[Zeke]

Cookie cutter story of how it went when they removed my 22 month old shoulder replacement down to the last screw and hooked me up to an IV pump of antibiotics I would wear for 35 days.

Also in the hospital for 4 days while Covid raged and the line out of the ER door was 100 people long. The big difference was I was in no pain but took the pills anyway more out of boredom.

I absolutely cannot sleep on my back so I didn't sleep for 70 hours before I managed 2 hours only to be woken up at 6am by the nurse leaving her shift at 7. I found that sleep by rolling over on my side, no small feat as you know.

I too bypassed the alarm for getting out of bed when I found the switch at the foot of the bed. I had long since figured the cage thing out and dropped it at will. I spent the last day sitting where I pleased, going to the bathroom as I pleased with no assistance. The only inconvenience physically was having my arm hopelessly slung and strapped to my chest.

I was supposed to be out of there much sooner and in fact 8 months later when I received my 2nd shoulder I spent one night. Like you, Patrick, it was paperwork and a delayed delivery of the take-home pump and carrier. Plus I had to wait for someone to teach me how to change the dosage out even though a nurse came to the house 6 days a week. My wife and I did the change over on each 7th day. Kinda hard when you have only one arm.

Talk about paperwork, I have been sent to collections just recently for unpaid bills after 3 years to the month. The best part is that the bills for the next round that were submitted in the following January by the same company were paid by insurance. So deductible in Dec was not the problem. Billing and coding errors that went to sleep for 3 years until someone thought they should just sent that out to collections w/o even writing me a letter.

Back to the hospital, what a sihyhole. Loud as hell 24/7 with way too much banter and joking/laughing amongst staff. It must be their release for working in a horrible job doing 13 hour shifts. Yeah, 13 because of the handoff coming in and leaving.

For the record this was the famous Cedars Sinai where many Hollywood people have been treated and many there for their last days. I never went back, changed surgeons and hospitals and the difference was night and day.

Sorry for your ordeal. Someday it will all be in the past and you'll be on that Speedster in a good mood if not total comfort. Sure, you'll have limitations. I can't (not supposed to) lift more than 20 pounds or work overhead at all, both of which I have violated foolishly.