The surgery

I probably should have written this days ago, however it wasn't until today that I started feeling human again. So here it is now- the surgery, and the first few days afterward until now.

Surgery day/Friday:

My surgery was scheduled for 7:30 a.m., and my check in time was 6 a.m. The nurses put me into the preparation room, had me pee in a cup (possibly men don't have to do this, I'm pretty sure it was a last-minute pregnancy test), strip down, put on a gown, and then they stuck a needle in me to pump hydrating fluids so I wouldn't be dehydrated during surgery. If you haven't had surgery before, the IV is normally put into the back of the hand. However my blood veins weren't popping up enough so they had to put mine in my arm in the area blood is normally drawn from (I don't know the name of it). This was all about 45 minutes before my surgery.

My podiatric surgeon/podiatrist at Lovelace Women's Hospital. I liked having my actual doctor do the procedure.

The anestheticist came in to make sure of the level I wanted to be drugged to ( I didn't want to remember a thing, and he made it so), and then my surgeon came in to make sure which ankle the surgery is on, and that I knew of the procedures that were going to be done, and then about 7:15 the nurses wheeled the bed I was in into the surgery unit, into a little room, where the last thing I remember is the anestheticist telling me he was starting the anesthesia.

Immediately post surgery:

I woke up around 10 a.m., had a few small semi-conscious panic attacks so the nurse standing there had to keep calming me down, and then my parents were brought in once the shaking was under control- I wish I'd received more of a warning the anesthesia would make me shake, because it was alarming and kind of annoying. During the next hour or so I didn't really pay attention to or care what anyone was saying because I was in intense, agonizing pain and the quick-relief drugs they kept shooting me with never did start working (they probably do for normal people. I have strange reactions to medicines related to pain relief in that they either make me really high and work too well or never take effect at all). If I hadn't already known how to use crutches I would have been taught then, however since I do that lesson was skipped. Eventually they gave me one of my Vicodin and once that kicked in (because that is a drug that works too well on me) they got me into the backseat of the car

and somehow got me back to my apartment.

The cast I have is big and shapeless and bulky, and it feels like it weights at least twenty pounds- it's much heavier than my big boot had been, and it is not to get wet or be walked on. I drew a smiley face on it while I was drugged over the weekend.

Me, drugged. Can you tell?

Rest of surgery day:

The trick is to throw up as quickly as you can without forcing it, because that will get most of the anesthesia out. I almost immediately feel better from that alone. The agonizing pain continued, and I just had to suffer through it and take my medicines regularly. I highly recommend sleeping as much as possible because you will not sleep very well at night and won't be good for anything else anyway. I didn't eat most of the day because of the nausea, but that night my parents had Chili's To Go for dinner and I ate their fries without any problems. Also, the IV left huge bruises on my arm that even four days later are still very purple and angry-looking.

Post-Op Day 1/Saturday:

Roughly the same as surgery day in that it's a strong general pain that went all the way up to my hip, but the skin where the sutures are hurt a lot as well. More sleeping. I was a little more confident in my ability to successfully eat and digest regular food, and did. By this point I had claimed the couch as my own and pretty much did not move from it.

Day 2/Sunday:

Bone pain on Sunday, and focused more on the general area of the ankle rather than my whole leg. Still very consistant on taking all of my medicine as soon as I could, and still didn't sleep well. By this point I had also figured out how to go to the bathroom by myself on one leg, and with the aid of a trashbag, duct tape, and lots of towels I managed to take a shower as well without getting the cast wet or maiming myself in an exciting new way.

Day 3/Monday:

I almost felt human again. The chief problem was having to keep my leg elevated- if I had it down too much, I could feel my ankle swell up and there would be a lot of pressure in the cast. However if I kept it elevated it would be fine and there wouldn't be much pain at all.

Day 4/Tuesday/Today:

I finally feel human in that pain is minimal- moderate at worst- I slept a lot better than the last several days, and don't have to nap every few hours anymore. Actually, I spent almost three hours this morning working on classwork for my online class, and just sat on my desk chair like a normal human for half an hour without my casted ankle swelling up. I suppose the problem at this point will be not getting restless.

I have my first post-surgery doctor appointment on Friday, so I'll be back with a new post around then sometime.