TKR Zanza's TKR

[Zanza]

children hitting me and kicking me.

Wow! This is not good for your recovery. What if they kick your new knee? Is there any way you can get more time off, or a different set of duties, temporarily?

Don't I know it, but I'm a behavior technician and that's my job, to deal with upset children and out of control behavior. There is no other set of duties that I can do, and I can't afford to take any more time off. I can only hope for the best.

 

[Zanza]

children running out of class and children throwing tantrums and children hitting me and kicking me.

I can not imagine having to deal with this and healing a new knee, too. This is not good. You need to get away from this environment, if at all possible.

I wish I could. I've done this job for 22 years. I've been hospitalized three times. Once I was assaulted by a ten year old, who hurt me badly enough that I was out of work for over a year. My husband wants me to retire, but we can't live on his pay.

 

[Zanza]

Behavior problems, lol. I was not the best behaved and for that I got the strap, slapped a few times, and today I thank them for tuning me in.

Good luck with recovery and those terrible students.

Thanks, ski! It doesn't sound like your "behavior problems" were actual problems, just a normal kid. The kind of kids I work with have mental and emotional illness, and brutal home situations.

 

[Jockette]

I understand the fish icon in your signature. I’ll be praying.

 

[Zanza]

Made it through the first week in one piece! I'm pretty stiff and sore but at least I'm still going. I will be seeing the surgeon on Monday for a checkup. Kaiser certainly does things in a strange way. I haven't seen the surgeon since he operated on me in July. He was supposed to see me six weeks after the surgery but he canceled the appointment so I saw a physician's assistant instead. And he signed the work note for me to go back to work without seeing me. Is this normal?

 

[sistersinhim]

Seeing the PA isn't unusual. Your surgeon will read the PA's notes and will make his decisions from those. You can request to see him instead of the PA, but the appointment will probably be further out than if it was with the PA.

 

[Zanza]

@sistersinhim I thought it was strange to see the PA on the first post-op appointment when the surgeon specifically requested to see me. I think it's very strange that the doctor signed a note that he had evaluated me and said I was fit to return to work without seeing me. In fact, no one at all saw me. I called the office and told them I wanted to go back to work and they sent me the signed note. For all they knew, my leg could have fallen off at the hip but the doctor signed the note anyway. That may be the usual procedure to sign off a patient without seeing them for months, but I think it's very strange.

 

[sistersinhim]

I think he was relying on your feedback on how you were feeling. Saying that you wanted to go back to work probably led him to believe that you are doing fine. Unfortunately, time with doctors is getting less than it was before. I think Covid has something to do with that. When things finally opened back up, there was such a backlog of patients that they had to see more for less time.

 

[csharp4423]

My surgeon has the nurse practitioner see patients two weeks after surgery. She told me they work together so if I had any problems, she would inform.indeed, in week 3 I started having unexplained excruciating pain and was subsequently seen by the doctor. So I figured, no problems I will see the nurse practitioner. If I am having problems, I will see the surgeon

 

[Zanza]

I think he was relying on your feedback on how you were feeling. Saying that you wanted to go back to work probably led him to believe that you are doing fine. Unfortunately, time with doctors is getting less than it was before. I think Covid has something to do with that. When things finally opened back up, there was such a backlog of patients that they had to see more for less time.

Personally I don't think patient feedback is very reliable. A patient does not have the medical training to determine if they are able to go back to work, and in point of fact, this was a very tough week and I wonder if the doctor would have said I need more time if he took the trouble to meet with me. However, it's done now and I'll stick it out. Fortunately my colleagues are being understanding. It certainly is a conundrum that with the advance of medical technology, there has been a regression in personal attention and human concern from doctors. I don't know if you're old enough to remember Gunsmoke, but I often think of how Doc treated his patients. He didn't have much in the way of medicine but at least he paid enough attention to them to know if they lived or died.

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh yes, I remember Gunsmoke well! When I was a teenager in a smaller town, the local doctor actually made house calls. You sure don't see that anymore!

Could you contact your doctor and tell him that you need more time and that your job is highly physical and emotional? Maybe you could work half days for a few weeks. Any time away would be a blessing and helpful in your recovery.

 

[Zanza]

@sistersinhim I worked for a doctor 40 years ago and he would make house calls, but he was from Calcutta. He didn't understand why doctors in America don't make house calls. I loved Doc, and Festus too. All that grumbling and complaining but they were really best friends, just like Ken Curtis and Millburn Stone in real life.

Well, it's not really an option for me to only work half days. I found out they couldn't even get a sub for me for the one month I did take off. The sub accepted the job for the month but they left after a few days. They just couldn't take it. When I'm there, I have to be all there. At least I have a four day weekend. Today the dentist, and theoretically on Monday, the surgeon. I say theoretically because this is the third appointment I've tried to make with him. He canceled the other two.

 

[sistersinhim]

I am so sorry you have no other options. Rest as much as you can while you are off this weekend. Your knee and body need it!

 

[Zanza]

I went to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. Fortunately I happened to mention that I had a knee replacement before they got started. The doctor's office gave me plenty of literature on the importance of avoiding infection, including taking antibiotics if I had dental work before the surgery, but they never said you still need to take antibiotics for dental work after the surgery. Even when they called to reschedule the appointment and said I could some in the afternoon, and I said no, I had a dental cleaning in the afternoon on the day they wanted, they didn't say anything about antibiotics. I feel like a dodged a bullet.

 

[sistersinhim]

Many OSs are now saying that antibiotics before dental work are unnecessary. If you need them because of a mouth infection afterward is a different story. But, the overuse of antibiotics is creating stronger bugs that have become immune to many antibiotics. My OS and new dentist don't require them. I'm glad!

 

[Zanza]

@sistersinhim Well, it is true that antibiotics have been woefully overused and created "superbugs" that don't respond to antibiotics. I had a lung infection that was drug resistant and the doctor had to try three different antibiotics before finding one that would work. But I don't think it's a bad idea to take one dose of antibiotics before dental work. It's only one dose, it's not likely to do harm, and the human mouth is very infectious. Working in an elementary school, we sometimes have to deal with human bites, and there's a pretty involved protocol at the hospital for treating such wounds. I've seen some bad infections from human bites, and I know of a bus driver who died after a child bit him and he didn't get treated. I don't want to take a chance of all that bacteria getting in my knee.

 

[Jockette]

I’m sorry you’ve seen such severe reactions to a human bite.

The dental antibiotics issue is quite a debate, and we should each do what we feel is best for our own situation. I’m like @sistersinhim, I’ve never taken antibiotics for a routine dental cleaning. In my case, I’ve had issues with antibiotics in the past, and I feel, for me, I am more likely to have a bad reaction to the antibiotic, than I am getting an infection in my knee, from a dental procedure.

As my uncle often says, “This is why there’s chocolate and vanilla!”

 

[Zanza]

So I saw the surgeon today, and he said I don't need to see him anymore. My X-rays look good, my leg looks good. I still have a ways to go because I'm stiff and sore and there's still some swelling, but at least I've reached another milestone!

 

[sistersinhim]

Yippee! What a good report. Congrats on reaching another huge step.

 

[Flashlight]

My doctor ordered the antibiotics prior to dental work too. Its only for a year and I think it's worth it. My son in law's father had a heart infection from dental work and couldn't attend his wedding. To me it's worth it especially since I don't plan on spending a lot of time at the dentist. Congrats!! I can't wait to get that news!!