Surgery Day Report

I'm home a day after surgery feeling quite comfortable and ready to tell you all about the day.

My ma and pa drove me to the hospital and we got there just on time for my admission time. We went to the reception desk for the same day surgery area, checked in, and then waited for about twenty minutes before I was called. My parents were told to wait in the waiting room until I had been all prepped up.

I was led into a large room with rows of beds divided by privacy curtains and as I walked through I saw a bunch of people in them, most with visitors, waiting I suppose for their surgeries to begin. I was led to my little bed and given a gown, little booties, and a bag to put all my stuff in. You have to take of EVERYTHING - no make up, nail polish, jewellery of any kind, false teeth, underwear, etc. etc. I had forgotten to remove my nose ring so I did it then.

Once I was all changed and ready to go I sat on the edge of my bed feeling jittery. Looking around there were cabinets full of different syringes and needles, monitors, an IV bag thing, and all kinds of medical things that made me feel nervous. A few minutes later a nurse came in and checked my blood pressure and heart rate. At the same time as she was doing that on my left side, another guy, who was an aneasthesiologist I think, was on my right. He explained to me that they were going to give me a nerve block to numb the entire knee area for 8 - 12 hours so that I'd feel no pain. No pain sounds good to me but I was a bit weary of the process of nerve blocking.

Back to my left side, I joked with the nurse as she asked me various questions about my health, saying that I like her, but not the others on my right who were wiping up my thigh and readying me for the block. She laughe and said that I wouldn't like her for much longer, as she brought out a needle for my IV. She did all the standard IV things: tied a band around my arm, had me squeeze my fist, slapped my popping out vein. (I have great veins for things like these. They jump right out at ya!) Then she jabbed me with the needle and got all of that stuff in order. This was probably the most painful part of it all thus far.

Back to the right side, the guy explained to me some of the risks associated with the nerve block. 2 out of 100 patients feel numb for longer than the 8 - 12 hours. And 1 in 10,000 feel numbness forever. He gave me some oral painkillers and some sedatives through the IV to "take the edge off." I wasn't sure if I felt sedated but I can't quite remember the entire nerve-blocking experience so I guess the edge was taken off.

He used an ultrasound to locate the nerve leading to my knee and then poked me a few times with a needle I guess (I was watching the ultrasound screen), injecting anaesthetic right in there. I could see the fluid spreading which was kind of cool. Though I had been pretty nervous about the nerve block it was no big deal and nothing for you, future patients, to worry about.

I was all prepped and my parents were allowed to come hang out for a bit. Dr. Marks came by to say hello and so did a handful of other people involved in the procedure whom I can't recall.

My surgery time was set for 1:15 and at about 1:20 I was wheeled out of the prep room. My parents kissed me goodbye, and with a few tears, off I went. Some fellow was wheeling me and making small talk as we went, until we arrived in the operating room. I was asked to shift from the stretcher I was on to the operating table, which felt kind of weird as my leg was already numb from the block. The room was large and full of strange and wonderful things. I noticed the stools they attached to the side of the bed that I guess they'd be working from. At this point, though my mind was pretty at ease, my body was trembling all over. It was a bizarre sensation. I told the aneasthesiologist about it and she covered me with a papery blanket that filled up with warm air an felt quite nice. She put a mask over my mouth and nose for oxygen and filled my IV with the good stuff. I looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember the sensation. I felt my vision kind of blur and I think I was out in less than a minute.

When I woke up it was I think around 5:00, only three and a half hours later. They told us the surgery would take 2.5 to 3 hours and the time in the recovery room would take the same. I think I woke up pretty quickly. I remember thinking that I wanted to wake up so I could go see my parents and Steve ASAP. They would be waiting!! Despite that, I drifted in and out of sleep for a bit, listening to the two nurses chat at the foot of my bed. I think I mentioned my work to them, and compared this kind of nursing with nursinng in a Long Term Care Facility. They also talked about me when they thought I was sleeping, and I opened one eye and said, "I heard that," making them laugh.

Oh, my knee was wrapped in a huge amount of bandage and tensor with a big grey splint over everything. I felt absolutely no pain at all; mostly just numbness.

After some time I was wheeled into the SSU (Short Stay Unit) where I was transfered to another bed. How wonderful and comfortable it was! I love the hospital. They told me that my family was not in the waiting room. They had gone home and expected that the whole thing would take longer. I called them and they were on their way. I think Steve arrived at 6:30 and was happy to find me cheerful and relatively alert. My parents came by soon after. We all hung out and talked and had a good time. I was still pain free and happy to be done with the surgery itself.

They brought me dinner - krunchy fish, veggies, potatoes, carrot cake, grape juice, and tea, but I wasn't really feeling hungry (despite not eating since 11:30 the night before) and I was afraid of getting sick to my stomach like everyone seems to. The aneasthesiologist said she'd give me something to prevent sickness. I was hoping she wasn't the damn dirty liar she turned out to be. Instead, right after I drank my grape juice I got rid of my grape juice. Then cried like a baby for some reason. Then was fine again and ate my whole meal without problems.

My parents left at around 8 and though visiting hours are over at 8:30, Steve was allowed to stay until past 9:30 which was great. We just hung out and chatted. It was really nice to have the company! Thanks for braving a tw0-hour traffic jam for me, Stevie! :)

Oh, I also was encouraged by the nurse to go to the washroom so after eating I crutched over and it was really no problem. My leg didn't hurt at all and I could put some weight on it already. Then again, the nerve block hasn't stopped working.

He left and I worked on a crossword puzzle for maybe fifteen minutes before falling asleep. Asleep at 10:00? How wonderful!

I woke up maybe every hour or so during the night but had what felt like a good sleep nevertheless. I think I had to use the bathroom two or three times in the night which isn't typical. I also got some meds throughout the night. The nurses were very helpful and friendly.

So I woke up at around 6 or so, read some fashion and celebrity gossip magazines, visited with my doctor who said everything went fine, had my bandages changed and got a good look at my knee which was swollen and bloody and gross, dressed myself, and got picked up by my parents.

We stopped at the drug store on the way home, got the lovely percocets I'll be taking, and came home. Ahhh, home. I came right upstairs to my bedroom (stairs no problem with crutches), feeling dizzy and tired out but still pain free and generally fine.

And now here I am.

I made it! Yay!

For those of you reading this on Facebook, don't mind the excessive details. I'm writing this really for future ACL surgery patients who want to know what they're up for, and just thought some of my friends might be interested too.

Hmm.. what to do now?