Booger Bear has an “I’ll be back” mentality when it comes to hernias. After his third hernia surgery on April 26 failed to correct the recurring problem, he was forced to have surgery for a fourth (and hopefully final) time today. This was decided after a second opinion and much debated pros and cons list. He is home recuperating and will be a wee bit grumpy for a few days as anesthesia is not his friend (but Lortab is). With Monkey Boy being here (report of adventures to follow in another entry this week), I won’t have to wait on him solely, but I would. MB had questions, of course, and we answered as many as we could in layman’s terms. Upon further research of my own, I found that Wikipedia used an excellent analogy to describe what a hernia is. Always being an educator, I had to share it with MB and my faithful or occasional readers.
According to Wikipedia, a hernia is a protrusion of a tissue, structure, or part of an organ through the muscular tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained. The hernia has 3 parts: the orifice through which it herniates, the hernial sac, and its contents. A hernia may be likened to a failure in the sidewall of a pneumatic tire.(See side photo.) The tire’s inner tube behaves like the organ and the sidewall like the body cavity wall providing the restraint. A weakness in the sidewall allows a bulge to develop, which can become a split, allowing the inner tube to protrude, and leading to the eventual failure of the tire.
Interestingly enough, the general discharge instructions for patients receiving anesthesia contained the usual and obvious instructions such as rest, ice, liquids, medicine with food, etc. Three items stood out under the underlined subheading FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS:
1. Do not drive a car, operate machinery or power tools, or use kitchen appliances.
2. Do not drink alcoholic beverages, including beer.
3. Do not make any important decisions or sign any legal documents.
WTF? I suppose that ruins my fantasy of BB serving me breakfast in bed with pancakes and French-pressed gourmet coffee with Bailey’s Irish Cream while we discuss having children. (Snicker)
Among the DOCTORS SPECIAL DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS were the following:
1. OK to shower in 24 hrs.
2. NO LIFTING greater than 25 lbs for 4 weeks
Again, WTF? He better shower after 24 hours, or he will have his R&R on the sofa. If he lifts anything greater than 25 lbs for the next 4 weeks, he’ll blow his side out. Hence the title of this entry!
However, through the power of suggestion, I would like to remind BB that the shelves I want installed in the closet do NOT weigh more than 25 lbs.
Ouch!!!! Give out best to BB, we hope he has a great (final) recuperation….
Tell MB hi for us too….