All the phone calls and emails have come in and have been answered.

It between me and the doctor now.  Here comes that anxiety wave again!

I have to report to the day surgical site by 8 am and my best friend for over 40 years agreed to take the day off and help me throughout the day. Without a doubt a GREAT friend!

The pain has been constant daily and my mind and body are ready to have this surgery so I can, at some point in the near future, rid my body of the constant pain and begin the healing process.

I walk into the outpatient surgery center with confidence knowing that I have done my homework to select a doctor that I felt comfortable with and that was a board certified foot and ankle specialist with great experiences.

The pleasant women at the intake desk took all my pertinent information and assigned me a number. The center had a number of flat screen TV’s that displayed my number and my status. This was a great feature because people that contacted the center could give them my number and they would know where I was in the process. This was a huge help for my best friend as he could run errands and know exactly where I was. People outside of center thought it was great service because they would know where I was!

I hear my name and am escorted by the nurse that will be taking care of me while I at the center. I give my buddy a handshake and tell him "Thanks". "I will see you on the other side.

I get into my room and I am given the instructions to get in a Johnny and put on gray socks. The countdown to surgery begins.

I am asked a lot of questions, given a couple of bracelets, and given some toasty blankets to relax and get comfortable.

It is amazing what goes through your mind as you lay in bed as you wait for surgery. Life events flash in front of you like a kaleidoscope and I begin to question why I did some things and not others.  I think about the people I love and life in general.

My spastic thoughts are interrupted by the anesthesiologist. He begins with historical questions like when I last had surgery and how I did I do with anesthesia. We discussed my options and I decided to go with a spinal. His partner came in and started my mainline. He marks areas to identify where I will get medicine and tells me he will see me in OR.

I have been here an hour and I am waiting on the OS. I try to calm my mind by doing some visual mediation but there is a lot of chatter from the medical staff. Over the P.A system I here that my OS has arrived. We are getting close.

After about 10 minutes he comes into my room. He checks over some paperwork, asks how I am doing, and initializes my right Achilles heel. I asked him if he slept okay last night and didn’t experience any road rage! I didn’t want a disgruntled OS. He laughed and said he was prepared and slept well. He walks out of the room.

My buddy decided to wait out in the waiting area and I asked the nurse if he could come in until I head to OR. I wanted to pass the time and share a few jokes with him to lighten the mood. After about 15 minutes the anesthesiologist assistant came and told me she was going to give me a little something to relax me. YES! She took my main line and injected a clear fluid into my vein. I told my buddy thanks for hanging out and would see him later. About five people came into my room to cart me off to the OR.

My anxiety spikes and I ask the anesthesiologist if I should be feeling whatever liquid she put in me and then BANG the drug takes over my whole body and I am soooo relaxed.

I get into the OR room and I remember seeing a lot of buckets thinking that it was buckets for extracted human parts. This thought doesn’t bother me and I am transferred to the OR table where I am giving the spinal. Again I feel the warm rush as the medicine takes over from the waste down. This stuff feels GOOD. I am put on my stomach and can feel someone scraping the back of my leg to see if my sensation is still active. I yell that I can still feel that and that’s when the anesthesiologist turned up the drugs and my blinds shut.

I have left the building.

All senses come back while I am back in the same room that I began the day in. I feel great but the surgical site is running at a pain level of about 9 to 10. I remember that the anesthesiologist would come by after surgery to give me a block to help with pain. I remember him saying that there was a 1 in 10,000 chance that it would not work.

I can tell you…it didn’t work and I was really uncomfortable and I began to complain because I wanted to be comfortable.

One arrogant nurse told me that I should expect some pain after surgery !!!???. Thanks..you can leave on the broom you came in on.

My buddy came back in the room once I changed and I am awaiting discharge papers and instructions to go home. The OS came in and said everything went well and that I needed to keep the boot on and he gave me a picture of the operation. He spent 39 minutes in total fixing my Achilles.

I leave the center still in pain and I want my buddy to get to the pharmacy so I can get pain relief.

The healing begins.