surgery #2--all the details

i'm nearing the end of the 2nd week, just a couple more days to go.  if i thought this surgery was going to be a breeze, i was put in my place.  i'd say pain wise--this 2nd surgery has been harder.  the first week is kind of a blur already in my memory.  the nerve block, this time, was a lot stronger.  when i knelt on scoot to move from the car to the bottom of the stairs, i couldn't feel anything.  i had to ask heather if my knee was really on it.  i was frozen up to mid-thigh.  that's the oddest feeling--like jelly.  i had the feeling that my leg would buckle.  but it didn't. 

let's go back a little.  i was asked to be at st. paul's at 5:50 am.  evelyn took me.  i got up at 4:15.  i tried to go to sleep at 10 the night before but i was too wired.  i couldn't sleep until 1 or 2, i can't remember but i didn't notice it when i woke up. i had my period.  like hi, i never visit you but i couldn't miss this.  that's the way period is.  last time getting dressed all sweaty but weak laying flat in the hospital bed the worst thing was my underwear.  i thought panties would be easier than garments because they don't have legs.  but nooo. it was a struggle especially because i was so sweaty and they got twisted and pulling at them my iv flopping around in my hand...i didn't want a repeat.  so i decided to go commando.  what is the point of underwear on such a day? so i was no bra no undies just as i was opening the screen door and rolling out onto the porch, ev pulled up silently in her hybrid.

the stairs went smoothly and obviously there was no traffic but i'm glad we gave ourselves a lot of time because the day before they told me that i would need to enter through emergency.  i asked why and they said that the doors to the hospital wouldn't be open at that time.  i asked if you could enter from the underground parking and she said yes but she sounded not too sure.  sure enough, when we got there we could get into the parking but when i asked the security guards they said we had to go in through emergency. so we drove up there. i wanted ev to park right in front but the same security guards (weird) told us we couldn't stay parked there because it was the ambulance bay.  they did say she could get me a wheelchair, bring me inside and then go park.  they gave us a dweeb chair.  it had this metal thing in front that made it hard to get into. i asked, "aren't there other wheelchairs?" and the guard was like "we don't like to send the good ones out of emergency."  and i was like "well i don't like to throat punch you, but i might have to." which came out more like "it is hard for me to get into it." he relented from his rules are rules cold stance to come over and show us that the arm goes up and i was able to get on it.  i got parked in front of the masking-sanitizing station in front of a security guard who knew nothing while ev went to move the car.

2 things happened.  a woman from the in-take window asked the security duo what was going on.  they defended their choices but talking to her, they didn't sound so authoritarian.  talking to her they sounded like doobs and my eyes were opened. the second thing was a guy came in, got his mask and sanitizer and asked if he could go to his appointment.  he had a thick accent and none of them could understand him.  the security guard of blank mind and face, said "if you are an employee you just need to show your access card." the guy looked confused and pulled out his lisence/care card.  blank face switched to confusion in response.  "he has an appointment" i said.  the guy kept repeating himself.  finally one of the dictator doobs told him to follow the black and yellow lines out of emerg and into the main hospital.  then ev was back.  we still had 8 minutes to make it to day surgery on time. i asked el blank-oh which way to go to day surgery.  he was at a total loss.  i was like "never mind ev, i think we follow the black and yellow lines." so we were off.  along the way we asked some workers if we were on the right track and they confirmed.

we made it a few minutes early.  the doors to day surgery were closed.  a nurse on the outside told us "they don't open until 6am, just so you know." ev and i looked at each other.  the hospital opened at 6.  what was the point in telling us to be there ten minutes early and making us go through that whole rigamorole. evelyn, who has a pride in promptness was particularly perturbed.  (i pride myself in alliterations) ev stayed with me until they opened and she was assured that they would take care of me.

i filled out my covid form in the hallway and waited for the next step.  the hallway was filling up.  there was a young persian (perhaps?) couple, and older chinese couple, a dad with a mouthy son, a man alone like me, sitting on his walker.  the walker-sitter asked me about my foot.  they all want to hear my big accident story.  they all want to tell theirs.  this man had snapped his tibia in two in a motorcycle accident.  i watched people going in, giving their loved ones their things and saying good bye etc.  eventually a nurse came to get me.  her name was kay.  her accent and soft gentle manner seemed japanese to me. she rolled me right in to the beds area and i realized that my fear of changing in the change room balancing with crutches was silly.  of course. i would change on the bed!  first i sat and answered a bunch of questions.  when i said yes i was menstruating, she asked if i wanted some mesh panties and a pad.  i asked her if the panties were hard or easy to put on.  "like are they tight?" i asked, wincing.  she kind of looked uncertain and said she would bring me a pair and i could decide. then i transferred to the bed and was left to get nekkid, put on the robe, (they didn't give me one for the back since i was already on the bed, no need to hide my rump roast.) the paper shoes and the flattering cap over my hair.

i couldn't get the paper slipper on or tie the back of the robe but a woman came in...i don't know what her position was. she wasn't a nurse because when she put in my iv she put some freezing in my hand and i asked if everyone does that. she said different people have their own ways to do it but said that nurses can't do it.  was she a nurse practioner? was she an anesthesia assistant? i think so.  anyways she tied my robe, helped me get the paper slipper on, and set me up with the iv, the blood pressure cuff, oxygen finger clip etc. she said i seemed familiar.  maybe she was there on my first operation.

 i listened to the nerve block team going around the room and doing their thing with each of the patients in the room.  the persian maybe afghani man was across from me.  he didn't have much english and the dr working with him, asking for his permission for the nerve block had to keep looking up words to communicate with him.  they also had a hard time fitting him on the bed because he was six foot three.  they kept asking him to slide down more because the bed didn't fit him very well.  when it was my turn they came and did their thing.  i had to lay on my tummy while they did an ultrasound on the back of my thigh to find my nerves.  i like listening to them talk about it, making a plan, looking at it all academically.  i like listening to the head nerve block dr mentoring the learning drs.  while i was on my back they decided to do it in two spots instead of finding where they split or join or whatever.  maybe this is why the freeze was stronger this time.  i dunno.  then i turned on my side and they did my inner thigh.  on this one i felt a zingy feeling deep in my thigh. it made my toes twitch. i must of reacted because my anesthesiologist who i didn't realize was there until that minute, from up by my head, asked me if something was causing me pain.  i tried to tell him that zig zag electric feeling that shot down my leg but i flung my arm out and he shushed me, not really shushing my voice but the language of my hands because they were doing things with needles and it was best not to be jerking around.  as soon as they were done there was no waiting. they wheeled me to the or.  

this time there wasn't a huge crowd in the or.  there was a nurse and a guy who took off my boot and started scrubbing my foot quite roughly.  again the anesthesiologist was watching me.  he asked me "is they way he is handling your foot hurting you?" i told him he was being rough with my toes.  the tourniquet band was slid up my thigh, the nurse was popping eccg sticky pads on me and adjusting my blood pressure cuff, and all the wires etc.  she said "laura, i see you are menstruating (she saw from my chart, not from blood dripping down my thighs or something.) do you want me to give you a pad after the surgery?" i nodded yes. it was quite cold in the room and i remarked on it.  they covered me up with blankets. dr. andi came in with her cheerful breezy way and soon joined rough toes guy at my foot.  they were doing something strange--it looked like they were taping it in a bent upright position.  but i had the mask on now, and he was telling me not to worry about what dr andi was doing, just take deep breaths...i would taste something in my mouth... and i was asleep.

i woke up in the er.  i think everyone was gone except the nurse and the anesthesiologist.  i started moving my hands around the blankets.  watchful anesthesiologist asked me what i was searching for.  i don't remember what i said.  i think i was hot and pulled the blanket off my legs. the nurse told me that they were waiting for a bed in recovery.  she said there were enough beds, just not enough nurses.  i just liked looking at her pretty eye make-up.  apparently i was waiting in the or for an hour.  it didn't seem that long to me.

i wasn't in recovery that long this time.  just long enough to get some ice water.  i was so thirsty. i have no idea why this time was so fast and last time was so long.  i didn't feel any different.   but i guess i didn't desaturate this time.  maybe after half an hour i was whisked back to day surgery.  my nurse there was named laura too. they brought my stuff in but after a while looking at it, i was like hey where is my boot? i asked my nurse and it turned out that it got left in the or.  good thing i noticed that. she told me about my meds and after care and helped me get dressed. they called heather to come get me.  when it was time to get in the wheelchair, once again it was a dud but not as bad as the first one. nurse laura had this idea that i would slide out of bed into the chair parked beside it.  but i would have to lead with my surgery leg and it felt like a limp noodle.  it was so frozen.  finally, i was like, i think i need to stand up. so that's what i did and i got in the chair pretty easily. once in the chair i noticed that there was blood on the sheets.  ohhh...they forgot to give me a pad, i remembered.  oh well, i shrugged.  blood is not a big deal at a hospital. 

when heather arrived she called me and then she called the desk and a porter came to take me down.  this guy was nice but not chatty.  he didn't know how to find the car by the stall number and we were just about to wander when heather yelled "laura!" and we turned towards her and found our way. i kept telling me to move me closer to the door.  ok, he'd say, and inch me forward.  closer please, i'd say, ok, he'd say.  i think we did this 3 or 4 times but eventually i was happy with the distance and climbed into the car no problem.

i was quite doozy headed from the anesthesia and drowsy from gabapentin.  i told heather how frozen my noodle leg was. we decided to drive to richmond to get my prescriptions.  i was really hankering for a popsicle. heather asked me a couple times if i wanted her to drop me off at home first and then she could come back and get the meds.  but i was dreading the stairs in the heat and with a noodle leg.  so i said no each time.  we got to shoppers around 3:30.  it was sunny and super hot.  i sat with my foot propped up on the crutch seat to window bridge and heather went out to do the meds and popsicle and water pick up.  she came back with bad news.  they were out of popsicles!  she went out again to get something from the iga and i made an ig story about how disappointed i was about the popsicle.  all with drowsy bedroom eyes.

4 o'clock heather was back with the meds, i took them and we went home.  i said a prayer while heather was up feeding izzy and going pee.  a prayer that i'd make it up the stairs with no problem.  and somehow we made it.  i had to take some pauses and my knee felt wierd, and heather had to put something down on the deck floor for me to put my hands on because it was so burning hot, but we managed and we did it. one sticky pad fell off on the trip up, which made us laugh, and heather found another on my hip-lower-back-area. i sat there breathing heavy with an umbrella for shade while heather made all the trips up and down getting our stuff.  she squeezed by my scoot to get us popsicles and we enjoyed those before going in. getting up and into the house wasn't too hard and i went to go pee.  this time the hospital didn't make me pee before i left.  they said it wasn't necessary because it was my foot.  but i could have peed, if you know what i mean.

in the bathroom i pulled down my shorts and three things fell out.  1 sticky eccg pad and 2 period pads that apparently had been tucked between my legs the whole time. "thanks to my robust thighs they stayed up there even when i was changing" i said to heather.  after that i got into bed and heather sat and listened to me chatter on and on and on about every detail i could recall.  we both agreed that hydromorphone makes me super chipper and chatty and drowsy at the same time. heather was very patient. 

if you have made it this far you are very patient too.

ps these videos are all out of order but whatever. you can figgure it owt.