The evenings are the worst times for me now...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I'm tired but it's too early to go to bed.

And my surgery weighs heavily on my mind.

I'm really looking forward to having this over!

[OriginalGeek]

1. Turn on Craig Ferguson!

He'll take your mind off your woes.


I hate that you have woes.


You do so much to make other people feel good, you should be woeless.


Sometimes the universe is a dick.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My dear OriginalGeek...

Your kindness touches me...

Thank you for accepting my whining...

[TexasTowelie]

2. Hang in there. You make the world a better place with your posts.

I'm going to need oral surgery within the next few weeks, so I can empathize. I'm sending you good vibes for the surgery and recovery. You will be missed while you are away.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. My dear TexasTowelie...

Well, I'm hanging, but it's hard waiting...

I hear you with your oral surgery! I hope yours goes well too...

The hospital has wi-fi but it's spotty...

Thank you, sweetie...

[Capn Sunshine]

5. what surgery?

I'm always the last to know. I gather some kind of oral?
There's a line for the lounge if ever there was one :/

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Here's the link, my dear Capn Sunshine:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101835874

It's getting close, and I'm crazy! But what else is new?

[Capn Sunshine]

7. oh, that IS something!

Good luck. I'm probably doing this too. But I'm waiting for the complete breakdown first. Mine is from too much football (30 years worth) and surfing ( when I started, we paddled on our knees, for several years; it takes its toll later in life I've discovered)
Happy landings, Peg.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Well, at least you have something to show for your messed-up knees!

Mine just broke down for no apparent reason, phooey! Well, except arthritis and bony spurs...

Thanks for your good wishes!

[pipi_k]

29. Ah, knee surgery!

Mr Pipi had his left knee replaced in 2009. Came home two days later and got to relax while I took over most of his chores. Well, I say "relax" like he enjoyed it. He didn't. He's pretty active for his age and he hates sitting around, but what can ya do...

The visiting nurses came, and after he could move around on his own we did the physical therapy for a few months at the rehab center.

I guess knee replacement results are sort of all over the place. Some people are very glad they got them, some not so glad. Whatever you do, though, don't give in to the pain and refuse to move your knee or else you'll end up like a friend of ours who had to have a second surgery to loosen the scar tissue that built up from non-movement and which eventually prevented any type of movement at all.

Good luck...it will be here and done before you know it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

30. My dear pipi_k!

Thanks for the good words!

They really help. I tend to make a huge fuss about stuff...

[pacalo]

9. Too bad we can't fast forward time, CalPeggy!

With your spirit & can-do attitude, you'll be fine after the surgery. Just try to keep your mind on pleasant thoughts until then.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. My dear pacalo!

I would really love to fast forward the remaining time!

Ah, but then I'd probably complain about not having enough time to get ready, lol!

Thank you, sweetie, so much...

I really value my good friends at times like this.

[HeiressofBickworth]

11. The waiting is the worst

But things will happen quickly once the day arrives, then the rehab and you not only will be back to your old self, you will be even better! Keep us posted and if you need encouragement or just a sympathetic listener (reader) just let us know. DU's there for you kiddo, just as I've seen you there for others.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My dear HeiressofBickworth...

And you are exactly right, of course. But you know how difficult it can be, esp. when you're tired, to take the optimistic long-term view...

Thank you for being that sympathetic listener/reader for me tonight!

It really helps.

[denbot]

13. Hi Miss CP, chin up, it may go really well for you.

Does music help you relax?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. My dear denbot...

Yes, music really does help me relax, and put my mind elsewhere...

I am right now streaming a station I love. It's classical, and their selections are so good!

I hope so much that you're right...

How's Alley doing?

[elleng]

15. We're all Wishin' and Hopin' for you, CalPeg!

AND here's MY classical station, 24/7! Let's listen together sometime!

http://www.weta.org/fm/listenlive

AND play along with Schroeder!!!
https://www.facebook.com/metlife?sk=app_353168384703197&app_data=MCID%7Ccd010460

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. My dear elleng!

Sometime, we must do just that!

Thank you for the link, and for the support...

They are both greatly appreciated.

[applegrove]

17. Try deep belly breathing Peggy. Where when you breath in so much air your belly goes way out. Nice

and slow. Do it a few times in a row. Will change your brain chemistry. (Don't do it too much or you'll get liteheaded).... (if you want to get liteheaded, I suppose that would be fine too seeing as how you are not working on any heavy machinery right now). LOL!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

18. My dear applegrove!

Ah, now that's an idea!

I actually got a little breathing apparatus today when I pre-registered at the hospital that does just this very thing. It's great for inflating the lungs so I won't get an infection.

Nah, don't want to get light-headed now!

Thank you, sweetie...

[NYC_SKP]

19. We, too, look forward to this being over, and to having heard good news from you, Peggy!

Until then,

[CaliforniaPeggy]

23. You are too kind, my dear NYC_SKP...

Thank you!

[Lasher]

20. What, you're worried about one little knee replacement?

Redstone would have replaced his own knee with a ball joint from an old car. I sure do miss him. I'm not as tough as he was but I've had seven - count 'em seven - operations since September 2010.

Relax, it's not that big a deal. Peggy, they give you morphine! And they'll probably give you some of that shit that Rush takes, for after they send you home.

Try to think of something clever to say right before you go under. Suggestions:

I can't sleep.

Is this the first time you've performed this surgery?

I have to go to the bathroom.

One time I asked why I didn't have a mask on when everybody else in the room had one. One of them said, "That's so you won't recognize us later." We were all laughing as I faded out.

You've got the right idea: Hurry up and get it over with. You're going to be sore, particularly when you wake up the next morning. But that's what the pain killers are for.

Good luck,

Lasher

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. My dear Lasher!

How right you are about Redstone! Oh god, how much I miss him too, right now especially. I can still hear him say "Hey Peg."

And you've had seven surgeries since 2010? Jeez. I am a fucking baby!

Thank you for the great and hilarious advice, too...

[JoePhilly]

66. Hey Peggy ... I have a story that I HOPE helps you ... re my knee surgery ...

About 3 years ago, I was playing some basketball and I did not yet know that at 45 years of age, my basketball career was OVER!!!!

And so, while warming up, I was going to do a simple reverse layup. No one was defending the basket, and I was not pushing it.

As I went under the basket, and started to jump, my left knee dislocated, and then, as my body tried to respond, my right leg came down, and the right knee dislocated too. And so I was still "standing" but both of my knees were dislocated. And so my body fell backwards. And I stuck out my left arm to stop my fall, and when I hit the ground, I chipped a bone in my left wrist.

At this point you are probably wondering why this story should HELP you feel better ... I'll get there I promise.

They had to get an ambulance to take me to the hospital, and the emergency doctors actually used GOOGLE to try and find instances of my injury ... its is called "bilateral patella disruption" ... I'd snapped the patella tendons for both knees.

So they had to repair those in a long surgery, and my scars look just like knee replacements.

After the surgery, they sent me to a rehab facility ... and almost everyone there was there for either a knee or hip replacement.

Most of them were older than me. I was about 45, most of them were older, in some cases much older, 60s, 70s. I will not ask your age.

I spent about 4 weeks there. Women in their 70s who had one knee replaced were able to leave after about 1 week. It was funny because we'd all be in the physical therapy room together ... and the women (and a few men, much older than me) with knee replacements recovered faster than me. But we had fun, they teased me, and I teased them. We pushed each other.

And all of us had one goal ... to progress to the point where we could go home.

I have no idea how bad your knee issue is ... but if you have to spend time in a rehab facility, do the PT, engage the other people who are there, take the pain meds when you need them (I made sure to take them 30 mins prior to PT) ... sleep, take some books or podcasts, or videos ... and then focus on what physical abilies you need so that you can go home and function.

After that ... focus on PT that helps you get back to full ability. Don't escape rehab and then not finish the needed PT.

After I left rehab, I still spent 6 months in leg braces that went from my ankles to my hips ... to picture this, think of the child Forrest Gump, in leg braces, except he is a 6 foot tall man.

Surgery is scary ... and it is ok to be scared, in that situation people feel they lack control ... but once it is over you can take control again.

Stay Strong and good luck!!

[HeiressofBickworth]

21. I've done two really dumb things after surgeries

Surgery 1: I didn't let them give me morphine -- I wasn't in that much pain and I'm so sensitive to drugs I didn't want to have a bad reaction. Well, the bad reaction was when I went into shock from the pain (I didn't realize how bad it was). Ok, THEN I took the morphine -- off to la la land on a soft cushy cloud of I don't give a damn. Lesson: don't refuse pain meds just because you think you aren't in that much pain.

Surgery 2: I must have been still fuzzy around the thinking zone and didn't understand how to use the little button on the pain med drip. It was my mistaken believe that the drip was providing pain medication -- I apparently was wrong because when I told the nurse that it didn't seem to be doing much for me, she said well, dear, you have to push the button. OK, Morphine, la la land, soft fluffy cloud of I don't give a damn. Lesson: be sure you understand how much you are to participate in your own pain med delivery.

So here's another thing: don't know if you've ever had surgery before, but when coming out of the anesthetic, your brain wakes up first. When my brain woke up, it started to panic because it couldn't feel the rest of my body and thought I had stopped breathing. I wasn't awake enough to call a nurse and I remember being quite frightened. I tried to think it through -- if I had stopped breathing, things would be happening. Nothing was happening so I must be ok. When I had the second surgery, I asked to have someone talk with me as I came out of it. It worked, I wasn't panicked at all.

Ok, I won't bother you with any more surgery stories -- but we are looking forward to YOUR stories when you get back on the 'puter. Best wishes!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. My dear HeiressofBickworth!

Your stories are most excellent! I have had a fair number of out-patient surgeries, and one in-hospital stay years ago, so I am aware of how it'll be waking up and how to use the pain med delivery system...

Still, I appreciate more than I can truly say all your adventures!

Thanks, sweetie...

[HopeHoops]

22. "My advice to you is to start drinking heavily."

I used to stay up until 2 a.m. or later EVERY night. Now I'm lucky to make it past 9:30.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. My dear HopeHoops...

My "normal" bedtime is around midnight...

We'll see what happens in the hospital!

[HopeHoops]

39. Wow. You've certainly got more stamina than I do!!! I was just drugged out in the hospital.

Frankly, the morphine was the only one I liked. The others made my vision and hearing really weird. Morphine is just "happy time".

[Tikki]

27. There must be solace in knowing that you know...

more about the hospital and recovery procedure than the average patient.

You are a strong, determined lady and you'll come out
shining.


Tikki

[CaliforniaPeggy]

28. My dear Tikki...

You could very well be right. I suspect I have a better idea than the average person as to what to expect, since I've been there as a nurse.

Thank you for the very kind words...

[raccoon]

31. You'll be in my thoughts. Watch something funny on DVD. nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

35. Thank you so much, my dear raccoon!

[hedgehog]

32. There was an article in today's paper that

1 in 20 of us over the age of 50 have a knee replaced, so you're in good company and the surgical team must be getting a lot of practice!


Hang in there and plan all the things you're going to do when all the rehab is well behind you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

36. My dear hedgehog!

I've heard those statistics, and they do reassure me!

Experience is a good thing, a very good thing...



I'm already making plans!

[wtmusic]

33. I know quite a few people with knee replacements

and not one has regretted it. Though it's a mature technology with a great success rate...

I wish you luck anyway.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

37. Thank you, my dear wtmusic...

I greatly appreciate your sentiments...

[Major Nikon]

34. The janitor where my wife works had double knee surgery at 75 and came back to work

[CaliforniaPeggy]

38. Holy cow, my dear Major Nikon!

He's made of very sturdy stuff!

Still, it does show you just what's possible.

[Major Nikon]

42. SHE is made of sturdy stuff!

I forgot to mention he is a she!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

44. Aren't janitors always men? Um..........NO.

Thanks for the correction!

Good for her. For her work, and for her life.

[sarge43]

40. You're going to do fine, dear Peggy.

Yeah, easy to say. However, this surgery is very successful, especially with laser techniques, far less invasive, quicker recovery.

One thing everyone forgets about: Trim your toenails as short as you can stand. It'll be awhile before you can get closeup and personal with your foot again.

Big ole

[CaliforniaPeggy]

41. My dear sarge43!

I sure hope to do fine!

Actually, this won't be a laser surgery; they're sawing out my damaged knee completely. However, it is an established surgery. My doctor and the whole team is very experienced.

Funny about my toenails! I had just trimmed them. Even now, they aren't easy to get to. Thanks for the tip!

And thanks too for the big ole

[sarge43]

47. Then your post op physical therapy is even more important.

It's the key to getting back to the Saturday Nite Dance.

Keep us posted.

[Bake]

43. My dear California Peggy!

I'm sure it worries you, but try not to let it. You'll be fine. We're all pulling for you!



Bake

[CaliforniaPeggy]

45. My dear Bake!

Yeah, I'm worried. It's not just the surgery, but also the aftermath, how I'll feel, and all that. Plus my cardiac rhythm is wonky, but my cardiologist is on the case too.

You are helping me feel less worried!

[Bake]

46. You'll come through with flying colors.

I'm praying for you. And I don't do that too much anymore ("Lord, I believe ... help thou mine unbelief.&quot .

Besides, the world is a much better place with you in it!



Bake

[Wait Wut]

48. Think past the surgery.

At least, try to. Optimism is better medicine than anxiety.

Oh, and when I say "past", I mean when you're all healed up and running marathons.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

50. My dear Wait Wut!

Exactly! I *am* thinking past the surgery...I have big plans for the summer...

Oh good! I'll be able to run marathons???




I never did that before...

[Kali]

49. oh geez

I really need to get back in here to the lounge. Been spending too much time gawking in meta



I know I am missing important stuff here, like this. When is the surgery date Peggy? I know you are going to be fine but of course we will all be pulling for you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

51. I hear ya about too much time in Meta, my dear Kali!

It is rather much, isn't it?

The surgery is Thursday morning, around 9:30 a.m. my time.

I have to be there a couple of hours ahead.

Thanks for the good thoughts!

[Kali]

52. oh wow!

going to be over with really soon!

[libodem]

53. Ahhh

Thinking of you.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

54. Thank you so much, my dear libodem...

[GoCubsGo]

55. Just concentrate on how good your knee will feel when it's over.

No more pain! The man across the street from me had his replaced a few months ago. He was out walking around within a week.

I have similar problems in the days leading up to job interviews. I dread them. I try to find ways of distracting myself. TV, radio, Spider Solitaire and DU help a lot.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

57. My dear GoCubsGo!

You and all the other good folks in this thread are helping me distract myself quite a lot!

I am very much looking forward to feeling just a whole lot better afterwards...

I guess dreading stuff is part of what makes us human...

[DFW]

56. Peggy--when is this scheduled for?

I know what the waiting is like. My wife has been diagnosed with tumors on what is left of her
thyroid, and so the rest of it must come out. If they are benign, we still have to worry that she
gets exactly the right dosage of hormone replacement pills, or she will balloon out to twice her
weight and lose her model-like figure. It they are cancerous, we are looking at another round
of chemo and radiation, something she went through 11 years ago, and it was not pretty. And
so when does she get scheduled for? On my birthday! I hope my best birthday present is her
tumors being benign.

I don't know when your birthday is, but let's just say that whenever it is, it finds you out and about
as if you had just been given a new chance to run the Boston marathon.

You have me, Robert Packard, Juanita Chang, Anne Boudreau and Zorro the lawyer rooting for you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

58. It's scheduled for this coming Thursday, the 23rd, my dear DFW!

I suppose that makes me look pretty foolish. Well, maybe I am...

And the closer I get to it, the harder it is to wait.

All my very best vibes and wishes for your wife! I sure hope those tumors are benign.

My birthday isn't till November, but I hear you just the same.

You and your team are formidable members of the pep squad! Thank you.

[DFW]

59. OK, I'll be thinking of you then.

Maybe a famous London landmark (you know who I mean with that) can let me know how things went.

My team does whatever I tell them to do. They are a very obedient team, if a little diverse, and it's almost
impossible to get them all together at the same time......

[csziggy]

60. CaliforniaPeggy, I know exactly how you feel

Yesterday I saw the surgeon who did both laproscopic surgeries on my knees. He no longer does knee replacements so he's sending me to a fellow surgeon for that. While he said replacement for both knees isn't a "slam dunk" as soon as he looked at my X-rays, he immediately gave me the referral.

I keep getting these moments of panic - "NOOOOOOooo - I don't want/need/have to have surgery!" But then I try to walk and the pain reminds me why I finally dragged my ass into the doctor.

Since both knees are bad, I'm gonna talk the surgeon into doing them both. I don't want to go through this twice! And both knees need replacement real soon. The same doctor replaced both knees for my hay guy last year, so I know he will do it if it is medically possible.

Maybe see if you can get some anti-anxiety medication so you can sleep before the surgery?

I forgot - I'll be sending good thoughts your way for the next few months! And do follow through with your physical therapy. It really does help!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

62. My dear csziggy!

I think you really do know!

Good luck to you too...

I think I'll be OK before the surgery. I usually am exhausted and sleep well before such adventures.

I will be following through with the PT. I have plans for the summer, and they matter!

[csziggy]

65. Thursday I will be sending strong healing thoughts your way

I'm sure by the summer you will be dancing AND running marathons!

I remember when I slept because I was exhausted. These days if I do enough to be tired, I hurt too much to sleep!

Are they sending you to rehab after the surgery? I was told that around here, you do a few days in the hospital about ten days in a rehab facility, then they send you home but only if you have someone to help you. That's from the hay guy who went through it with the same surgeon I'm going to and from the physical therapist who gave up on me.

And do you have a walker? Apparently it's needed while you heal, but you can rent one from a medical supply place.

Take care and get back as soon as possible to let us know you're OK!

[frogmarch]

61. I'll be thinking of you, Peggy.

Picture all of us there with you!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

63. Thank you so much, my dear frogmarch!

My god, the OR will be crowded!

[frogmarch]

64. And we'll all bring

liquor and chocolate!

[Old Troop]

67. Think of the many, many people who love you for you warm posts.

[nolabear]

68. Hoping it all goes fine, Peggy. And I'm sure it will.

I know a lot of people who've had knee surgery and are glad they did.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

69. it will be over before you know it, Miss Peg

You will do fine, I have no doubts. You are a Troopers with an Iron Will Spirit that can not be broken

[Highway61]

70. You will do fine

You and I have the same career backgrounds and I can tell you they have come a LONG way from what you and I used to see as "routine"....yikes. You will be out and about before you know it. Good luck to you and don't be a martyr....ask for the old pain meds! Hope to hear from you soon...lets us know how you are.

[MiddleFingerMom]

71. My dear CaliforniaPeggy... I wish I could take your concerns onto myself --

.
.
.
... so many people (certainly not the LEAST of which was you) gave me such encouragement
and strength and hope and peace through their posts and vibes that I feel strong enough to
be sending you MEGA-vibes -- strength and calm intertwined amongst them.
.
The BEST thing (IMneverHO) to think of is what your life would be like WITHOUT the surgery.
I'm sure that in the short term "better"... but not enough to justify NOT getting it done -- the
long-term benefits immensely tip the balance in favor of the procedure.
.
People told me I was critical to the well-being of the Lounge -- I took that with the kindness-
infused grain-of-salt in which it was given. I think I add to this place, but nowhere NEAR what
you bring with your kindness and sweet & sour wit and perhaps most of all -- your grace.
.
The Lounge kneeds YOU -- to many of us, you're the role model to which we aspire -- against
which we measure our own goodness. You inspire effortlessly, graciously and beautifully.
.
Thus there is NO WAY your surgery will have any serious complications/developments.
.
You've got too much positive energy and love flowing into your being... and coupled with the
positive energy and love constantly flowing FROM your being... your knee is a slam-dunk.
.
If that's not too painful and image to conjure up.
.
Wi-Fi in the hospital I was in was VERY spotty/non-existent in the ER and many of the clinics
(like X-ray and the labs, etc -- much special shielding interfering), but consistently good in
the rooms themselves. I hope the same is for you.
.
Arrange before-hand for someone to bring you something "naughty" during your stay (for
me, it was jelly beans brought by an intrepid smuggler who looked suspiciously like Kali).
.
Remember the three rules my wise hospital-weary friend gave to me:
.
1. Ask for the drugs.
.
2. Ask for more drugs.
.
3. WWMFMD?
.....3a. Ask for the tag-team bedbath.
.....3b. Ask for another tag-team bedbath.
.....3c. "whatever prn"
.
Before one procedure, I told the surgical team that I had something very important to say
in case anything went wrong...
.
.
.
... and then I sang them a rousing rendition of The Beatles' "Her Majesty".
.
.
.
If I had it to do over, I would make sure I wasn't fading out TOO quickly... and simply
stop speaking and close my eyes after this incomplete declaration... "After all my
extensive research, I've discovered the cure for cancer to be mmphhbgrlmngl."
.
.
.
I did -- prior to one surgery -- gently remind them that, although they did dozens
of those procedures monthly (weekly?), that this was MY only one... and that I hoped
they gave it as much import as I.
.
.
.
Take your time getting back to us -- maybe someone can relay a message to us (although
it would be a fucking (how appropriate) BLAST to have you "drunk-post" on some strong
post- surgical party... um... recovery drugs... um... medications.
.
Have they given you an estimate of how much hospital time you'll be needing?
.
.
.
Are you sure you don't need a hip replacement instead of a knee. I know
how to make the coolest "hip-replacement get well card". Maybe, if you ask real nice
JUST before you slip under the anesthesia, you can get the surgeons to change their
collective minds about what you REALLY need.
.
.
.
Go knowing you have GREAT feelings of love, support and hope flowing your way from
all parts of the country and beyond.
.
.
.
Though funny (IMfore-mentionedneverHO)... what's below is also not a bad idea.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


.
.
.
.
.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

72. My dear MiddleFingerMom...

Oh my. How can I thank you?

I've had so many great messages...

And now, yours.

I will be well, of this I am sure. You have spoken to my heart today...


I think my husband will be letting all of you know how it went, tomorrow...

I expect to have my laptop Friday, if all goes as expected, and we'll see what I have to say.

Oh, and it is a KNEE that I need, silly! And they write on it before surgery, just to be safe!

Thank you!

[helderheid]

73. Good luck on your surgery! Thank goodness it's nothing fatal you're dealing with!

[yankeepants]

74. Wishing you all the best, Dear Peggy

Fix yourself an extra strong cup of sleepytime and settle in with a non-stimulating read. Breathe.

I am in the process of building my Australian Cattle Dog, Digrid Catalina Wallaroo (aka The Ding), a doggy wheelchair due to her ruptured ACLs.

She will be recovering right along side you.

Thinking of you,
Yankeepants

[TheCentepedeShoes]

75. Thinking of you

Have my own left knee issues which may come around some day
Back in early 90's was watching my college's Lady Raiders (Texas Tech) play for the basketball Natl Championship when I tried to lift something too heavy
Lady Raiders won, knee (and whoever they were playing) lost
Putting on panty hose was a real bitch for several days
I flex my knee now and it and feels like a bag 'o grits in there

You may be on some diet restrictions prior to surgery, so in your stead I am having homemade gumbo and mr 'pede is having a small steak
You will be fine
Just remember how much we love you

[Dystopian]

76. Dearest Peggy ....

I'll be keeping you in my thoughts...
I understand about the evenings ....

Best wishes and hoping for a quick recovery...


peace~

[Rex]

77. Be safe and be well my friend!!!