She's on her way to rehab!

Dinah was wheeled out of her room with all her baggage 5 minutes ago headed toward the ambulance.

In an hour or so (Say 1:30PM MDT) she should be moved into her room at the rehab in Las Cruces.

Progress!

Today is the day! - Las Cruces here we come

As of 9AM this morning, there is a space for Dinah in rehab and she is scheduled to depart Las Palmas Medical Center at 11AM today.  We have packed up all her stuff and she is rarin to go!
Last evening she had a visit from her sewing buddy Stella, who happens to work in the same hospital as a neo-natal nurse.  After a visit, I left and Stella gave Dinah a bed bath - her best so far.

In trying to describe the break in Dinah's femur I said  "The break started on the inside of the femur, perhaps 1/4 of the way down the bone and 1/2 way down the shaft of the replacement. It then curved up to the top of the bone near its center."  But the Dr said "Periprosthetic fracture type A, however, the fracture line going only 2 centimeters proximal to distal fixation, large displaced medial fragment."  I hope that clears things up!

I'm packing up the motor home so I'll be ready to move when Dinah does.  If all goes well, the next report will be from Las Cruces.

Release to Rehab

This morning (Wednesday) both of Dinah's Drs (Lung and general) have approved her release to rehab.  But the wheels grind slowly; It may happen today, or maybe not until tomorrow.  In the meantime, she is schedule for an AM and a PM walking therapy session today. She had her first therapy session yesterday and walked perhaps 20 feet down the hall and back, and did not have a lot of pain as a result, very good news. Last evening she had a visit from Ron Green, an RVing friend.

Dinah is in minimal pain and good spirits

The animals and I are doing fine in our home away from home.  I planned to eat my meals in the motor home, but Dinah has found that she gets more food than she needs, so I get to eat the stuff she doesn't like, plus what is left over from what she does.

Las Palmas Medical Center is on the left. I'm parked in an employees lot.

Blood Clot

Dinah arrived at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso by ambulance on Saturday night, and on Sunday they started medications to thin her blood to avoid additional blood clots.  It has taken a couple of days to get things in order, but as of today she has been cleared to begin physical therapy and she had her first session this afternoon (Tuesday 20 March).  We hope she will be released in a few days, and will then return to rehab in Las Cruces.  We have our fingers crossed!

Here's Dinah looking chipper in her bed in Room 310 of Las Palmas Medical Center.

A Second Operation

Late Friday Dinah returned to surgery. The plan was to replace the long portion of the replacement with a longer one that would go deeper into the left femur bone.  But when the Dr got inside, he decided on a different approach and nothing was removed.  The break started on the inside of the femur, perhaps 1/4 of the way down the bone and 1/2 way down the shaft of the replacement. It then curved up to the top of the bone near its center.  So they used some medical "zip ties" to bind the bone back together.  In the x-rays in looks like a bunch of skinny hose clamps pulling the broken piece of bone back into place. The operation went well and I believe she slept well Friday night.
But on Saturday morning it was apparent that something was wrong; her vital signs were not where they should be and she was very uncomfortable, and not very coherent.

She was given a CT scan which showed a pulmonary embolism; a clot in her lung. El Paso Specialty Hospital was not equipped to handle emergencies that might arise from the clot, so early Saturday evening she was transferred to Las Palmas Medical Center, about 2 miles away in El Paso.

OOPS!

Dinah entered the Rehabilitation Hospital of Southern New Mexico as a patient Thursday evening.  She found the facility to be well designed, well maintained and clean.  The staff and the food were great.  She got about three hours of therapy a day and was doing well. Except when doing therapy she moved about by wheelchair.

  But on Wednesday morning she attempted to dress herself with out help, fell, and broke her left femur about half way up the shaft of the new hip replacement.  Late Thursday she was returned to El Paso Specialty Hospital.  I followed the next day in the motor home.

Hip Hip Horray!

Dinah has been having hip pain for some time now, and it was decided that she needed to have her left hip replaced (Her right had been replaced in 2006). The surgery was scheduled for Monday 5 March, and we drove to El Paso Specialty Hospital (where the surgery was to be done by Dr Bean) on Sunday afternoon in the motor home with our 2 dogs, 3 cats, and 2 visiting cats.  The surgery was completed Monday morning with no hitches and she began to recover quickly.

 Dinah received two units of blood after the surgery.

  She was released Thursday afternoon and transferred to the Southern New Mexico Rehabilitation Hospital in Las Cruces.  I followed the next morning with the motor home and animals.