Kaunas Days 2 and 3: Surgery, Post-OP and Start of Recovery

Kaunas: Day 2

Game Day at the Gijos Klinikos

The big day has arrived, its been 4 months since we knew for certain that this day was necessary.

Very fortunate to have the time and resources to sidestep the at least 30 months that would have been the future waiting in the Alberta version of the failed Canadian "medical" system. Not likely other provinces are much different, I just have no experience with them.

It is fascinating and tragic how government intervention in the Canadian medical system and the UK NHS, has destroyed the practice of medicine in these countries. Yes, I include the UK along with Canada(on good authority from other Nord Clinic patients as wells as friends in Scotland) in this grouping of most deficient, incompetent authorities globally. Rumour is Republic of Ireland may well also be included in this unparalleled company. Successive governments of these countries have turned the noble practice of medicine into a tax consuming, wasteful, behemoth that provides incredibly poor service while turning medical practitioners into little more than robotic uninspired civil servants.

The  "beloved" Canada Health Act and the UK NHS are only beloved by vote buying politicians and gullible voters duped into equating "free" with good. I also observe that the long wait to get surgery contributes greatly to further deterioration, not only of the damaged part, but of ones entire being. The injury makes it impossible to do many day to day tasks, reduces mobility, and adds more pounds to make matters worse; a downward spiral. This not only relates to old folks looking for new bone parts. Those waiting for necessary gender reassignment surgery are similarly suffering extreme anxiety and uncertainty with their inability to get a on with life. (Yes, these folks are suffering similar wait lists)

Room 9

Room 9 hall toward door

All the while government, if actually managed efficiently, could spend its resources on actual Health Care, where people are educated how to behave to lead healthy lives. Not promoting bad diet and sedentary living in support of Big Pharmas goal of selling more drugs. But hey, its great to get free stuff. If its too good to be true... its undoubtedly bullshit.

No, I'm not done yet. Good chance that there be another rant coming.

Room  9 En-suite Right

We arrive at the specified time of 08:00 at the Gijos Klinikos in Kaunas. It was interesting that nowhere was a Nord Clinic logo seen in this building, except on the newly acquired jackets that their representatives who herded us around were wearing. Seems Gijos Klinikos contracts out the space to Nord Clinic and no doubt others. Likely a very efficient business model.

Room 9 En-suite Left

We presented at the nursing station as we had been instructed to the previous day. Elaine was assigned Room 9, an excellent private room, no doubt identical to all the rest. Very modern, spotless, all the latest equipment, a lovely robe.

Johnny Gown

We loaded Elaine's stuff into her room, she changed into one of those fashionable backwards johnny gowns that hospitals issue to show off your backside.

Operating Theatre

A few minutes before 09:00 she disappeared into the operating theatre. I did catch a further glimpse of her as I had to backtrack to get my boots. The door opened as I passed, her skin had already been prepped with an orange disinfectant substance, Chloroprep? The door closed and the image was gone.  Like Elvis, I had left the building, in my case to worry about an uncertain future. I truly believed that my best friend, Bride of nearly 40 years was in good hands. Stuff however sometimes does go sideways.... If I was ever going to worry that time is now.

Two Hours Post-Op

I had been advised by Clinic staff to go away and return around noon. I took the opportunity to visit LIDL's, which is just across the road from the Clinic. I stocked up on a variety of beer (the Argus Strong version, 7.2%, was my favourite), a couple meat pies, pizza slice, fruit and sausage. Health food for the remainder of my stay at Algiro. Fully loaded up with staples for a couple days, I returned to the Clinic to see how it had all played out.

The surgery took about an hour, Spinal Anesthetic/block was used rather than General or Epidural, much less risk. If you have ever had a general, you know how awful they are, throat sore for a week or so and who knows what else might have occurred while you were absent your body? They offer the choice to remain awake and enjoy the action, or have a mild sedative to allow a brief exit to a happy place away from the fun. Elaine chose the latter.

Later in afternoon

She awoke around 10:00 still in operating theatre, Dr. Belickas had completed his work and even showed her how functional the knee was by cycling it through full movement for her. The Spinal block and sedative are clearly very effective. It will no doubt be some time before she gets back to where she can do that same movement on her own. She was back in her room by 10:10.

Argus Strong and me

I returned at noon and Elaine had a smile on her face. No doubt I still looked scared shitless, and was delighted to see her lovely smile, some of my tension was now relieved. I hung around until 13:30 enjoying her company. Dr. Belickas visited her just before 14:00 and remarked she was doing very well, he was happy with the result of the surgery.

I came back just after 16:30, the Spinal block had pretty much dissipated. New meds would soon be required. The Dr. was back again after 17:30 to check on her, wow! a surgeon that actually might care about his patient, or at least his reputation. By 19:00 Elaine still reporting "Not much pain at all ", she suggested possibly that the drugs were doing the talking. Tramadol mixed with something else was given to manage the pain. Able to attend the washroom with the walking aid. All good!
I returned to hotel to unwind a bit and write more silly blog words, my smile says it all. No need to patronize Algiro bar today, LIDL had me covered.

Kaunas: Day 3

The Roller Coaster recovery curve

26 Hours Post-Op

The pinta's and reduction in stress may have assisted in my sleeping later than normal, or maybe it was because it was after 02:00 when sleep mercifully came. I awoke at 08:45, enjoyed a quick breakfast at the hotel buffet, chased down a few items Elaine requested and headed to the Clinic.

Algiro Breakfast Buffet

An after XRAY had already been taken and Dr. Belickas had visited before 09:00. Elaine was able to ditch the johnny gear and get back in civilian clothes. At noon a physiotherapist arrived to provide instruction on proper use of walker and crutches. As can be seen at video link below, she was walking pretty good. Far beyond any expectation I had for this soon after surgery.

Video Link: Testing the new knee 26 hours after surgery

In the mean time I revisited LIDL. Obtained a couple food items and stocked up on more Argus Strong beer for the Druskininkai UPA spa. Figured a dozen pinta's would get me to the first of the week.

Wall art Tstore.lt

Elaine wanted a TShirt with a Lithuania logo, I found a nearby shop, Tstore.lt, and located the nice shirt as pictured below. Pre-printed, was even ladies medium as requested.

Took it back to the clinic room for sizing and well.... it was a bit small. Back to the Tstore.lt, the proprietor advised that, in that style even a large probably wouldn't fit.

Add caption

She enjoyed a body size/shape similar to Elaine, a perfect model, and suggested better to go with a unisex medium. The size she happened to be wearing. She was kind enough to model it and allow photos to be taken which I sent back to Elaine for review. The same colour was not available. She found that were only a few colours, but was OK as there was one close to that smaller one. She advised she could print a logo on it before 18:00 closing, I was happy. Enjoyed the wall art, in particular the kitty, a nice chat with proprietor and was away by 17:30

The Dr. Belickas visited two more times this day, lastly around the time I was enjoying the Tshirt shop adventure. He was very happy with Elaine's progress. He cautioned that she should expect swelling, bruising and pain for another few days. Apologized that he would not be available to stop in prior to Elaine checking out and heading to Spa Thursday. He would not be at this facility tomorrow as would be performing surgery at the public hospital.  He had visited Elaine a total of five times post surgery. He was also delighted with the 1L of Crown Royal picked up at Calgary duty free, a small token of our appreciation. He chatted freely with Elaine and noted happily that he had tickets for a basketball match Friday at the Kaunas Zalgiris Arena, apparently a big fan.


Another unrelated sidebar....Basketball games in Kaunas are played at the Zalgiris Arena . It was completed in 2011 at a cost of €50MM(which at the time was less than $70MMCAD), €15MM coming from the EU. Wasn't clear who provided the rest, likely other levels of government. A good bet that the Murray Edwards/Daryl Katz of Kaunas contributed as little as possible. The Arena holds over 15,000 persons for basketball and some 20,000 for concerts. Complete with 360 degree stage, 48 VIP suites and more. Biggest in the Baltics. Very impressive for a 250,000 person city.

Zalgiris Arena Website Link

What good value was achieved by Kaunas for the construction money. The Calgary Saddledome cost almost $100MMCAD in the 1980's, and the new one planned is budgeted at $550MM. Recalling that a Euro is about $1.50CAD, that equals over €350MM... will Calgary get anywhere close to 7 times the Arena that Kaunas has? Hard to imagine. Did I mention it's expensive to be Canadian? If Flames hockey was as popular as basketball apparently is in Kaunas, Murray and Naheed would have to build a 100,000 person arena in Cowtown! Unfortunately given the current direction of the Alberta economy, a Corral sized building will likely be sufficient to meet demand in another 10 years.

Neoline S61Dashcam

Calgary should be seeking out Lithuanian designers, contractors and trades to turnkey the project. Maybe even some EU money since we were too stupid to say yes to the Olympics and get our hands in the federal wallet. Germany is likely looking for a replacement for the UK, Alberta could join the EU, how could it be worse sending money to Brussels than quebec? Alberta might be lucky enough to get a fairer shake from the Germans than we do from the quebecers?

Oh yes, back to the topic at hand. The Dr. was correct; a prophet! The walking and physio treatment did take its toll, pain increased, leg muscles bordered on full cramping. By 19:00 she had received the 3rd dose of pain killers in a couple hours, all different meds. Happily 3rd time was indeed a charm, by 19:15 she reported that something had kicked in and she could hardly move. Mercifully she crashed for 9 hours.

Dash Camera in action

I had forgotten to bring my Dash Camera for the rental, so I headed to the Electronics store across the street from the Clinic, the staff spoke pretty good English and were able to get me setup with a Neoline S61 wide angle unit for €99. Might be useful if interesting or unusual things happened on the road. Cheap insurance.

Back to hotel for final night and a few more pinta sleep aides.

Trolley buses are still a thing in Europe

One more interesting sidebar, at least to me, is that Trolley buses are still a very common thing here. They are the transit workhorses. The equipment looks very new and modern.  Calgary Transit, with great foresight, phased trolleys out when I was in my teens. Why you might ask? The Calgary Transit website history section reports:
"During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s trolley buses were phased out and replaced with diesel buses that were more economical and flexible in their routing." Greta would not be amused.

Of further historical (hysterical?) note, the same Calgary Transit phased out streetcars in 1950 in favour of Trolleys. Go figure, maybe next up LRT will bow out in favour of pedicabs?