Saturday, December 3, 2011

LAST surgery.



Yesterday was my last of 4 surgeries. My surgery was supposed to be a reconstruction to my left ACL & PCL. I was more nervous for this surgery than I have for any of the others. A part of me was scared that once I was under and my doctor was looking inside my knee, he'd find something else wrong. Luckily, that was not the case at all.

Before surgery:
I got to the hospital around 5:10am, which I thought was a little early because my surgery wasn't until 7:30am. Then I had to sign my life away, which sadly, I'm used to by now. Admitting didn't take too long because all of my information is already in the computer. Once all of that was taken care of, then took me to the pre-op room that I was assigned. I was kinda on edge already because it was really early, I was tired, and I was getting more and more scared as the time went on. Not to mention that my nurse had NO clue how to put in an IV in my hand. She stuck the needle in the vein in my hand and then wiggled it around, which left a huge knot in my hand. I was convinced that my day was not going to be a good one. Again, I was wrong. Another nurse came in and took over, and she was fantastic!

When my doctor came in and explained to me, again, what he was going to do, he said he might not have to do my PCL. I asked him how long it would be before I could put weight on my leg if he had to do both, my ACL & PCL, and he said 6 weeks. Which is so far away. If he only had to do my ACL, it would be 3 days. HUGE difference. I was praying the whole time that once he opened up my knee, my PCL would be a lot sturdier than he originally thought and he wouldn't have to fix it.

Finally, my anesthesiologist came in. That was the part I was most concerned about. The first two surgeries, the anesthesia didn't really have an effect on me after I woke up. But the surgery before this one, I was really sick. And the main reason I couldn't leave the hospital was because I was so sick. It made me absolutely miserable. So I asked him if there was any way that I could get some other form of anesthesia. He said that he would give me anti-nausea medicine before surgery and right afterwards. He also said that he would give me a nerve block in my leg so that it would be numb and I wouldn't need a bunch of norco's. Which I thought was a fantastic idea because I can't stand norco's. They make me really sick, too.

After surgery:
I woke up in recovery and to my surprise, I felt fantastic. No sickness at all. I was wide awake and very alert. My first concern was finding out if he had done my ACL & PCL or just my ACL. I asked the nurse, and she said he did both. My heart sank. Then she read over the anesthesiologist report and he had only written down that my ACL was done. So I was hopeful for good news. Then I saw my doctor, and he told me that once he got inside my knee, my PCL was intact and a lot stronger than he had thought. Therefore, he only reconstructed my ACL. This was the BEST news I could have ever gotten. I was so excited and giddy!

Then they wheeled my bed to the post-op room so that I could see my parents. And they were surprised at how awesome I felt and looked. They were really glad that I wasn't sick. The nurse said before I left, all I had to do was eat, drink, and pee. Simple enough, right? So, I ate a cup of jello and drank some apple juice. A normal person would have then got up to pee, but I wasn't ready to stand up and use my crutches just yet. So I decided to take a little nap. Looking back, I should have just got up, peed and then left. But oh well, right when I woke up, I got that over with and then finally got to leave the hospital.

When I got home, I even stuffed my face with some BBQ. Which was weird because usually after surgery, I only want soup and jello. But since I was feeling so great, I decided to go for the good stuff. It was so yummy. I couldn't even believe how much I ate. Then I went back to bed and took naps on and off.

Today, I'm not feeling as great as I did yesterday, but I'm still doing pretty good. Tomorrow, I get to take off all my bandage and clean my new wounds. I'm excited to see what they look like, too. And Monday, I get to put standing weight on my leg. I can't wait!

Also, 3 days until it's officially been a year since my car accident. Can't believe it's already almost been a year....

Xoxo.

2 comments:

  1. Congrats on your recovery thus far dear heart!!! You are such a strong woman <3

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  2. Thank you so much! Hope to see you the next time you're in town. <3

    ReplyDelete