Slow Love

Day Of Reckoning

When we arrived the VIP area, he keyed the code and it let us in, it is section of the Dr.'s garage. We go into a designated parking spot, head over to the elevator and he knew exactly where he was going, so I followed him. When we get to VIP check in, they have scheduled a battery of tests and images. I requested a heart scan be added to make sure everything was okay there. Most of the time I was by his side with him throughout this whole process. This is great being a VIP as there is no wait and they do all the tests immediately. When they finished with the tests we were escorted to a large executive type office to wait. While we were waiting, I smiled at him, holding his hand, "I'm happy you are getting this looked at. Thank you for doing this quickly." He grabbed me in a hug and said, "No, thank you for giving me the courage to do this. I have never had anyone in my life that cares for me as much as you do. I know if it wasn't for you in my life, I would not be here. I love you." Holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes and after a brief wait, the Dr came in with stacks and files of paperwork. 

The name on his badge is Dr. Scott Avery, reaching his hand to introduce himself to me, he already knew him from his previous surgery. He sat down and said, "Prince, you should already know what I'm going to say about your hip. No doubt about it, you need surgery to have it replaced." He turned and put the X-ray up and showed us what was going on. He says, "It is like the last one, bone on bone and you have to get it taken care of. It will not be getting any better and you may have nerve damage as well. If you don't get it taken care of, then you will have nerve damage that may be irreversible. Your knees look good for now but you may have to have that taken care of down the road. You knew when you had the left hip replaced that it was only a matter of time that the right one was going to need to done as well. The first thing we need to look at is getting this hip replaced so you can get rehabbed quickly. We don't think you have any nerve damage yet but we will know more when we get in there." Prince said, "How soon can I have this done?" Dr Avery said, "I do surgeries on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which day works out for you?" Prince said, "Yes, this Wednesday will be just fine." I was stunned and taken aback. Just like before with me, everything with this man moves at warp speed. Dr Avery said, "We have done all the pre-op testing, so all we have to do is schedule it. I'll have my secretary schedule you in and call you with what time to be at the hospital." He asked how long would he be in the hospital? The Dr replied, "Probably only 2-3 days depending on how well you do with the surgery. We will do a minimally invasive type surgery so it should be a quicker recovery time than the last one. It also will not require a blood transfusion." He said, "I have to have my wife with me so we need an extra large bed. We have been inseparable, and this is not negotiable." Dr Avery obligingly said "Yes, we can arrange that. We need to discuss the other tests. Your blood work is excellent and shows you have lead a clean, healthy lifestyle, all the numbers are spot on. The heart scan was perfect and I don't see any long term or other effects from the drug use. We have to address the opiate drug use. You sir, have a high amount in your system, high enough that a misstep could overdose and kill you. We will have to address that after the surgery. After surgery you will be given pain medication at the site and small doses to control related surgical pain, we can assess if you need to enter drug rehab. If you can tolerate the lower doses, then weaning you off completely should be easy. The brain thinks it needs more and that is what we have to determine while you are recovering from surgery. How you handle the withdrawal from it." Prince says, "If I have to do drug rehab, can it be outpatient? I cannot and will not be separated from my wife or work for 30 days." Dr Avery said, "We will cross that bridge if we have to. I think outpatient will work if we have to go down that road. How long have you been using Vicodin?" Prince said, "I got my GP to prescribe it when the Alleve wasn't working anymore. I've been taking it for a several months now." "Have you used other opiates in the past?" He said, "I've used Percocet in the past because when I perform there are joint stresses with performing and injuries. I preform a lot because it is the most guaranteed way to earn money so yes, I've taken opiates off and on for a very long time. My GP prescribed them for me to keep me working through the pain and injuries that occur." Dr Avery says, " Well, what we know now that we did not back then, is that these drugs are not what they were presented to be. They are very addictive and your regular Dr was not doing you any favors to keep prescribing them to you. We can evaluate while you are here if you need drug rehab or not. I hope we can wean you off while you are here so rehab won't be necessary." The Dr told us that scheduling would call tomorrow with instructions and what time to check into the hospital on Wednesday. Dr Avery expresses he is glad there is no delay and scheduling it quickly to get it taken care of. We will be escorted back to the VIP elevator by a staff member to wait in the office, "I'll see you Wednesday."