Hello Everyone,
I'm Alive! For those who have managed to have brief conversations with me these past few weeks, you know I've been a little drugged up. For those who haven't... let me walk you through my whole experience.
Date: April 8
th, 2011
5:05am
It's early... I stretch. I curl back into a ball and press snooze.
5:15am
My alarm goes off again. I start prepping and I go to wake Darren up. He slept over last night so that we could get an early start.
5:30am
Darren microwaves a Vietnamese sub he purchase the day before for his breakfast. It smells delicious. Of course since I have the surgery... I can't eat anything. I just drool...
We leave the apartment and start our drive to
Banff!
7:00am
We arrive in
Banff. Looks like we
could've slept in a little longer but,
meh! We decided to drive around the town site before my appointment (8:00am). We drove up a mountain for a bit and saw a white-tailed deer. It got REALLY close to the car. Unfortunately my camera was in the trunk so we couldn't take a picture. We also drove down to Bow Falls.
It was freezing cold there, but seeing the sunrise in between the mountains. That was what calmed me down. Up until that point my heart was still racing. Darren and I both looked at each other and nodded. It was time to make that drive to the hospital.
7:52am
I slowly hobble out of the car. With my hospital bag on one shoulder, and my
cryo-cuff device in my hands, we start making the trek to the admitting area.
8:06am
I'm sitting in my hospital room - room 533. It's a two person room, but I don't think they were anticipating there were would be another person joining me. The view was spectacular. Only in Alberta would you have a hospital room with a mountain and river view. The nurse comes in to get me to fill in a few forms and gives me a hospital gown and booties.
She also gives me a scrub with instructions to scrub down my leg with this pink goop. It was cold... and sticky. I was told not to rinse it off with water. I go back to my hospital bed where they then give me a warm toasty blanket. It was perfect :) Darren then sat with me trying to calm me down and reassure me things were going to be fine.
Darren underwent a surgery for his wrist earlier this year. He knows what it's like to undergo your first surgery without a family member present or close friend. So he took the day off work so I didn't have to do this alone. He's amazing :)
9:00-
ish am
The nurse returns to get me ready for the surgery. They give me a black sharpie marker and told me to write "yes" on the leg I was operating on.
Apparently it's happened a few times where doctors would operate on the wrong leg. She then followed to try and find a vein in my hand to insert an IV. She went at it for about 3 minutes... and MAN did that hurt. It was like jab after jab after jab. She missed the vein, poked right through it, and blood went everywhere.
YAY.... so gave up and left it to the anesthesiologist to deal with.
From now, periodically the surgeon and the assistants popped into the room to see how I was doing and to answer any questions I had. A physiotherapist also went over my recovery plan and how to use crutches. I hate crutches... like HATE them.
Darren on the other hand had a blast!
10:40-
ish am
The anesthesiologist came in and said, "okay, lets go!" I looked at him and then looked at Darren with a sad face. I turned back to the doctor and asked if he could come with. The doctor smirked and said, "Sure, you guys can hold hands like it's your first date or something too". Yeah I guess we looked like a couple so it makes sense that the hospital thought he was my boyfriend. Darren and I just laughed it off. Then we get to a set of double doors and it's time to say good-bye. He assures me he'll be there when I wake up. How sweet :).
I go into the operating room. It's freezing cold in there. 2 nurses, 2 assistants, 1 surgeon, 1 anesthesiologist, and me. They tell me to sit on the hospital bed as the drug guy preps my arm for the IV. He chooses another vein mid-way to my elbow. JAB JAB JAB, no luck. Painful? YES. He then proceeds to finally find a decent vein in my elbow. Issue is now
every time I bend my arm it stop the IV flow, the machine beeps, and I'm essentially moving the needle and re-
puncturing myself somewhere else. UGH.
Moving forward, the doctor gives me a needle in my lower spine to numb all the sensation in my lower body, and another assistant injects a serum in my arm which is to sedate me. All I remember is waiting 2 seconds and saying, "wow... I actually feel it". I
laid on the table shivering. Turned my head to the left to look at my arm with the IV, then ...
.
11:15-ish am
I had no dreams. I felt an icy coldness on my mid-drift. I opened my eyes only to see a nurse moving my bed into the recovery room. I closed my eyes and drifted off again. Moments later again I felt the icy coldness on my cheek. I see that it's an ice pack. This time I try to make conversation to wake myself up. "Is this how you wake people up? With ice packs?" The nurse laughs and says yes. I look at the clock and see it's 11:15-ish am. I asked her if I was mumbling much. She says not too much, except that I woke up once before hand and mumbled the exact same, "Is this how you wake people up" question. I guess that's why she laughed. I fell back asleep.
11:48-ish am
When I woke up next I was in my hospital room again. I had about 7 blankets on me, my leg was elevated on a series of pillows and my head was head was nested in a swirl of blankets. I had no feeling of my lower half at all. The nurse assured me that the numbing agent for my legs would only be for about 3 hours. Yeah...being helpless and unable to move your legs...kinda scary. I fell asleep again.
12:20-ish pm
The nurses came around to test me with the ice pack again. They did it every so often to see if the freezing was starting to wear off. Nope. Still very numb. Also, I hadn't eaten since 11:30 the night before. The hospital lunch included: a ham & cheese sandwich, soup, apple juice, water, and tea. Well, I only ate the sandwich. Since I was still very numb and wasn't allowed to sit up. Soup was out of the question. I ate the sandwich, drank the juice with a straw and fell back asleep.
1:15pm
Darren waltzes into my room greeting me with a smile. We talk for a bit. Prior to my surgery, a friend of my told me he knew of a guy who had his acl done, and when he came out he had ice cream. As kiddish as it sounds, I really like ice cream. To ensure that I got ice cream after my surgery, Darren surprised me with Cow's Dairy ice cream!!! Like I said, such an awesome sweet heart. I traded him my soup for the ice cream. Cowie Wowie flavour in a waffle cup! Delicious!
(note: see all the blue bandaids on my arm? That was from the IV attempts)
I tried to fight the sleepiness. I didn't want to leave Darren just sitting there. We talked about all sorts of things. The nurse came in periodically to check the freezing level, but still very very frozen. She told me that it wasn't a good idea for me to use the washroom before the freezing wore off so that I'd have to try "hold" everything until then. I didn't think it was a big deal since I hadn't really eaten or drank anything in a while until I looked up at my IV bag and noticed I was on my second bag. Then I said... ah crap...I guess I will have to pee soon. The bad part about it was I could visually see that that particular area where my bladder would be was very elevated (indicating a full bladder), but I couldn't feel a thing. Seriously. I could've been peeing my pants and not have felt a thing! So after that convo, every time Darren made me laugh I'd have to check my bed to see if I accidentally laughed too hard and pee-ed myself. Luckily I did not.
4:30pm
Dinner was served. Salad, soup, stew, bread, tea, juice and water. Darren made sure I ate something. I told him to take my tea and soup. I started on my salad.
4:45pm
Darren had to leave to return the car back to the rental place. He gave me hugs and went on his way. No worries, I wasn't alone. My friend, Melyse, bought me a teddy bear. Her exact words when she gave it to me was, "Look! Now you won't be alone. Stop crying about this". She makes me laugh:). By this time I was exhausted from fighting the sleepiness so decided to doze off.
5:15pm
Woken up by the ice test. Still numb but, OH NO! They took away my dinner...unfortunately all they could give me was half a sandwich and some cheese and crackers. I never had my stew or juice...boo! Well...better than nothing, but I fell asleep again.
6:45pm
I couldn't take it. Despite some feeling in my legs, I HAD to use the washroom. I buzzed for the nurses help and she helped me crutch to the washroom. Perhaps too much information, but...it was the longest urination IN MY LIFE. Seriously... imagine Austin Powers the movie after he was thawed out. Yep, same thing.
6:50pm
Graham arrives just in time to hear the record breaking pee. He helps me back to my bed and feeds me the rest of my food. Although he was staying in Banff for the night, he was not allowed to stay overnight in the hospital with me. So he booked a hotel near by. To ensure I was not alone, he brought a stuffed tiger for me - Name is Roarrie.
7:45pm
I start to gain pain in my legs. They give me 2 percocets.
8:30pm
Graham is kicked out. I'm still in pain, they give me 2 advils.
12:00am
They check my vitals. Give me 2 more percocets. (remember, relatively empty stomach)
4:00am
Vitals and 2 more percocets
8:00am
vitals and 2 more percocets. I have to get up to use the washroom. But as I get up I'm overcome with this immense nausea. The nurse gives me gravol and tells me to try to eat something assuring me it's likely my empty stomach. Meal: grapes & pineapples, yogurt, oatmeal, tea, juice, water. I grab the yogurt in front of me. Peach. Try to down it. It's not helping
8:10am
Yogurt, juice and gravol come rushing out of my system. Nose and all. Not fun.
10:30am
Graham comes in. I look like sh*t.
11:20am
Nurse gives me 2 t3's and more gravol.
12:13pm
I head to washroom to puke. Dry heave and gag for 5 minutes
12:18pm
Walk out of the washroom only to notice my friend Alex heard it all. Alex was traveling across Canada and decided to make a stop with his sister, also named Diana, to visit me. I was not looking so good.
12:45pm
Decided I wanted to check out and go home. They helped me into the back of Graham's car. It was a bumpy ride, but I did not puke!
Time unknown...
Graham stops off at the pharmacy to pick up drugs. Then shortly after I get home. Getting up to my apartment was a battle. Being nauseated and having the pain throbbing in my leg wasn't fun. Matt my roommate greats me. I just grunt. I get into my bed, take my pills and fall asleep.
This commences my days of sleeping and couch sitting. At this point I am useless, my leg feels like a dog is gnawing on it, and I feel naustead. Alex later visits me that night before he heads out east again, but I barely remember anything...sorry!
Final Thought: WILL THIS DIZZINESS EVER END?!?!?
Some make me dizzy, some make me ill.
It was freezing cold there, but seeing the sunrise in between the mountains. That was what calmed me down. Up until that point my heart was still racing. Darren and I both looked at each other and nodded. It was time to make that drive to the hospital.
She also gives me a scrub with instructions to scrub down my leg with this pink goop. It was cold... and sticky. I was told not to rinse it off with water. I go back to my hospital bed where they then give me a warm toasty blanket. It was perfect :) Darren then sat with me trying to calm me down and reassure me things were going to be fine.
Apparently it's happened a few times where doctors would operate on the wrong leg. She then followed to try and find a vein in my hand to insert an IV. She went at it for about 3 minutes... and MAN did that hurt. It was like jab after jab after jab. She missed the vein, poked right through it, and blood went everywhere. YAY.... so gave up and left it to the anesthesiologist to deal with.
Darren on the other hand had a blast!
