Home!

Home!! Yes, I'm home. We did spend a lot of time waiting this afternoon, but finally, around 2:00 p.m., the assisting surgeon came to my room, put me through my paces, and declared me fit to be discharged. It took two more hours before I was finally wheeled out of the hospital, but it doesn't matter now--I'm home! Before leaving the hospital, I had to climb five steps by myself, using a cane. I walked quite a long way in the hospital corridor using the walker, I dressed myself completely unassisted, and I was able to stand up from any surface (bed, toilet, easy chair, recliner, straight-back chair). Having passed all these tests, I was ready to leave.

Somehow on the trip home, one of my stitches pulled out partially, so I'm getting a fair amount of bleeding. Hint: You should ride in the back seat of your car when driving home from the hospital so that you will be able to keep your leg straight and immobile.

Our younger son, who lives nearby, came over to help get me in the house. By the time I'd gotten inside, had eaten one piece of pizza with the whole family, and had written this post, I was extremely tired. I'm going to bed now, and will explore more topics in the morning.