As it turned out, I got the interview call on Thursday and she just asked the same questions that I had filled out in the paperwork, I imagine that they just want to make sure that they have covered their tracks.
During the few days before the surgery, I chatted with friends and co-workers about the pros and cons of the spinal vs general decision which seemed to be in my future. Of course my dear wife wanted me to have a spinal so that I could better empathize with her as it relates to her c-sections that she has had for the last 2 kiddos. Others said that the general was the way to go. I have to admit that I had heard the stories of people waking up in the middle of their surgery, some being unable to move or talk but having to endure the excruciating pain of the procedure. One of my co-workers even told me a story about her own foot surgery where she woke up just as they were making the incision! I knew that there were pros and cons of either method and I vowed to set aside my concerns and trust that I would be taken care of.
On Friday, my darling wife let me sleep in until almost 9am. That was a big help as I didn't have to get up at 6am and spend the morning being hungry and grumpy for the lack of breakfast and coffee. We has a nice morning together and then we all went to the library. More distractions to help get to the surgery time. We came home, I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the family (and I don't care for pb&j so it wasn't a hardship to have to prepare them). I almost inadvertently ate a Cheese Puff while making the sandwiches but caught myself just in time. Our babysitter arrived and I kissed the kids goodbye and told them to be good.
When we arrived at the surgery center (about 10 minutes from our house) we were met by our pastor who had taken the time out of his schedule to come down and meet with us before the surgery. We chatted for a while (it turned out that his retinal surgeon was involved with building the facility that housed the clinic) and then he prayed with us and we were called into the patient area.
It was a nice, new center. and the triage/prep rooms were curtained off with comfy chairs to sit in. I had the usual barrage of questions, then I was connected up to an IV, and I sat for a while as they prepared the operating room. When the anesthesiologist came out he said that we were doing a general anesthetic and I let him know about my earlier concerns about the "waking up in pain not being able to move" fears and he put my mind at rest. Because of the nature of my surgery, he was not going to be using any paralytic agent, so if I did wake up too early (which he said was very unlikely) I would be fully able to move and alert people that I was awake. He said that when I was brought to the room, he would hook me up to some meds that would make my tongue tingle, the my arm might burn a little, then he would give me abut 5 seconds before I was out and that I would wake up in recovery with everything finished.
Then the surgeon came in, we reviewed the steps in the procedure and he let me know that Opinion #3 doctor had communicated with him and that he was likely going to put a Kirschner Wire in to keep my toe straight. He told me that he would come out and explain to my wife about how the surgery went when it was all done. He said that he hadn't decided on whether he was going to splint/cast my ankle but when we told him that we had 3 kids, we all agreed that it would be prudent to do something to provide stability (as even passive flexing of my ankle and toe could cause it to impair the healing) in the event that kids jump on the bed etc. Minutes later I was being walked back to the operating room.
The operating room was cold and bright with machines flashing and pinging. There were people milling around the room, and with my glasses off, I could make out my surgeon and my anesthesiologist but didn't know who the others were. It is a sign of the times that my first thought was "I hope these people are all covered by my insurance". I looked around at all of the equipment and was reminded of the Monty Python, Meaning of Life clip with the doctors calling for the machine that goes "ping" and the most expensive machine in the hospital because the administrator was coming (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxOu1DyVQV8).
I lay on the bed and the anesthesiologist asked me if I was OK, I told him I was fine. Then he asked me what I did for work (while telling me that he was starting to administer the medication). I told him who I worked for, and noticed my tongue was tingling, then I started to explain what I did, but started laughing cause I couldn't really remember what it was that I did. Then I felt a slight burning in my arm and was about to tell him that I could feel the.... ZONK.
I woke up in the recovery room with the nurse asking me if I would like to have my wife here. I said yes and fell asleep again. Then I woke up again and was greeted by my dear wife. She said everything went very well. She had my netbook and plopped it in front of my saying that my Dad was chatting with her - I tried to type something but felt a little nauseous so I had her take it away. After a few minutes I was taking ice-chips and feeling more lucid. I'm not sure of the exact timing but before long I was in a wheelchair being loaded into the van. We stopped by the pharmacy and picked up my pain medication, stool softeners, aspirin (to prevent clotting) and my crutches.
I got home and went straight to bed. The post-operative instructions were to remain in bed with my foot elevated above the level of my heart for 48 hours. I am not allowed to bear any weight whatsoever on my left foot for at least 4 weeks and in 2 weeks I will return to the surgeon to examine the wounds, evaluate whether to leave the K-wire in until 6 weeks post-op and to determine if additional casting is required. I cannot drive until my 2 week visit but can return to work once I am coherent. I slept alright overnight but it was hard to get into a comfortable position.
On Day one of being in bed, I kept myself occupied by watching movies and TV shows on Netflix and my dear wife delivered brunch and dinner to my bedside. I feel for her though because she has had to watch the 3 kids all day while tending to me. Hopefully by Monday when I can move out to the sitting room, I can be of more assistance.
I got some phone calls from family and friends and a nice call from my pastor (I told him that we wouldn't be at church tomorrow and he agreed that it was one of those "OK to miss church" excuses - I'll catch part 3 of his "Old Testament for Dummies" series on the web). I also got a follow-up call from the surgery center checking in on me. Add to that the 40+ well-wishes via email and Facebook I certainly felt special today and I thank God for all of the family and friends that he has blessed me with.
On to Day 2 of horizontal recovery.
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