I’m not big on reflection, but every once in a while…

A brief history (and maybe telling tales out of school):  in 2012, while enjoying perhaps a wee bit too much of the local beverage in a small village in Burgundy, France, Steve fell getting out of bed (don’t ask) and did some serious damage to his left knee.  The following year he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus. 

Fast forward a few years and Steve started to limp again, same leg.  By the time we headed off to Portugal last fall, he was walking with a cane.  (An aside: you and your traveling companions get priority service in an airport if you’re considered disabled.)  Sciatica was suspected but, apparently, that’s hard to diagnose.  It got so bad, Steve finally insisted that, regardless of whatever else was wrong with him, his doctor had to address the pain in his ass, literally. 

Have you ever heard of a physiatrist?  Neither had we but our doctor daughter sure knew about this specialty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  Steve asked our GP for a referral and the wheels started moving as of that consult with the specialist last November.  In retrospect, they moved very quickly taking into consideration wait lists in our Canadian healthcare system, not to mention a global pandemic.  Severe arthritis was confirmed and Steve was channeled through something called the Rapid Access Centre in February where they completed a further assessment, agreed he needed a hip replacement, and determined that his hospital of preference would be Credit Valley, highly reputable and only 8 minutes from home.  Next step was to be assigned a surgeon but the process was rudely interrupted by Covid-19.  So much for fast-tracking as everything — and we all know everything — came to a grinding halt.  Disappointed was an understatement. 

To our surprise, Dr. Chakravertty called to introduce himself in June; basically his message was “don’t call us, we’ll call you”.  Ok, that was a tiny step forward but with no expectations of surgery this year, or maybe even next year, we were not hopeful. 

Steve had a successful total hip replacement last Friday, October 9, 2020.  We had 2 weeks notice to get our house in order and our anxiety under control. 

In June, Steve made the choice to have day surgery — yes, day surgery — because Dr. C thought it would be at least another year before Covid protocols were put in place for in-Patient elective surgery. 

This blog post is about gratitude, appropriate timing for this recent Thanksgiving weekend, so here goes:

We have a GP, Dr. Seidl, who is very thorough and who believes in preventative medicine.  She was quick to find and refer Steve to a physiatrist.  She is patient and compassionate, always giving you the time you need and always making you feel that your health is the most important part of her day.  She’s made this Covid thing work by keeping routine appointments by phone.  And, she is checking in regularly now as we monitor Steve’s blood pressure, which went kind of wonky in hospital and early days at home.  We are grateful.

Dr. Dziedzic, the physiatrist and very informative, listened carefully and spent a good amount of time with Steve, then both of us, providing, finally, a diagnosis that could be actioned.  We are grateful.

Dr. Chakravertty gave Steve a new hip.  I’d say “enough said” but then I’d feel guilty.  As you might imagine, having the top of your femur sawed off, your hip socket reamed out, and a new hip ball on a spike hammered into the remaining part of your femur, is a wee bit unsettling.  Dr. C took the time to fully explain the procedure and to reassure both of us that he knew what he was doing.  He checked in with us, twice, in the pre-surgery holding area, he phoned me post-surgery to assure me that all went well, he checked in again in the post-surgery day care and, quite unexpectedly, he called yesterday, six days post surgery, to see how everything was going.  Super attentive, personable, and most importantly, competent.  We are grateful.

Although each member of the entire hospital team (and there were many) introduced themselves, I remember no ones name.  But I do remember the professionalism, the compassion, the humanity of every single one of them.  We are grateful.

While I’m on the subject of our healthcare system, you might agree that it’s not perfect.  But it’s ours and it’s free (income tax contributions aside).  Yes, there are wait times, some of which are beyond reasonable, but once in the system we are collectively very well taken care of.  And yes, there are probably the exceptions, but those who choose a profession in healthcare, care, which is evident in how they treat you.  We are very grateful to be Canadian and grateful for our healthcare professionals.

Family and friends have played a huge part in the start of Steve’s recovery — from sisters who check in morning and night to see how we’re both doing; to our doctor daughter who not only offers sound advice but who also encourages her 4-year-old son to ask “how are you, Baba?” when they FaceTime regularly (then he could care less for the answer 🤣); to our son-in-law for making time to provide on-site help; to cousins who have gone through the same experience, either personally or with family members, and who offer words of encouragement; to friends who bring us Thanksgiving dinner, including two kinds of pie!; and other friends who FaceTime and/or text and/or phone to keep in touch.  We are grateful.

And lastly, there’s Steve himself, who walked (very slowly and carefully and with a walker) out of the hospital 8.5 hours after having his body ripped apart and stapled (30 of them) back together.  There’s no question that he’s been, and continues to be, physically challenged.  But if you’ve never experienced this kind of surgery before, it is absolutely mind blowing how much progress he’s making each day, with very limited pain medication.  We live in a split level home, which is not conducive to zipping around with that walker, but he can now go up and down stairs and has been out on our deck for some fresh air a couple of times.  Today, he walked about 720’ touring around our back patio and down the driveway and back.  I’ve had to ask him to please drop the word “sorry” from his vocabulary, though.  That’s because he’s grateful and I get it.  He has to rely on me a lot and isn’t used to being waited on hand and foot.  (That’s not a joke, it’s true — ask him.)  But I am waiting on him because he needs me and I want to.  That’s because I’m grateful for all the waiting he’s done on me over the years. 

(besides… cue sinister laugh — he’s under my control now)

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