My name is Bill, and I am going to have a surgical procedure.

I say this not to garner any sympathy or concern, but to write about my total surgical experience.  I want to write about the fact-finding and  the nervous waiting leading up to the surgery, the surgery itself, the recovery and rehab time afterward, and then the long physical therapy period that will follow.  I want to write about this because many customers of Rehabmart have gone through a similar experience or are in the process of going through the experience, or know of a family member or friend who will be having a surgical procedure.  I plan to have a running series of my date with the knife with what it is like with the pre-op, surgical, and post-op worries, concerns, and planning.  

Rehabmart is proud to be a leader in offering thousands of medical products to both medical professionals and patients alike, and I have written a large number of articles about such products.  Now, I can directly relate with the use of many of these products and question the people who use them in their work.  Selling medical devices and products is a needed commodity, used by thousands of people each year, yet unlike many other commodities sold, many of Rehabmart’s products are often used by people who never wanted to be in the position to use them in the first place.  I am hoping that my series of simple articles will help shed some light on why some of these medical products are used, where they are used, who uses them and how they help others.  One thing that cannot be forgotten is that every device that Rehabmart sells has a human end-user, most often in the area of healing, physical support, or in assisting individuals with their daily activities.

Unlike buying a car, sofa, perfume, or a football, all of which are sort of non-essentials that give a person pleasure, fun or excitement, medical supplies are often needed by an individual to be able to heal them from injury or surgery, or to assist in continuing with a certain quality of life.  Many people who need medical supplies will experience fear, pain, confusion, and anger, yet also experience or feel relief, happiness, health, and a more positive future and a better quality of daily living.  I hope to be able to capture some of these feelings and put them down on paper to share and support what many other Rehabmart customers may also be experiencing.

First, a little backstory on why I am having surgery.  As with most situations in life, sometimes the start of something is caused by the littlest thing.  For me, it was a stubbing of my toe which led to a fall off my front porch.  Within one month I had two accidents of twisting and falling within my home, leaving me with quadriceps tendon tears on both legs.  Unfortunately, I foolishly tried to self-heal myself for several months, but to no avail.  With hindsight, not the smartest thing I ever did.  Over the months I learned to walk, very carefully, with a rolling walker, a walker that has wheels on the front two legs of a four-legged walker.

Being a military veteran, I finally decided to see if the Veteran's Administration could help me and I found out that it could, hence my soon-to-be surgery.  The process of seeing a civilian doctor, then going to the local VA clinic to see a doctor, then being sent to the VA medical center 150 miles away to see a surgeon for a surgical review, then waiting a couple of weeks to attend an all-day pre-operation meeting with various medical personnel and taking medical tests, well, it has been quite a journey.  A journey that has been filled with all types of emotions, from appreciation in being able to have the surgery and care, to frustration and anger in trying to get answers about the important recovery aspect after my surgery.  Due to my surgery and the unusual aspect of having both of my legs in long ankle-to-thigh casts for six to eight weeks, plus the logistics of getting the correct medical supplies that I will need set up and ready in place at home, combined with being 150 miles away between the hospital and my home which leads to finding an appropriate and safe form of transportation from the hospital, well, the questions are multiple yet the answers are few.

Once again I am not alone in dealing with this surgical journey.  Many Rehabmart customers and their friends also have had or are experiencing the same type of medical situation. The more help one has to assist them, the better or easier the way through the medical maze will be.  I am very lucky in that I have a loving wife to take care of me while I am going through this ordeal.  Some people will have a larger circle of family and friend’s to help care for their surgery and recovery, while others may have no one to assist them and must rely on themselves with their surgical/recovery journey.

At this moment as I sit here writing, I am also waiting by the phone to hear from one of the several hospital/clinic social workers that I have spoken with over the past month to hopefully answer some of the questions I asked last week.  Having had experience as a social worker and working in the medical field in the past, both in-patient and out-patient, I have found out that the best way for a patient to be ‘noticed’ and stand out from other client/patient cases is to be interested in their own recovery.  Ask the medical worker as many questions that can be thought of, and make a list of these questions prior to seeing or speaking with a medical professional.  Be nice and respectful to the worker, but also make sure that there will be follow-ups to the questions that have been asked and which weren’t answered.  

Many times the social worker or medical professional might not know an answer to an asked question so they will oftentimes find out the answer and get back with the patient.  Make sure that this happens.  If, after an appropriate time has passed with no answers, the client/patient should forge ahead and contact the medical worker again to follow-up for the answer to a question.  Many times a social worker/medical worker will have all intent and purpose to get back with an answer to a question but he or she may get sidetracked and forget.  Quite often, medical personnel appreciate these reminders from patients.  No social worker or medical staff likes to have ‘loose ends’ on a patient's chart, so don’t be shy in contacting the medical worker if a question is not answered in a timely matter.

Remember that ANY surgery and recovery is an important process.  Understanding all that can be known about both the surgery and recovery will ease a lot of concerns and possibly prevent future problems. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to health, knowing as much as possible is the best route to an easier and healthier recovery.  

I have nine more days until my surgery and most of the time I feel good about it, but sometimes…well, the worst time of day is when lying awake at night in bed, when I let myself really think about what I am about to go through and I have to tell you, I am just like everybody else...I get scared.

Bill Stock
Executive Editor,
Content & Social Media Services
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO