I'd then do a few things at the same time -- hook him up to the ice packs or passive motion machines, give him his meds and gently stroke his knees to relieve the discomfort. 

All aside, Ernie is doing well.  Today Ernie accomplished a total of  750 feet - using his walker.  He's continuing with his walking and knee exercise which he does daily, and religiously.  On Monday, the physical therapist will be coming to the condo three times a week - and from what we hear - Ernie will be more challenged to accomplish physical recovery goals.   

In case some of you were curious - these are what Ernie's knees look like right now.  His surgical sites are swollen, black and blue, and he has a number of 'staples' holding things together.  The staples will come out on March 21st. 

 In the above photo - I was changing his bandages - "dressings" - and his compression stockings.

Well, from here on out - we will be at the condo.  The doctor will not approve Ernie to drive for three months, no traveling for eight weeks and no jumping.  So - we will take one day at a time.

Again, we thank each of you for your support, thoughts and well wishes. 

Take care and I'll keep you posted.

Knees' on the mend ..

Greetings Everyone!

Today was a challenge for Ernie.  He was introduced to his first physical therapy session and had the opportunity to try out his new knees -- to see what they feel like.  The first time he walked this morning - it took a lot out of him - baby steps and sheer determination to 'peg-leg walk' about 50 feet. By the time he returned to his bed - he was sweating from head to toe - as though he had run a marathon in less than two hours!

In the afternoon, Ernie had his second physical therapy session.  It was much easier for him and he was able to slowly walk half-way around the orthopedic ward.  As with all knee replacements, he will need to use a walker for a few weeks.  One of Ernie's best assets is his upper body strength -- which he'll need to use a lot of to support his body. 

The man behind Ernie - is the physical therapist - he's holding onto the orange belt strapped around Ernie. 

The physical therapist was quite pleased that Ernie was able to get up and move about - it seems that not everyone who has had a double knee replacement can stand and walk the second day. 

Well, this is what Ernie's knees look like in the hospital - all bandaged up.  His legs are resting on a 'passive motion machine' that slowly moves back and forth - like he's on a bicycle.  The machine is used to reduce the chance of getting blood clots, keeps the ligaments from 'binding' and to reduce scare tissue.  Ernie will need to use the passive motion machine for about three weeks.

The white booties are 'compression boots' - they gently squeeze Ernie's feet then, relax - they are another device to reduce blood clotting.

In the above photo - Ernie is speaking on the phone to his son - with his 'self-administering' pain machine by his side.  He's on some pretty strong meds for pain - the nurses use a key to open and close the machine, and some code to regulate the dosage and frequency.  With all the pain meds he's taking - Ernie will doze off in the middle of a conversation - or forget what he was talking about.  He's still on a clear liquid diet - because the meds make him nauseated and dizzy at times - one med even makes him itch.  Some of the stuff he tells me is funny - like - "... you know they have me on heroin."

Tomorrow, he will be taken off of the self-administer pain machine - and be given pain meds orally.  He'll also be able to take his first shower.  He may come home as well - but we are not sure.  He still has to do the stairs in physical therapy and be free of the dizzy spells.  So we will see.

I'm prepared for Ernie to return home.  I've done all the grocery shopping, stocked up on items and obtained the items the doctor told me to have on hand.  Home by the way, is to my brothers' condo here in Anchorage -- because we cannot return to our cabin until after break-up. 

Again, thanks to each you for your concern, support and calls.  I'll keep you posted. 

Successful..

Greetings Everyone!

Ernie's surgery went well and he's now on the mend.!

After surgery, the surgeon told me that Ernie's knees were 'pretty bad' but that he has great 'bone structure and very good ligaments' so his new knees will serve him well.

While Ernie was in recovery - still under anesthesia - he kept telling the nurses that he had to leave because there was a blizzard coming and he had to move the boat.  Obviously, our cabin was not far from his thoughts.

Ernie is in a hospital room by himself and zoning out.  He's under heavy medication for pain, circulating cold water packs are on each leg and he's hooked-up to machines to monitor his vital signs - and to a separate machine that allows him to push a button for self-pain-administration. Ernie can only push the pain button every eight minutes - the dosage and intervals are set and locked - so Ernie cannot push the button non-stop or over dose himself.

This is not Ernie - but it's such a refreshing picture - and like Alice In Wonderland - I feel motivated to include a picture.  I trust some of you reading this can recognize the person and location -- ???

I would like to thank each of you who have called, texted or emailed me on Ernie's progress.  Your prayers, positive thoughts and friendship 'shout-outs' are greatly appreciated and heartfelt.  I've relayed all of your sediments and well wishes to Ernie - during his lucid times - and we are greatly humbled by all of your expressions of friendship, love and concern.

Take care - I'll keep you posted

Surgery Day Cometh ...

Greetings Everyone!

We've been in Anchorage - preparing for Ernie's knee surgery.  He's been busy doing  pre-op, physical and hospital registration.  Ernie will have surgery at Alaska Regional Hospital, Wednesday, March 7th at 9:00 am.  The doctor expects to have Ernie in surgery for about 65 minutes. 

After surgery Ernie will go to 'recovery' for about an hour or so - then, up to his room.  We expect Ernie to be in the hospital for three days.  He'll be discharged when he can demonstrate to the physical therapist that he can walk up a flight of steps.

So what does a 'total knee replacement' mean?  It's actually a cartilage replacement with an artificial surface.  Ernie's knees' will not be replaced, as is commonly thought, but rather an artificial substitute for the cartilage is inserted on the end of the bones.  This is done with a metal alloy on the femur and plastic spacer on the tibia and kneecap.  This will create a new smooth cushion and a functioning joint that does not hurt.  Hopefully, Ernie will not experience the knee pain that's he's been having for the last couple of years. 

So what does Rocky have to do with Ernie's surgery?  Absolutely nothing - but like Alice In Wonderland - "What's a book without pictures?"  -- so I've just inserted a picture.

Oh yes, on the eve of Ernie's surgery - our truck's transmission went out.  So now our truck sits at the garage - after being towed - and we'll need to deal with the truck problem while Ernie is in the hospital.  We do have a full moon so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the truck.   We are just thankful the truck didn't breakdown while we were out of Anchorage.

Well - I'm off to assist Ernie with his 'surgical shower' this evening.  He needs to shower with a surgical soap - tomorrow morning he will repeat the process and then, label each knee with his doctor's name.  I suppose this is 'surgical art' per the doctors' instructions - it adds to the fun.

How are we doing?  Ernie is mentally ready and fully expects to have pain from surgery - and he's a bit nervous going into surgery - but who wouldn't be?.  I'm fully prepared to be Florence Nightingale - and feel a bit nervous too - having the man I love go through the procedure.  All in all, we both are looking forward to having this unique adventure behind us - and recovery before us.

Take care - I'll let you all know how Ernie is doing.

Snow & More Snow

Greeting Everyone!

We've been getting a LOT of snow this year - and its been fun to take advantage of it --- cross country skiing and snowmachining!  The snow turned to the powder kind a couple of days ago - so its perfect.

Our cabin - showing off the snows.

Another view of our cabin from the lake.

Friends - Nancy and Vince stopped by to invite us to join them on a snowmachining adventure out on the lake.

So - we all took off and went zooming around.  We went up lake, just past the glacier but turned back because of overflow.

Ernie took this photo - left to right - me, Nancy and Vince.  The snow is quite powder like - so we had fun going fast across and around the lake.  Ernie got his Arctic Cat snowmachine - a heavy workhorse model -- to go 60 mph.  Vince got his machine to go faster and at times, all we could see was a 'roster tail' of snow flying from behind his machine.

Of course we had to check out the Upper Landing - lots of deep snow.  The parking lot and road down to the ramp were not plowed.  Making it fun to zip around.  Ernie is coming down towards the ramp in the above photo.

Taking a rare moment to check out Gull Rock. 

Yesterday, we celebrated Leap Year with our friends, Gunther, Bridgett, Kirby, Vincent & Nancy. Our event started out at Gunther and Brigetts' cabin with three yummy homemade pizzas and two salads.  Bridgett tried her pizza skills - and succeeded - in making a pineapple and Canadian bacon pizza for Kirby - which we all ate. After stuffing ourselves, we 'leaped'  over to our cabin on snowmachines for peach cobble, jokes and more conversation. 

During our conversations - the idea came up that next year - we'd have a 'stations of the cabins' event to celebrate the coming of Spring.  Each cabin site - with an owner present - would have a task for participants to complete.  Not sure what the task would be - suggestions ranged from shooting a bow & arrow at a designated target to seeing who could flip a pancake the highest into the air.  It was even suggested that we have a day long breakfast!

Before we went over to Gunther's cabin - we stopped to visit our friend Kenny to see how his work was coming along with his water pump and to remind him of the 'leap year party'.  Kenny however, had a friend who had come to help him for the day and would be taking his friend, Tim back across the lake - so he wouldn't be coming to the party. 

 What surprised me most about our visit with Kenny and meeting his friend --- is that Tim knows and works with my brother on the North Slope!!  My brother is an avid Sea Hawk fan and Tim is an avid Packers fan.  What a small world!  

Now on a note of a different tune -- Ernie and I will be leaving our cabin for this year's Spring Breakup.  Ernie is scheduled for  'double knee replacement surgery' on March 7th -- so we are going into Anchorage and expect to be there until May or when the ice goes out from the lake - whichever comes first. 

We are sad to leave our home - but Ernie has been having too much pain with his knees for the past couple of years and his mobility is slowing down.  So it's time for surgery.  I will keep you posted through our blog as to his surgery and progress.

Gunther and Bridgett will remain on the island though break-up and our friend, Kirby may also stay.  Of course, Kenny and Clancy will be out frequently.

Take care everyone and I'll keep you posted on Ernie's progress.