There are so many thoughts rolling around in my brain that I wanted to write about this week, but did not have time to write. These are the topics for tonight: My Husband’s Surgery and Hotel Reservations. The next blog post will be Eclipse and Road Trippin’

My Husband’s Surgery

Do you know that It is highly unusual that a person would have a total knee replacement and then get an infection in that knee? Do you know it is even more unusual that a person would get an infection not only in one knee, but in BOTH knees after the infection turned septic? Do you know what the treatment is for that? Besides the obvious loads of antibiotics, both knee replacements must be surgically removed. “Spacers” need to be inserted into the knee joint. The spacers are impregnated with two or three different kinds of antibiotics that are left in the knees for several months. Once the tests for infection in the knees come back clear of infection, the spacers are then removed, and the new knees are replaced. That is a total of 6 surgeries my husband had last year and the year before.

His walking has been going downhill (no pun intended) ever since the last surgery in June of 2022. Especially in his right knee. He cannot straighten his knees. He walks with a walker. The walker barely keeps him somewhat upright. Falls are quite common for him lately when not using the walker. He wears striped shirts, so I can tell whether he is walking or rolling! 😊 Just kidding!

After a several tests and X-rays in the last month or so, it was determined last week that the patella in the right knee has Avascular Necrosis, which has caused the patella (kneecap) to basically disintegrate into pieces causing the three screws which were placed during the last surgery to hold the patella in place, are now “floating” around loose in the knee joint. My husband’s surgeon said with a sense of urgency that those screws need to be removed before doing damage to the knee replacement parts. I quietly thought to myself with a smile on my face, “Ya think???

Surgery is scheduled for this Tuesday at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Hotel Reservations

Thursday night, I did a Google search online for a number to call to make reservations at the hotel near the U of U. I called what I thought was a direct connection to the hotel. I made the reservations, gave my credit card information and everything to this person who gave us an amazing price for our hotel stay. He stated he would email the reservation number to me, so I gave my email address to him. I thanked him and we hung up. Guess what! No hotel reservation confirmation number arrived in my inbox.

The next day (yesterday), I called the front desk at the actual hotel and asked them to confirm if the reservation had indeed been made. It had not. They said it can take a while for the reservation made through a third part to reach their system. I gave it 5 hours and called again. They suggested I call the reservation number back that I had called the night before. I called and followed the automated system to the point where it told me no reservation could be found with my phone number.

Tonight, I called the front desk at the hotel. They still could not find a reservation for me under my name. So, I said let’s just make a new reservation. The night manager at the hotel said he would be happy to help me make a reservation. Unfortunately, they cannot make the reservations from the hotel. He would need to transfer me to the “reservations” number. I was thinking, “Oh no! Here we go again!” But, the call was transferred and the reservations are made. And, this time, I have a confirmation number AND an email with all of the reservation confirmation information. (Say that three times, fast!)