Feb 20 2010
Surgery
First let me start by saying I have never had surgery. I broke my leg in high school and had a corneal abrasion, but nothing ever requiring surgery. Heck, when my wisdom tooth was pulled, the dentist used a local, so have never “been under.”
The day of surgery was pretty uneventful. Well if you don’t count my frustration with trying to put on the stupid hospital gown, or having to wear the purple surgery socks. The nurse told my wife I wasn’t the happiest person she had ever come across. Hmmmm, wonder why? I think I was just more resigned to my fate and thinking about the recovery process. I remember after I broke my leg: 8 weeks later I was back on the field. 8 weeks after this I’m just hoping they will let me drive my car.
Anyway, surgery went fine. I was given a femoral block and wheeled into the OR. Not at all like on TV. I was already starting to fade and couldn’t feel my leg. I remember the nurses talking about the snow, putting the heart monitors on me and telling me to put my arm on the table next to me. Next thing I know I’m waking up in recovery. The Surgeon told my wife the rupture was clean, no shredding, so healing should go well.
Waking up in recovery felt like climbing out of a ditch. I was disoriented, confused and not with it. After a couple of minutes I started trying to find a clock, so I could figure out how long I had been down. By this point a nurse came over a put the Oxygen mask on my face and put the pillows back under my leg. Guess I was struggling quite a bit to wake up. That was the single worst part of the surgery, that and the nausea and headaches that followed!
The nurses and doctors were all great, answered all of my questions and never made me feel like an idiot. Still I was happy when they let my wife come back and see me. By this point I just wanted to go home.
