Scott & White: Emergency Room, Joint Camp and Pre-op Appointments

Starting the middle of last week, Dan wasn't feeling well. He was running a low-grade fever, aching, lacking an appetite, and feeling the need to sleep a lot. By Friday night, there was nothing "low-grade" about his situation. I ended up running him to the Scott & White (S&W) ER, where he received outstanding care, which involved testing, scanning, diagnosing, pain-management and (most importantly) sympathy. I don't mind sharing all the details of my own medical issues with the world, here on my blog, but will give Dan the respect of not disclosing the details of his night in the ER. We finally came home around 2:30 a.m., and he has been slowly but steadily improving each day, with the help of some strong medicines.

Today was the day I was registered to attend S&W 's "Rapid Recovery Joint Program" (more commonly known as "Joint Camp"). I wasn't sure that Dan would be up to going with me, but he proved himself a trooper, and came along. The information presented at Joint Camp included a general guide to joint replacement surgery, the physical map of the S&W campus and where to park/where to go/what to expect on the day of surgery, post op activity goals and exercises, follow-up in-home PT and care, and contact information. There were about a dozen folks there who will be undergoing either hip or knee replacement surgery in the next few days, as well as their at-home care givers. I thought the staff did a bang-up good job of informing us and easing some of the anxiety that comes along with a hospital stay.

Tomorrow I have several pre-op appointments to keep: a blood draw, a pre-op evaluation and medical clearance, a session with the admissions and scheduling office, and an appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Allen. The only thing I'm nervous about is that I don't think they've YET contacted my insurance company and gotten pre-approval for the surgery. I'm hoping that during the admissions session tomorrow they will take care of that. I've bugged them several times about it, and they don't seem nearly as concerned as I am!