Subject: The Cast Is Gone
Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2007 12:44:35 +0000

I am continuing to recover from my hip surgery very well. Here I am in my big old abductor brace. I have to wear it another month.

My 'first' shower in six weeks - getting out of the cast - and then having to fold myself back up into the abductor brace. Bill took this photo the minute I got the cast off.

Julie

Subject: Julie's Home!!
Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2007 20:35:35 +0000

We made our trip to Gainesville this morning for Julie's 10:30 AM appointment with Dr. Gearen to have the body cast removed and xrays taken. Julie had been counting the hours the past two weeks leading up to having the cast off. They were exactly on time and the cast was cut off precisely at 10:25 AM this morning.

Dr. Gearen spent 30 minutes with us going over the surgery and the results as of today and the plans for the future. For the next six weeks he wants Julie in the abductor hip brace she had worn after previous dislocations and he wants her not to walk without her walker. No rehab on the hip until another six weeks of healing. But Julie will be able to get around more independently and care for herself here at home. I expect she will be able to go to church and other places where the floor is even and she can use her walker. Then back to Dr. Gearen again in six weeks for a check up and planning then for hip rehab. But basically we are both very pleased with her progress and very happy to be on the road to recovery and to a normal life.

The first thing Julie did when we got home from Gainesville this afternoon was to TAKE A SHOWER!!. First shower since before the surgery on May 31. Now to unpack and get some rest.
Thank you all for your love and concern. This has been a long journey. But successful. Bill

We continue to receive updates ... 6/17/2007:

With body cast and all Julie is home today after nearly three weeks. We only have about three weeks more before the body cast comes off and rehab can begin..

We have Julie in the downstairs library, which has been converted into a hospital room. She has her lap top there, and had 481 messages piled up waiting for her from the past three weeks. We have already had visits today by the physical therapist and the home nurse, who will be coming every day. So we will manage these next three weeks until the body cast comes off..

Julie is happy to be home.

Thanks so much for your love and your support during this difficult period.

We continue to receive updates written by Bill Mason, Julie's husband... in part he wrote 6/14/2007:

Yesterday was Wednesday, June 13, fourteen days post surgery. I got Julie at Brooks Hospital at 7 AM and drove her back to Gainesville to have her stitches and staples removed and a new body cast put on. The incision looked very good; 55 staples in a 22 inch long incision down the right side of her hip. But her skin under the cast looked excellent. After a two hour drive home through a very heavy summer rain/wind/hail storm we got Julie back in her bed at Brooks at about 4 PM, a tiring day, no lunch. She took her medication and went to sleep. She is not in pain from the hip, which is being well medicated. Just frustrated and uncomfortable with the body cast. And counting the hours until it finally comes off at 1 PM July 11th!!!

Today at the hospital we will begin the planning process of transferring Julie to a hospital bed and nursing staff at home to be completed and transferred in the next several days. By the time all that is prepared she will be three weeks in to her six weeks in the cast. The Rehab hospital has done a good job of stabilizing Julie, but at this time there's no additional rehab they can perform until the cast comes off in July and the hip itself is ready to be rehabbed. Then she will go there on an outpatient basis. Until then we will just maintain Julie at home, keep her safe from falls, keep her well fed and quiet, and give her time to read her books. Meanwhile, here's a photo of Julie yesterday after the new cast and on the way back to Jacksonville.

We continue to receive updates written by Bill Mason, Julie's husband... in part he wrote:

Today is Wednesday, June 6th., the seventh post-op day.

We're getting settled in at Brooks a little better now. Yesterday, the first day there, was very difficult for everyone--- Julie, the nurses, the physical therapists, and all.... Part of the problem yesterday was that the hospital orthopedic unit beds were all full when Julie was admitted, so she had to go into a Stroke Patient unit (a place where they don't deal with body casts).

But today she has been moved to the orthopedic unit and everyone there seems very competent and I think Julie will be more comfortable......

Julie doesn't have much pain from the hip or the operative site. Just a great deal of frustration and discomfort from the cast; A most miserable, Draconian and Neaderthalithic contraption.

This is what she has to do for six weeks in order to have the best chance of a safer hip. Don't know yet how long we will be at Brooks. I hope as long as possible to ensure best safety.

Thanks for your continued prayers and good wishes.......

Subject: Julie's Surgery
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 01:10:06 +0000

It's been a very long day from the doctor's discharge orders today at 6:30 AM at Shands in Gainesville until 5:30 PM when we finally got her into a bed at Brooks Rehab Hospital here in Jax. Not a happy or restful transition.

Tomorrow the medical staff at Brooks will meet and design a care plan for Julie. At this point we have no idea what that will be or how long. Meanwhile she endures in her body cast. For Julie that is not a happy situation.

Here are some photos of the transition today.

Bill Mason

Today is Saturday, June 2nd, Julie's second post-op day into her new life. However, we didn't anticipate spending the next six weeks in a body cast. But that's what they put Julie in at Shands this morning. From her rib cage to her knee. She can't bend or move at all. Dr. Gearen said that this is the only way to totally immobilize the hip 24 hours a day for six weeks while giving the surgically repaired tissue time to heal. Then after the six weeks of immobility the rehab will begin, especially regaining muscle mass and tone.

But Julie has a great attitude about the whole experience and has every confidence that after all this she will be getting back to health and will be able to live a normal life. I hope to move her to Brooks Rehab in Jax early next week. She'll be there for perhaps two weeks. Then back to Shands to have her surgical staples removed and be re-casted. Then home. I'll have a hospital bed brought in to the downstairs library, as Julie will not be able to negotiate any stairs during this time. And I plan to have a home health nurse come in every day to help Julie with personal needs. But I'll be here to do the shopping and cooking and general duties while she recovers.

Meanwhile, Julie maintains her cheerful outlook. Here's a photo I made about an hour ago of her smiling and giving you all a wave from her hospital room in Gainesville.

Bill