OR so I can say in as little as six months from now. Instead I will have two screws in my femur and shin bones that I will forever be notifying flying officials of.
So, the surgery: They took me back, away from hubbikins, so I could get stripped, cleaned, blood pressure cuffed, heart rate monitored, and IVed.
....Now the IV: I have a certain abhorrence of having it put in my hand, so my nice nurse tried her best, but after two failed attempts to get it in my left arm and right arm, they put it in my right hand. Apparently the flaps in my veins were deceiving, so I have two small holes and bruises in my arms, and one little hole in my right hand that isn't particularly painful or bruised. I guess I should have just let her do it where she thought best from the start.
When they were trying to find a good vein, the other nurse kept holding my hand and saying things like: "You have such beautiful veins in your hand... They're so perfect and you can see them so clearly..." at which point I felt as though I were listening to vampires as they chattered over my veins and arteries.
The third time was the charm, but it also hurt more and I ended up crying. The nurse felt bad for making me cry, but I couldn't really stop. I don't like needles, I especially don't like them in my hands, and I was steadily getting more uncomfortable.
When they brought hubbikins back, I thought that would cheer me up. I didn't count on his innate ability to make me cry every time he touches me and I'm not feeling particularly happy to begin with. Eventually I managed to stop, all the doctors that would be working on me dropped by, and I remember them saying they were giving me some drugs to relax me. I remember talking to Reb a bit more, but the next thing I know is that I'm in recovery gasping because I'm sure I'm about to be sick and the nurse hurriedly giving me anti-nausea meds. I dropped back off.
The next time I woke up, I saw the nurse again, talked something to her, looked around, and saw hubbikins sitting there. He leaned forward and I know we talked or something, but I don't remember what about. I dropped back off. Woke back up, dropped off. Reb says it was mostly him and the nurse talking, and me listening or not listening. Mostly not listening.
On the way home, I made Rebbikins stop and pick up macaroons for me. They're really tiny little cake things that are delicious and so cute! They have a lot of flavors, but since I was too drained to get out of the car, hubby ran back and forth telling me then flavors, then that they COULD do a variety pack (THANK YOU!!!!) so I had to pick what I wanted. Then they didn't actually have all of them, so I rearranged my choices and how many I wanted of each. Then hubby came back, and we went home.
Now, the nurse was so adamant that I needed the block, she scheduled it for me, DESPITE my wishes. When they called yesterday to confirm, it was a different woman and she told me I was scheduled for it. I firmly, (and a little angrily) said that I had told EVERYONE I did not want the block, and I would not be getting it. She calmed me down and wrote on my thing "Absolutely no block. Patient said no." I was pissed they ignored my wishes like that, but amused that the lady was so easy to understand and change it for me. When the nurses were trying to get an IV set up, one of them mentioned if I was getting the block and the other popped her head back in. "Don't mention that word! She said no, and that word is taboo." I was also crying from the IV so the nurses kinda made it into a funny thing for me.
I don't know that you guys would know what a block is, so here's a brief explanation: They dig a needle around in your groin to find the set of muscles they're trying to block, and when they find it, they block it off for an average of 24 hours. That means 24 hours of no feeling in my leg, and me with stairs to get up and places to navigate. Hell no.
So anyway, we went home, and the reason I mentioned that nurse was because she was so convinced I would get the block, she only explained how to navigate stairs WITH it. Turns out I can just hold on to the rails and pull myself along. The pain was bad, but not nearly as bad as when I ripped it, and all the subsequent times I re-injured it. The last nurse of the day was the most helpful. She said "Good one up, bad one down." Meaning when going up, use my good leg first, and vise versa for going down.
Pain meds: Warp my mind. I can't really stay awake, I can't remember what happened during, and I can't feel much of anything. It's interesting. Yesterday I needed to take them the whole day, but now I can just take them when I think I need it. I also start my thyroid medicine today, so I may never be able to go without that again. *sigh*
So, to conclude: I am fine, the pain isn't nearly what I thought it would be, and pain medicine is fun when I want a nap, but not when I want to talk to someone or read something. Also, hubby is amazing because he had to take complete care of me yesterday. What's weird is that he said he hadn't thought he would need to be so involved, and I thought he would need to be more involved than what I ended up needing. Opposites to the bitter end, eh?
No comments:
Post a Comment