Tippy's Thanksgiving Accident
Hi All,
Thought you would want to know that Tippy fell and broke her hip on Thanksgiving day. She has now had surgery and the pain is significantly reduced but she still has much re-hab ahead of her. She was working in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner for all of us, David & John and their families were all here, when one, or maybe two, of the dogs got under foot and she lost her balance trying not to step on them and she fell. Due to the position of her left leg, foot laying flat on the floor pointing away from the body, it was apparent there was a serious problem. We called 911 immediately and the local volunteer fire department had a guy there in about five minutes followed shortly after by three more. They couldn’t do much except offer first aid which she didn’t need and to help make her comfortable. The ambulance arrived from Corsicana, about 30 miles away, in about 40 minutes. One of the volunteer fire guys waited to meet them at the main road and guided them in so they wouldn’t miss any turns. The EMT was able to give Tippy some meds to relieve her pain and then they were able to get her on the stretcher. I followed the ambulance into Corsicana and went to the emergency room with her. They took x-rays right away and it was quite apparent that the hip was broken right through the femoral (sp) neck.
Unfortunately the orthopedic surgeon from the hospital was gone for the holiday weekend and no one else was on call. The emergency room doctor said the hip needed quick attention so they wanted to transfer her to a hospital that has an orthopedic surgeon available. Tyler, Texas was the closest with the best facilities so they transported her there, after an hour wait for another ambulance. I again followed in the car, about 80 miles from one hospital to the other, and again went to the emergency room with her. We arrived there at about 8:00 pm, originally picked up by the ambulance at home at about 2:00, and then waited until almost 11:00 to get placed in a room on the orthopedic floor. The orthopedic doctor met with us in the ER and explained the surgery and the possible re-hab that would be needed. He also spoke with us again after Tippy got into her room. He was very nice and reassuring about the procedure. He said he doesn’t treat the surgery like an assembly line but he does do quite a few. The important thing was that Tippy liked him right away.
I finally left about ten minutes to twelve for the 75 mile drive home and arrived about 1:15 AM. The boys were still up, kind of, and O reviewed everything with them, had a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving, got a few things put together, and got to bed at almost 3:00. I got up at 6:15, got the motorhome arranged and started, hooked up the car and Alex and I were on the way back to Tyler at 7:00. I arrived at the RV park at 8:45 and was on my way to the hospital when Tippy called to say they were taking her to surgery. I got there to find she had already been moved to pre-op, 9:30, and they gave me directions to that location. I met Tippy there and waited for the doctors to begin the surgery. Well we waited until almost 11:30 before they came to give her some “relaxing meds” and take her to surgery. I then returned to the RV park to take care of Alex and finish setting up the coach. I returned to the hospital at 1:00 and waited to hear from the doctor. He finished the surgery at about 2:00, came and assured me that everything went well, and told me that she would be brought up to her room in about an hour. I waited there and she did arrive at 3:00.
The surgery went fine, basically the bottom half of a hip replacement, and she rested comfortably, better than pre-surgery, Friday night as did I. Alex and I went to bed at 9:30 and didn’t get up until 8:15. I took her for her morning walk, had some coffee, canceled some reservations we had for trips next week and our December and January trip, and then headed for the hospital at 10:00. To my surprise Tippy was sitting in a chair and had already put weight on the hip and leg! She was able to sit in the chair, a recliner on wheels, until after lunch before returning to her bed. They allow me to order meals with her so Tippy and I had lunch together before I returned to see Alex and to send this e-mail. I will return later this afternoon to visit and have dinner with Tippy before returning to the coach for the evening. I think Tippy will be ready to take calls tomorrow, her cell number is 702-812-9985 if you don’t have it, and please keep her in your prayers.
Thought you would want to know that Tippy fell and broke her hip on Thanksgiving day. She has now had surgery and the pain is significantly reduced but she still has much re-hab ahead of her. She was working in the kitchen preparing Thanksgiving dinner for all of us, David & John and their families were all here, when one, or maybe two, of the dogs got under foot and she lost her balance trying not to step on them and she fell. Due to the position of her left leg, foot laying flat on the floor pointing away from the body, it was apparent there was a serious problem. We called 911 immediately and the local volunteer fire department had a guy there in about five minutes followed shortly after by three more. They couldn’t do much except offer first aid which she didn’t need and to help make her comfortable. The ambulance arrived from Corsicana, about 30 miles away, in about 40 minutes. One of the volunteer fire guys waited to meet them at the main road and guided them in so they wouldn’t miss any turns. The EMT was able to give Tippy some meds to relieve her pain and then they were able to get her on the stretcher. I followed the ambulance into Corsicana and went to the emergency room with her. They took x-rays right away and it was quite apparent that the hip was broken right through the femoral (sp) neck.
Unfortunately the orthopedic surgeon from the hospital was gone for the holiday weekend and no one else was on call. The emergency room doctor said the hip needed quick attention so they wanted to transfer her to a hospital that has an orthopedic surgeon available. Tyler, Texas was the closest with the best facilities so they transported her there, after an hour wait for another ambulance. I again followed in the car, about 80 miles from one hospital to the other, and again went to the emergency room with her. We arrived there at about 8:00 pm, originally picked up by the ambulance at home at about 2:00, and then waited until almost 11:00 to get placed in a room on the orthopedic floor. The orthopedic doctor met with us in the ER and explained the surgery and the possible re-hab that would be needed. He also spoke with us again after Tippy got into her room. He was very nice and reassuring about the procedure. He said he doesn’t treat the surgery like an assembly line but he does do quite a few. The important thing was that Tippy liked him right away.
I finally left about ten minutes to twelve for the 75 mile drive home and arrived about 1:15 AM. The boys were still up, kind of, and O reviewed everything with them, had a plate of leftovers from Thanksgiving, got a few things put together, and got to bed at almost 3:00. I got up at 6:15, got the motorhome arranged and started, hooked up the car and Alex and I were on the way back to Tyler at 7:00. I arrived at the RV park at 8:45 and was on my way to the hospital when Tippy called to say they were taking her to surgery. I got there to find she had already been moved to pre-op, 9:30, and they gave me directions to that location. I met Tippy there and waited for the doctors to begin the surgery. Well we waited until almost 11:30 before they came to give her some “relaxing meds” and take her to surgery. I then returned to the RV park to take care of Alex and finish setting up the coach. I returned to the hospital at 1:00 and waited to hear from the doctor. He finished the surgery at about 2:00, came and assured me that everything went well, and told me that she would be brought up to her room in about an hour. I waited there and she did arrive at 3:00.
The surgery went fine, basically the bottom half of a hip replacement, and she rested comfortably, better than pre-surgery, Friday night as did I. Alex and I went to bed at 9:30 and didn’t get up until 8:15. I took her for her morning walk, had some coffee, canceled some reservations we had for trips next week and our December and January trip, and then headed for the hospital at 10:00. To my surprise Tippy was sitting in a chair and had already put weight on the hip and leg! She was able to sit in the chair, a recliner on wheels, until after lunch before returning to her bed. They allow me to order meals with her so Tippy and I had lunch together before I returned to see Alex and to send this e-mail. I will return later this afternoon to visit and have dinner with Tippy before returning to the coach for the evening. I think Tippy will be ready to take calls tomorrow, her cell number is 702-812-9985 if you don’t have it, and please keep her in your prayers.
posted by Stu & Tippy On the Road | 4:25 PM
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