Day 2 - first day out of bed

Not everyone agrees with my numbering system but for those following I consider surgery day - day 1.

I probably won't be blogging to the same degree that I did the last time. This time around I plan on telling you if anything was different in either a good or bad way.

So I made it through the night. The nausea finally calmed down and I had my first real meal - breakfast. PT came around and it was time to get me moving. The last time it took my mom and 3 others to do it. This time we got me to the side of the bed with my mom and 2 PT's. I can't lie I yelled a lot, I cussed a good amount but they got me there. About the only thing I can say now looking back 12 days is that there is no way around it. You have to do it. The more you do it the less it will hurt. blah blah blah it stinks regardless. I felt really light headed so we didn't push it further than sitting on the side of the bed for the first try.

Of course that meant that PT came back around that afternoon and this time we got me standing. Fuck it hurt. There were muscles spasms that felt like things were ripping when I stood up and I was so dizzy I couldn't imagine trying to walk. Everyone is different so remember this is my experience yours could be quite different.

The rest of the day was spent sleeping a huge amount and talking to family when I was briefly awake. In a previous entry I told you about the gift bags a group of us made for the nurses and techs. We started to give those out as soon as I got to my room and certainly they went down a treat.

D-day December 17th

I must admit that the earlier your surgery is scheduled the better. Better of course because of the wait time for both you and your family but also better because you have to stop eating and drinking at midnight the night before. Food is not that big of a deal but I was certainly parched from the time I woke up.

My surgery was scheduled for 11am with a hospital arrival time of 9am. The drive there is never fun. It was rather a quiet one from my end as I was certainly not looking forward to surgery number 2. We arrived on time. Completed the required check in and waited to be called back to pre-op. Not long after I was called back on my own and told that my family one at a time could come back and see me in about an hour. I went back and changed into my gown, TED stockings, non-skid socks and signed the appropriate paper work. My IV was put in and they began to run fluids. The head anesthesiologist came back and we talked about pain control and previous surgeries. We discussed my options for my pain push pump although Dilaudid caused itching the last time it is stronger than Morphine so I chose to go the itchy route. Benadryl takes care of the itches any way. That all out of the way my family took turns coming to say hi. Dr S. came through around 10:40 to initial my leg. If he'd tried the other side he would have seen that he had previously been there due to my lovely scar :)

Not long after they came to wheel me away so my surgery actually started pretty close to on time. When I got into the OR there stood Dr S. and that's about all I remember. My surgery took less time this time around and so did recovery. I think I was in my hospital room around 6:30pm or so. Apparently while I was in surgery there was a fire alarm that went off for about 10 minutes. God knows what they if you are in surgery if there is a fire in the hospital but thank goodness we didn't have to find out the answer to that. Shortly there after they sent a harpist down into the waiting area to play for my family and the others. Who knows if that was to calm them but my mother of course said it made her think of cherubs and heaven perhaps not the best sentiment for people waiting for loved ones in surgery.

Some tips:
1. One of the things I did for my family before going into surgery was to make gift bags for each of them. 5 hours is a long time to wait so I filled them with things to help pass the time - books, games, chocolates, breath mints, and gift certificates for McDonald's the only restaurant in the hospital - a very strange option for a hospital. It's a nice thing to do for those who are waiting for you.

2. Ask for a room where your op leg faces the door it gives you more room to get in and out of bed. I have found that it is easier to get out of bed with you op leg first this is the way the first PT's taught me and I have found this time around it appears to still be the better way to do it.

3. Have someone stay the first night with you. Juli slept in my room the first night and set an alarm to tell me to push the pump every 10 minutes. It is awful if you get behind the pain. I would say the first 2 nights are really helpful. Juli ended up staying all 4 and it was great to have the company. She would then switch with my mom who did the day shift.

Oh and one of the first things I checked when I was in recovery was whether I had a numb patch or not - the good news - no numb patch. 2 legs numb patch free - well done Dr S!

Note: I chose to publish JC's comment to this post but I disagree. I would never tell anyone to have their family member push the pain pump. I pushed it each and every time - Juli however did remind me to do so throughout the night. Getting behind the pain is terrible. During my first surgery my pain got to an 7/8 on the first night this time I never got above a 3. There was no consideration for sleep that was made with my push pump system. I even had a conversation with the nurse about sleep and getting behind the pain. Do what is right for you. Talk to your pain specialist. I have to believe that things differ between hospitals.

My People

December 14th - 3 days before surgery I had my pre-surgery appointment with Dr. S. My "fabulous" insurance company requires that we do all of my paperwork before I show up at Northside Hospital. Having gone through this before it takes all of 10 minutes followed by blood work so not a big deal. This is the appointment that I needed my referral paperwork for and by now you've all read the entry on how much fun that was.

This time instead of doing the appointment by myself I showed up with my people. When they called me through to see Dr S. I stood up and was followed by 3 more people as I walked through to his exam room - my mom, Todd and Juli (my fiancee). The nurse looked a little perplexed. They are mostly used to children and their parents not an adult and her entourage.

Schrader walked into the room with a big smile on his face because by now he knows we keep things interesting. Paper work complete and questions answered I headed down to do blood work. I was typed and cross checked and got my fancy red bracelet to link me to my donor blood. Juli and Carol did a direct donation to me which was a big help. It saved me doing it for myself which is quite draining prior to surgery.

All systems go!

Merry Merry Christmas to everyone

I am now 9 days post surgery and doing great. Energy is still a little low so my apologies for not writing sooner and yes the holidays have kept us pretty busy too. I promise in the coming days to retell the events up until now. But I did want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and please enjoy the snow. The first white Christmas in Atlanta history in over 100 years. How lucky we all are.

in record time...

She made it through in record time. Well, she beat her old record of 7 hours in surgery, This time it was a mere 5 hr 23 mins - only only 2 hours in recovery, not 3 - but who's counting?

This first night was better than the last first night too. She slept comfortably and her pain level was much lower. I'll let her fill you in on the gory details when she is well enough, but for now our patient is holding steady.

~Juli

16.5 hours to go!

Rather than talk about how out of sorts I feel, how my brain has been a sieve for the last month, I thought I'd tell you something funny.

Here's your multiple choice question for the evening.

Statement:
What lovely colored blood you have!

A. Bill Compton
B. Dexter Morgan
C. Northside Nurse
D. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Think hard now.
Isn't that just the funniest statement ever.
I guess my blood is well oxygenated but does it have legs :)

11am tomorrow morning I should be wheeled into surgery. Send me a positive thought or two.
L

I'm positive. O positive that is...

Friday- surgery day - is almost here. All the prep has been done, lists are full of items crossed off... Holiday gifty bags for the nurses completed, pet sitter booked and blood stored. hunh? Yes, blood stored. Just some extra in case she needs some. Luckily two of us in the circle of friends share Lauren's blood type and were able to donate. I must admit though, I had a tough time with some of the questions...

Questions:
1) have you ever had sex with someone of the same sex?
2) have you ever had sex with anyone from Africa?

Uh, yeah, we are a committed, monogamous lesbian couple and she is from South Africa.

Wish her luck on Friday---

:)

Game On!

With less than a week until my surgery a group of my friends, mom and partner went up to the North Georgia mountains for a girls weekend away. While we were there we put more than 5o gift bags together. These will be given out as Holiday "Stockings" to each nurse, tech and PT during my time in hospital. We thought it would be a great way to say thank you and of course make sure that they come when we call. There's is nothing worse than needing to pee or better yet pain meds and having to wait a half an hour. So my challenge to those of you with upcoming surgeries is to come up with your own super cool way to acknowledge and say thanks to the many people it will take to see you back to health after your surgery.



















And of course don't forget your family and friends because they are there long after you leave the hospital. Their help and support are invaluable - remember to make sure they know how much you appreciate them too! Thank you ladies for helping to gather the goodies and put the bags together I know you will bring smiles to many hospital employees.

10 Days to Go

Fuck!