Tag: medical science

  • Move Over, MacGyver (Pt 10)

    Inside my body are two state of the art titanium hips. Medical science claims I could get 15, 20, maybe even 25 years of wear out of each hip (your actual mileage may vary).

    Whatever performance I get from my fake hips, I can’t do anything post-surgery without the aid of some amazing gizmos. Yes, I’ve got technology galore inside my body, but just get a load of some of the advanced technologies I have to help me cope with everyday life.

    The Hook-y Stick Tamp-y Pole
    The Hook-y Stick Tamp-y Pole
    While this contraption doesn’t look like much, it is an invaluable tool to someone who cannot bend over for fear of dislocating his new hip. Note the hook on one end– a brilliant design to hoist one’s loungewear up over foot, leg and on to waist landing area. Ummm, elastic hold me tightly– who needs a belt with you to comfort me?

    Note the other end with a clever tamping device. Use it to take pants off, or reach and lift something up with the opposite side.

    A stick has never been so useful, so essential, so absolutely crucial!

    Perhaps the greatest invention of all time-- The Sock Putter-Onner!
    Perhaps the greatest invention of all time– The Sock Put-Er-Onner!
    Imagine for just a moment you cannot bend over, yet you enjoy wearing socks– especially on your feet. You might think this an impossible task: putting socks on naked feet without bending over, but it CAN be done, Buster Brown!

    With a clever design and advanced engineering that borders on magic, the incredible Sock Put-Er-Onner (my name) is perhaps the greatest invention of all time (it makes sliced bread look like a crappy invention– try getting a sock on with a slice of bread, it can’t be done!).

    The Sock Put-Er-Onner is a hard plastic half-tube. You place your sock over it, put your foot in the sock and tube, grab both ends of the rope–with comfy soft spongy handles– pull upwards, and SHAZAM, you’re socked and stylin’ faster than you can say, “Hey, is the house on fire? Where’s all that smoke coming from, and what’s with those flames?!”

    Eat your heart-out MacGyver, you’ve never done anything this inventive.

    With the amazing Picker-Upper, you can pick stuff up without touching it!
    With the amazing Picker-Upper, you can pick stuff up without touching it!
    When you’re recouping after major surgery, you quickly come to an ugly truth: no matter what you want, it’s not close by.

    No worries, not with the technological wonder I call The Picker-Upper. It lets your hand play like it’s operating one of those claw machines as you grab the trigger, approach the wanted object, squeeze it firmly but gently, grab and hoist the object back your way.

    It’s invaluable for grabbing the TV remote, the phone, a bowling ball– whatever it is you want that you cannot bend over to get. I am so skilled with this device I’ve actually picked up a corn flake and a Cheerio and brought them back unharmed. You’ll want to test your skills, your dexterity as The Picker Upper makes grabbing things an exciting new sport.

    These incredibly amazing devices are what make painful surgery worth it. Go ahead, schedule your procedure and get to work on your recouping games. It’s all we’ve got until we get better.

  • “Look, Ma– No Hip!” (Pt. 2)

    It ain't pretty, but at least Percocets can ease the pain.
    It ain’t pretty, but at least Percocets can ease the pain.
    On Monday, Nov. 2, a man I barely know had me stripped and knocked out. Then he cut open my left buttock, yanked out my left leg bone, sawed-off the diseased arthritic ball joint, cemented a new titanium one into the leg bone and put it back into the hip joint (where he had placed a new artificial socket for smooth hip rotation).

    Welcome to total hip replacement surgery. Welcome to arthritis playing for keeps. Welcome to the ravages of growing old. Welcome to some Percocet-inspired notes about my ordeal for your enlightenment and perhaps even amusement. To quote a great philosopher, “The only thing that distinguishes mankind from animals is our ability to laugh at pain, and not wag our tails.”

    This was my second hip replacement. My right hip was replaced in April, 2008. It’s wonderful not to have arthritic pain there anymore, but to get to that pain-free other side requires a painful journey. The surgery, the rehabilitation, the scrutiny of TSA personnel when traveling because your fake hip got the metal detectors screaming, they’re all part of the process.

    Watch your step!
    Watch your step!
    The good news is you can be fixed. The bad news is medical science hasn’t made the process a cakewalk or cake-hobble.

    I will spend the next few blog entries detailing my experience. Reading these will be less painful than hip surgery and probably somewhat more enjoyable.

    That’s The Lint Screen way.

    Stay tuned…