Tuesday, February 14, 2012

February 13th - Countdown to Valentine's Day - medical professionals

We have a friend - we have only known him for less than a year since he and his wife moved here to be near their daughter and family.  He has been unable to walk for a couple of years now.  Needless to say, he has spent a lot of time with doctors, but no one had been able to determine exactly what the problem was.  He has even had some back surgeries to try to correct the problem.

His daughter, a nurse, took him to yet another doctor.  This one took one look at all the x-rays of his back, knees, hips, and everything else, and said the problem is not the back or the knees.  Both hips need to be replaced.  This was the first time they really felt hope that maybe he would actually be able to walk again.

Today Don had the surgery to replace the first hip.  In six weeks, he will have the surgery for the other hip.  They have to do them so close together, because he can't do a lot of the therapy until both hips are replaced.  Good news is the surgery went well, just as planned.  They were going to make him sit up in bed late this evening and get up to take his first steps tomorrow.  We are glad that things are going well and hope that his recovery will be complete.

We have had our share of experience with medical personnel and, most of the time, they are great.  There are some doctors and nurses who don't seem to care or just go through the motions, but the good ones make a huge difference in the lives of their patients.  The nurses who provide care in the hospital are top notch.  They may be busy and feel overwhelmed, but they take time with each patient.

I am glad that there are people who are willing to give so much to help others who are sick.  I have special feelings of love for such care givers today.

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