SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

donny-gal

((((hugs)))) Mr & Mrs M-C - Having a Dad with Dementia I know how frightening it can be.

Let's hope the meds work quickly and you can get back to skiing.

The more I see around me reinforced our decision to retire at 56 & 58 and do what we want to do now.

DG

seven-day-weekend

donny-gal wrote: »

((((hugs)))) Mr & Mrs M-C - Having a Dad with Dementia I know how frightening it can be.

Let's hope the meds work quickly and you can get back to skiing.

The more I see around me reinforced our decision to retire at 56 & 58 and do what we want to do now.

DG

Same here Donny-gal. We were 54 and 55. We are very lucky to have that choice.

balmaiden

Seconded and thirded !! We retired at 51 and 61 and will continue Ski-ing till money or God forbid health runs out. We are contemplating Goa in February. Any thoughts fellow SKI-ers?

Margaretclare, what a fright for you and Mr MC, wishing him all the very best for a speedy recovery.

Francophile, please God also that you are ok.

I lost my beloved Father recently. I miss him oh so much but am so glad he taught me to take what life throws at you and live each day to the full. It was the way he lived his life and I hope I live mine the same way

margaretclare

Thanks for all the good wishes. DH had the knee joint cleaned out last evening in theatre, but it appears there is still sepsis present which can't be got at without major joint surgery - cleaning-out was like an arthroscopy. It appears he has 3 options:

1. A 4th knee replacement on the affected knee, just 2 years after the previous one (2003, 2004 and Sept 2006).

2. Do nothing, in which case the sepsis will run riot and become life-threatening again. A very high temperature, plus hyperglycaemia, is incompatible with life.

3. Stiffen the joint - he'd be able to walk, but with a stiff leg permanently.

Option 2 is obviously not an option at all. So the best option seems to be # 1, and although he really does NOT appreciate going through the whole thing again for a 4th time, he really hasn't got a choice. Living with a stiff leg is something he'd prefer not to do if possible.

He's getting the best care possible - the NHS does come in for some criticism, but from the time the paramedic arrived in the small hours of Monday morning, I have to say that everyone we met has been fantastic. He's on hourly observations especially temperature and blood-glucose, and although his BG is still way too high, his temperature has now come down to normal.

I just hope that, now they've got him in hospital where things can be arranged, they get on and do that surgery ASAP, not frig about sending him home and putting him on a waiting-list. I don't think that will happen somehow, because Option 2 is always lurking in the wings.

His daughter is coming down tomorrow from the Midlands and we'll see him together in the afternoon. She's bringing her sleeping-bag because what would be a 2nd bedroom is full of our desks and computers, so we haven't got a spare bed. She's worried about me as well as about her Dad - isn't that sweet of her?

balmaiden

Glad you having somebody coming to stay Margaretclare, We all know you as a fiercely independant lady, but it does so help to have someone to share your worries with.

Like you I have nothing but praise for the NHS. My Dad had many illnesses to cope with in his last months. The care he received at home and in hospital was second to none.

Take care and look after yourself.

Bal x

MrsMW

Margaretclare, My best wishes to you and your husband. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Take care of yourself.

margaretclare

MrsMW wrote: »

Margaretclare, My best wishes to you and your husband. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Take care of yourself.

Thank you to all, for kind thoughts, prayers and wishes.

I've just got back from the hospital.

I got a call from the ward he'd been on, about 12.30 am. This was to say that his condition had deteriorated and they were transferring him to Critical Care.

He had had increasing difficulty in breathing, his temperature had shot up again and they were very concerned. I went there following that call - I thought 'they won't have phoned me unless it was very serious' and came home about 3.30 am because there was nothing I could do - all that could be done was being done. He's on a ventilator, is sedated, is being very closely-watched. I called his daughter and son in the Midlands, she arrived about lunch-time and he is on his way. However, since I've been there - went back again 8 am to about 2.30 pm - he's now 'holding his own'.

The most likely option now for treating the knee is to remove the prosthesis altogether which would mean the joint would be stiffened, but pain-free. I've had 2 separate conversations with the orthopaedic surgeon and that's what he's thinking. If they do a 4th replacement there are always 'places for infection' to hide, as he put it. And the infection is life-threatening. Well, this does make basic common sense.

However, they will hope to stabilise him still further and, if he continues to respond, do that surgery about the end of the week/weekend. So no, they're not going to send him home in the meantime.

My stepdaughter is here because she was concerned about me, as well as about her Dad! Isn't that lovely of her.

I have to say, our NHS sometimes gets a lot of slagging-off, but from the time I called out the paramedics in the night or early Monday morning, everyone we've met has been great. And this is all 'free at point of use'! It must be costing a fortune, really superb medical and nursing care, all the technology, it really is fantastic.

Parking at that hospital is absolutely dire, but at 8 am I went straight into a slot opposite A&E and didn't pay - our minister paid for me when she came in later. He really is getting the best of care, from everybody.

I want him to be pain-free and to have a decent quality of life, even if that means having a stiff left leg. I could not cope with the way he was on Saturday and Sunday nights - completely irrational, confused, disorientated, unco-operative. And I wish we'd sent him to A&E days earlier. I knew he was 'cooking' something, as we used to say in nursing, but the GP said 'oh, you'll be waiting about for ages...' So what? Hospital was where he needed to be, and thank God, he's in the best hands now.

seven-day-weekend

Hope all is well Margaret - thanks for updating.

Will continue to pray.

margaretclare

Thank you, 7DWE.

Thank God we changed the car to an automatic - no need ever to use the left leg while driving. I haven't really driven it much since we had it - nearly a year ago - found changing to automatic a bit daunting after years of driving manual cars. Well, I got used to it PDQ when an emergency occurred - just got in it and drove, no problem!

I really wish there was more flexibility i.e that there was a little bit of help for those of us who want to continue driving. With the disturbed nights, I've been too knackered to walk to the top of the road, even though I know I could catch a bus to the hospital and it would cost me nowt (depending on time - obviously that wouldn't apply in the middle of the night!!) If DH ends up with a stiff left leg he'd find using the bus pretty difficult too.

Update: Just heard from my stepdaughter that DH is being returned to consciousness and is being taken off the ventilator and sat up - she was having to wait outside while they did that, but it's the best news I've had for several days.

EdInvestor

Very best of luck with this MC. What the surgeon says does make sense. It's truly amazing how many people - including those with other life threatening illness - actually get carried off in the end by plain old infections. Obviously they are public enemy number one.

Perhaps the stiff knee can be alleviated later with phyiotherapy/massage type treatment? One does see quite a lot of people walking around the streets with stiff knees and sticks, so I guess exercise must be recommended.Use it or lose it!