Mayo Mementos

It has been just over a week since my rotator cuff surgery. I am doing OK and driving Pam a little nuts. Adapting to doing tasks one-handed has been frustrating. Sleeping is an issue as I am normally a side sleeper and that will not work when your arm is in a sling. (Excuse me, “mobility restraint.”) Most of this post will focus on my Mayo experience and the few mementos I picked up and brought home.

Over all, the Mayo experience went well and I was well taken care of. My biggest complaint is that I had to call in after 8:15 PM on Wednesday night to get a check-in time for the Thursday surgery. Turns out I had to report at 6:30 AM. Pam and I left the house at about 4: 45 AM to meet this deadline, an ungodly hour for a couple of retirees.

Other than that, the process went smoothly. This type of surgery is routine for the Mayo Clinic who has three full-time surgeons who do nothing other than shoulder work, including replacement of the entire joint.

I found out why I was kept overnight. Mayo doctors use a pain blocker, a specific injection, administered after I was knocked out by the anesthesia. The injection was administered in my neck just above the shoulder. It takes around 18 hours for it to wear off and the Clinic does not want to send anyone home until then.

To find the best place for the pain blocker to go in, a tech crew used what looked like a modified ultrasound to locate the nerve cluster in my neck. The same crew marked my shoulder with the doctor’s initials just to make sure the correct shoulder was identified. At almost every step the staff asked me to verify my name and date of birth, either to confirm they had the right patient or to confirm I was cognizant of my surroundings and coherent.

So, I checked in and was prepped. Pam stayed through this part of the process, but left for head home once I was rolled down to pre-op where I went under and received the pain blocker.

The surgery took about an hour and Pam was kept in the loop through e-mails and a call from the doc once the procedure was completed. Pam appreciated this communication and the chance to speak directly to the surgeon. At this point she had more information than I did since I was still sedated.

I was moved into my recovery room and “woke up” around 1:00 PM, early afternoon. With the pain blocker still in effect I did not feel too bad. A therapist came in later with my sling and a second (shower) sling and fitted them both. I was hooked up to an oxygen monitor and still had a port open on my left hand for injections of other pain controls as needed.

Still groggy, I dozed and spoke to the staff as needed. Later in the day I was asked if I wanted to order dinner. Expecting some generic hospital food, I was surprised to see a very complete Food Service menu. Many restaurants don’t have anywhere near the choices the Mayo offered. I had turkey with Herb Jus topping, mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, hot tea, steamed carrots, and Italian Ice (cherry) for desert. Below are a couple of photos of the menu.

Click on the menu above and have it open in an enlarged view. The offerings are quite extensive!

The pain blockers had worn off by Friday morning and I was on Tylenol and another drug, name not recalled, for pain control. I ordered a breakfast of pancakes, apple juice, and a blueberry muffin, all of which tasted great.

After that the therapist came in and we discussed the exercise (I am to do only 1) and other restrictions on using the arm. I was up and out of bed to demonstrate I could walk under my own power and use the bathroom. Dressed again in my regular clothes, and with my overnight bag packed, I had a check-out interview through an in-room virtual nurse and was pronounced OK to be moved (by wheelchair) to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription oxicondon. A nurse arrived to wheel me downstairs to the pharmacy and then to an area near the entry doors that served as a pick-up spot.

Meanwhile, Pam and Becky were enroute through a nasty snowstorm with wind that created white-out conditions and drifts across the roads. Very poor driving conditions! I read a paperback I had brought along until they arrived. The trip home was not as bad, thankfully.

Now I am trying to get used to doing tasks with my left hand or one-handed, not an easy thing to do. The overall pain level has decreased and I have not had to use the oxicondon prescription. I alternated Tylenol with 600mg Ibuprofen tablets instead. Now I am just taking Tylenol with the Ibuprofen as a backup if needed.

I will have in-house therapy for the next 5 weeks then will begin physical therapy at the Howard County Regional Health Services in Cresco, visiting them 3 times a week.

The biggest problem for me has been the lack of physical activity. I can no longer do chores such as shoveling snow, grocery shopping, filling the bird feeder, taking a daily walk, and even driving (the RAV-4 is a stick shift) and this has left me a bit at a loss. It is even hard to read when you can’t hold the book in both hands to turn pages. Sleeping has been affected as I don’t feel tired at the end of the day and, with one sleeping position, I don’t fall asleep easily. Still, these are relatively minor problems and I feel that I am doing well.

Today I received a “thank you” card from the Mayo Clinic team that looked over me after the surgery. I’ll add it to the “sipper cup” I brought home as mementos of this event.

I completed digitizing a few more albums. My new record cleaner system just arrived so I will have to give it a go and see if it does a better job than the pad I have been using.

I managed to get this 1:01 video of Stirling grooming himself. There is no audio in the clip as I did not want to interrupt Stirling during his grooming routine.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Himself surprises me in his pain tolerance and the things he actually can do for himself with one hand. This pleases me, as I am not now and have never been a candidate for Home Health Aide.

Kitten update: Vienna and Stirling are pretty much young adults. Shredding and chewing needs frequent discouragement – nothing new there, based on our many past cats. The two are very loving and talkative with me, maintaining a bit more distance with Himself.

One of Vienna’s and Stirling’s favorite toys is pictured below — Mr. Spring. Simple, inexpensive, effective. Right up there with Ms. Cardboard Box.

Happy Trails.