Not all of us can do great things during our lifetime, but we can surely do many small things with great passion and love.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Episode 5 - The Day After

31 May 07, Thu. D2, the day after (the operation ).

Pain continued throughout the night and day. Informed the nurse that the pain level had gone up to 8. Today, I can wriggle the toes and flex the ankle slightly, but there was no relief to the pain. Started to get a fever @8pm, 37.9deg, BP shot up to 149 (my normal BP is 110 and below). A Dr Jeffrey came in to check and instructed to start sponging. He said he would give me a painkiller injection later.
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1 Jun 07, Fri. D3, Introducing the CPM Machine

Called the nurse as I couldn’t sleep and the pain was unbearable. She finally came and gave a painkilling jab at 1.40am, which reduced the pain level by half to 4. Fever also subsided and I finally managed to get some sleep. Prof came in the morning and said I could start on the CPM machine (Continuous Passive Motion). He explained that flexing the knee regularly stimulates the growth of the cells, as well as prevents the stiffening of the knee muscles. He also ordered a 'Ranger' brace for my knee and instructed that it be set at 0 to 30°. Brace cost S$210 which had to pay in cash to the supplier. The physiotherapist, or physio in short, came in later and the nurse removed the bottom cast to get ready for the first session on the CPM machine. The machine is designed to flex the knee very slowly up and down to a preset angle. This was set from 0 to 30°, identical range of motion as the brace. The CPM session wasn’t painful, although the machine did looked like a torture machine at first sight. The drip was finally removed as I could now eat and drink normally. As a Class A1 room was finally available, I was shifted to Ward 78 Bed17 @5pm. The physio came in @6pm and tried teaching me to get out of bed on crutches – my leg cramped up several times with intense pain. She finally strapped up the brace. By then, I almost fainted when I stood up with the crutches for the first time since the operation. Lots of blood and pus could be seen draining off through the tubes into the drain pot.
Click below to see how the CPM machine works

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