A pause in posting…
Readers!
Do not expect many posts by me today or for the next few days. I am undergoing knee replacement surgery today, and will not be in shape for any work for at least the next day or so. Depending on my recovery, I could be posting by tomorrow, but don’t bet on it. More likely I will begin to resume work later in the week.
Today’s quick links will go up mid-morning. I have also scheduled evening pauses, so enjoy these. Other than that you will have to wait for my return for much else. I will then make sure to catch up and put up posts covering all the space news that occurred during this pause.
Note that such surgery these days is almost routine, so all should be well. I am hoping it will allow me to once again hike as I have done for my whole life, before the bones in the left knee in November decided to kiss painfully with each bend.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Readers!
Do not expect many posts by me today or for the next few days. I am undergoing knee replacement surgery today, and will not be in shape for any work for at least the next day or so. Depending on my recovery, I could be posting by tomorrow, but don’t bet on it. More likely I will begin to resume work later in the week.
Today’s quick links will go up mid-morning. I have also scheduled evening pauses, so enjoy these. Other than that you will have to wait for my return for much else. I will then make sure to catch up and put up posts covering all the space news that occurred during this pause.
Note that such surgery these days is almost routine, so all should be well. I am hoping it will allow me to once again hike as I have done for my whole life, before the bones in the left knee in November decided to kiss painfully with each bend.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Best of Luck with everything, Bob!!!!
Mr. Z.,
Good luck with that! Is that an outpatient thing? Just had a friend get her hip replaced and she was home the same day. (surgery at 8am, out the door by 5pm.)
Highly interested in knowing if they are using Fentanyl with Midazolam to knock you out?
–The fentanyl is a very potent painkiller, but they bring you out of it with Narcan, an opiate antagonist.
–The midazolam (known as “dazzle” to recreational users) is a benzodiazepine which essentially erases your memory for 30 minutes, they bring you out of that with flumazenil, which is the benzo antagonist.
–You will feel amazingly clear when they wake you up, but your knee will feel “sore.” Both antagonists work instantly. They’ll ask you to count backwards from 10 and the next thing you know you’ll be wide awake with new hardware in your knee.)
And… how many days of painkillers are they going to send you home with? (10 years ago, they would have given you a 60-count bottle full of OxyContin or Vicodin, and a refill if you asked nicely.) I’m guessing you’ll get 3 days worth of something, hopefully not just Tylenol!
Take care!
Best wishes and safe surgery! Don’t worry about posting, you are not a utility company!
Hoping you a speedy recovery!
Hope the surgery goes smoothly!
Did that a year and a half ago. Successful, but painful. Strength and stability are great. Flexibility perhaps 80%. Most interesting lesson was the difference in concern for bleeding after the operation while the incision healed between the orthos and everyone else. Good luck. Cheers –
Good luck with that operation.
My friend just went through that one.
Hoping all goes well Mr. Z!
Yo
Prayers for a quick recovery. Preserving mobility is a key driver as we age.
Bet of luck with the surgery and your outcome!
Listen to your physical therapist(s), and follow their instructions. They’ve helped lots of people through the strength and range-of-motion recovery. At first it seems like “PT” stands for “pure torture”, or maybe “physical tyranny” but they’re really got your best interests at heart. And they usually start you doing that stuff the day after surgery. Hang in there.
My wife had her knee done about a decade ago after years of “bone-on-bone” that limited her to walking no more than a couple of hundred yards at a time. Now she can routinely walk a hike with me in the mountains and hills. Of course, she was a fanatic about doing her exercises and stretching post-surgery, and still rides her stationary recumbent bike a few times a week. If you haven’t got one of those, think about buying a used one since it’s a great non-impact way to move the legs.
Heck, one of the things they have you do is partial rotations back and forth on a stationary bike, and I remember the yelp she let out when she accidentally spun the pedals all the way around. Her biggest complaint about that was that once she had done it the first time, the therapist told her to just keep on doing it!
Here’s wishing you the best.
I pray you have a routine surgery and fast, full and complete recovery Bob.
Looking forward to your next post.
Bob, a lesson learned: Do EVERYTHING your post-op physical therapy says to do. OTC pain drugs are ok.
Best wishes to you. May you have a safe surgery and a quick recovery. Do everything the physical therapist tells you to do.
Get well soon Bob. Had left knee partial last year. Best thing I ever done. Actually last Thursday was my final Dr. Visit
Prayers for a quick recovery. Don’t be a hero regarding pain management, you have your head on straight.
Bob,
Hoping for a speedy recovery. My wife just had a knee replacement and it went well but her mobility was down for several weeks. Rest up.
Best wishes for a successful surgery and recovery. My partner needs both knees done, but she’s stalling on it as hard as she can.
Recovery needs to go at your own pace. Don’t worry about posting. We’ll see you again when we see you.
Wayne really is the best!
So, I guess you are flying to Cuba or Canada tonight for your surgery?
You always want the best for your healthcare.
You will be up and walking the same day.
No more Pickle Ball!
Well actually, if you’re under pain meds we wouldn’t mind if you post a bit.
Best wishes, good luck, speedy and full recovery!
Had both done. That tormentor called a physical therapist is your best friend – do as they say!
Get well quick!
Good luck. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and a great outcome.
I think people have a right to not hurt. There should be no prescriptions.
Two years ago I was in hospital with embolism filled lungs. They said I needed a heart valve, had a cancer spot on a kidney. I won’t go on Medicaid…too proud
I never grew up a hell-raiser…or a drinker…but I am in increasing pain and it is either vodka or a bullet.
My anger at the medical community—what they did to my parents–is part of why I stay upright.
No one should hurt like my Dad did.
Best of luck on an uneventful procedure and a quick recovery.
I’d be interested in whatever progress reports you care to provide. Post-procedure reports from others I have known who had hip or knee replacements have varied quite a bit as to after-the-fact quality of life.
My own leg joints are not in the best of shape either, but the hips are worse than the knees. I did visit an orthopod about the hips awhile back. Didn’t like his attitude, so if I ever have any procedures, he won’t be doing them.
I’m hoping some genuinely restorative therapies are forthcoming as I’ve never liked the idea of synthetic replacements because of the seriously invasive nature of the procedures required to install them. Perhaps I will luck out in that respect before things get bad enough to make me reconsider.
I’ve already had personal experience with what a couple of decades of medical advance can do to improve outcomes. I had my first cataract lens replacement procedure in the mid-90s and it was a mess. I had the second such procedure using an entirely different technology a bit over 20 years later and things went swimmingly.
I have two of them……the recovery is not fun, but in the end you will be so glad you got the procedures(s) done!!
My best wishes for a speedy and uneventful recovery, Bob! I have heard many who do this are pleased with the results.
Mr. Zimmerman, I hope you are blessed with a quick and complete recovery.
Pain meds… My sister after they gave her Fentanyl before her hip replacement… “Oh Wow!,,”
Good luck and many thanks, Robert.