Joys of Single Motherhood

It is late afternoon on the second Saturday of my convalescence here. I am bored beyond words. I am so bored I just took a selfie. Then I spent five minutes editing it. It made no difference. I still need major Restylane and even then I look like my mother. That's the key--I look like my mother. Now, if you have a classically beautiful mother--most of us don't-this realization may be pleasing. For the rest of us, it's terrifying. I look like a slightly less wrinkled, definitely better coiffed, less crazed version of my mother. My hip incision is better looking. Sigh.

I am writing this from my hospital bed.The surgery went well. Both legs and knees feel better already. I am able to bend my right knee completely and when I do I can feel a lovely gliding sensation as the new joint does its duty. My butt muscles are sore from being cut just a little bit. Surgeon says his technique separates as few fibers as possible. He likens it cutting flank steak. Incisions look great and except for soreness in spots, the overall pain is minimal. I suspect I will wake up very sore in the morning. Second day onset and all that. Hospital experience has been fantastic so far. While I was waiting to go into the OR this morning I chatted up my surgeon after he mentioned that today is his daughter's birthday. Talk about a family business--his wife and all three of his kids are doctors and they are the fourth generation of doctors in the family. I wonder how common this is and how it affects the practice of medicine in this country?

Tomorrow is my last day of 'freedom'. My last day of not having to worry that if I move the wrong way my hip will dislocate and my hardware will pop out. After tomorrow I'm hoping my back and knees will stop feeling stiff and sore but I wonder if I will feel better immediately or will pain from the operation cancel out any immediate improvement. And most importantly, will I feel like a robot when much of each leg isn't really 'me'. On Thursday, Kid 2 and I ventured to the hospital to have the last of the checklist items crossed off pre-surgery. Kid 2 was my wheel man, meaning he pushed me in a wheelchair from admissions to the 4th floor Ortho floor, then down to the lab, then to radiology. It took about four hours. I thought it would take 90 minutes or so. The "Joint Class" took up most of that time. There were ten 'patients' and an equal number of family members stuffed into a small conference room on the Ortho floor. Getting everyone ou...

Some parents hope their children will grow up to be doctors, lawyers or hedge fund managers. I want my kids to grow up and take charge of their own lives and of their own vaccination records. Kid 1 starts off a month of pre-college classes tomorrow. And what did she need at the last minute? An up-to-date copy of her vaccination record. Say what? When is she going to be old enough NOT to need her vaccination records? I picture her at 35 with two tiny kids clinging to her knees. She is on the phone--with me--asking if I have a copy of her updated vaccination records. Hopefully I will be unable to take that call because I will be on a fabulous trip with a man who keeps his own vaccination records on a microchip implanted in his groin. Mine will be in my purse along with those of my kids.