It's after Noon at my parent's house in Lafayette, CA and I'm doing just fine. My left leg is covered from foot to thigh with layers of bandages around my knee that I was instructed to remove after 24 hours. Yesterday was a long day, but everything seemed to go quite well.
My Mom and Dad (Mom's golf game was canceled due to the hot weather) both picked me up at my apartment and drove me to Cal Pacific Medical Center. I got checked in and was taken to a pre-op room to go through some tests and questions from a few nurses and medical aides. A gentleman came in to bring me crutches. The form I signed off on stated they cost me $60.00. Did you know a walker runs about $120? Let's hope I won't need one of those. ;) I even got lessons on the crutches as to how to navigate stairs. Very good to know, as this was my first time on crutches. After that I was asked to change into the lovely hospital gown (opens from back) and put a stocking on the leg that was NOT to be operated on. Very important. A nurse came in to give me an IV of saline to keep me hydrated. This nurse was great and even showed me her own knee scope scars. She's a runner too. Once she left, my parents and I sat for some time just chatting and waiting.
Around 11:40 AM someone came in to take me off to the OR. He sat me down in a small waiting room where another nurse came in to "interview" me. I realized the hospital has a lot of checks to make sure they have the right patient and what procedure that person was about to receive. They were constantly checking my hospital bracelet to a card they had with my records and asking me what procedure I was about to undergo. My charts stated, Operative Arthroscopy, Partial Synovectomy, Left Knee. It was good they were being so thorough and made me feel pretty safe in that respect. Next, Dr. Anderson came in and said hello. She was her usual fairly non-emotional self, but she did reach over to touch my hand in reassurance at one point. She took out a pen and signed her initials on my left knee and headed out of the room. The anesthesiologist came in to tell me a few things and left too. I just sat there. I didn't feel like reading the old People or US magazines lying around. My head was spinning more or less not believing I was about to have my knee operated on.
At last, one of the nurses came to get me and walked me into the OR. It was sterile and ugly. I have to say, even without my contact lenses, I could tell it was very utilitarian, not meant for anything other than medical equipment. I got situated on the table as they told me to put my head here and leg there. The anesthesiologist gave me a few drugs that make me woozy. I looked around the room and counted him, Dr. A, a few nurses, and someone else. Why did they need so many people? And how much is each person costing me? Ha. I was asked to breathe in an oxygen mask as I made a silent prayer. I woke up an hour later in the recovery room.
The recovery room was big with many spots for beds to be wheeled in and out. The nurse there put a warm blanket on me which was cozy. I was worried about feeling nauseous, but felt fine so far. I tried to doze off again. It was then that another woman was brought in next to me. I learned she was a nun named Sister Catherine. Bless her, but Sister Catherine started to snore... loudly. Ugh. No more sleeping for me.
After a half an hour or so they wheeled me into another post-op room I had to myself. My Mom and Dad came in to join me and told me the report they got from Dr. Anderson. She told them she found inflamed tissue under my kneecap that she removed and there was also some rough surface under the bone she smoothed out. She mentioned something to my parents about "Young people doing too much and being hard on their bodies." I have to say, I was a little disappointed that there didn't seem to be any broken cartilage or something like that floating around in my knee. Hard to believe just some inflamed tissue has caused me all this pain, but it did support he point Dr. Allen from UCSF made that sometimes an inflammation will not go away on it's own until it is removed. My parents and I waited in that post-op room for some time as the nurse monitored me and let me drink some water and juice. Still no nausea, yeah! Dr. Anderson stopped by and gave me the report directly, which I appreciated. She did say my joints looked good and there weren't any tears. I'm grateful about that, as those problems are harder to recover from. I said, "Well, I hope this helps me." Dr. A replied in a sincere tone of voice, "I am very hopeful it will help you too." She seemed very positive about it and I figure she should know from experience with many patients over the years. After that I started to get a little bored and called my sister from my cell phone. I only got in a few words that I was OK, then the nurse came in to take out my IV.
Around 3:30 PM I could finally leave the hospital. I have to say everyone at CPMC was very nice to me, especially the nurses. Each one was so detail oriented and caring at the same time. Outside of the nurses, I decided that I'm not a big fan of hospitals. I was ready to go home. Once I got to my parents house they embarked on a lot of TLC. My Dad offered me his recliner for the next few days as it puts me in a good elevated knee position. My appetite was good, too good if you ask me. ;) I pretty much ate everything Mom and Dad put in front of me. I crutched myself off to bed around 10PM.
I woke up this morning feeling surprisingly well. I do feel some shoots of pain here and there, but I'm still bandaged up. I've been instructed to keep taking my prescription anti-inflammatory medication and Vicodin. They told me at the hospital, "Don't be a hero, take your pain meds." They explained that if I take them my recovery will be a lot faster and smoother. Good to know. Speaking of, it's about time to take those meds and almost time to remove my bandages. I'm supposed to start my range of motion and quadriceps exercises today. I'm hoping the pain does not get worse, but time will tell. So far, so good!
My Mom and Dad (Mom's golf game was canceled due to the hot weather) both picked me up at my apartment and drove me to Cal Pacific Medical Center. I got checked in and was taken to a pre-op room to go through some tests and questions from a few nurses and medical aides. A gentleman came in to bring me crutches. The form I signed off on stated they cost me $60.00. Did you know a walker runs about $120? Let's hope I won't need one of those. ;) I even got lessons on the crutches as to how to navigate stairs. Very good to know, as this was my first time on crutches. After that I was asked to change into the lovely hospital gown (opens from back) and put a stocking on the leg that was NOT to be operated on. Very important. A nurse came in to give me an IV of saline to keep me hydrated. This nurse was great and even showed me her own knee scope scars. She's a runner too. Once she left, my parents and I sat for some time just chatting and waiting.
Around 11:40 AM someone came in to take me off to the OR. He sat me down in a small waiting room where another nurse came in to "interview" me. I realized the hospital has a lot of checks to make sure they have the right patient and what procedure that person was about to receive. They were constantly checking my hospital bracelet to a card they had with my records and asking me what procedure I was about to undergo. My charts stated, Operative Arthroscopy, Partial Synovectomy, Left Knee. It was good they were being so thorough and made me feel pretty safe in that respect. Next, Dr. Anderson came in and said hello. She was her usual fairly non-emotional self, but she did reach over to touch my hand in reassurance at one point. She took out a pen and signed her initials on my left knee and headed out of the room. The anesthesiologist came in to tell me a few things and left too. I just sat there. I didn't feel like reading the old People or US magazines lying around. My head was spinning more or less not believing I was about to have my knee operated on.
At last, one of the nurses came to get me and walked me into the OR. It was sterile and ugly. I have to say, even without my contact lenses, I could tell it was very utilitarian, not meant for anything other than medical equipment. I got situated on the table as they told me to put my head here and leg there. The anesthesiologist gave me a few drugs that make me woozy. I looked around the room and counted him, Dr. A, a few nurses, and someone else. Why did they need so many people? And how much is each person costing me? Ha. I was asked to breathe in an oxygen mask as I made a silent prayer. I woke up an hour later in the recovery room.
The recovery room was big with many spots for beds to be wheeled in and out. The nurse there put a warm blanket on me which was cozy. I was worried about feeling nauseous, but felt fine so far. I tried to doze off again. It was then that another woman was brought in next to me. I learned she was a nun named Sister Catherine. Bless her, but Sister Catherine started to snore... loudly. Ugh. No more sleeping for me.
After a half an hour or so they wheeled me into another post-op room I had to myself. My Mom and Dad came in to join me and told me the report they got from Dr. Anderson. She told them she found inflamed tissue under my kneecap that she removed and there was also some rough surface under the bone she smoothed out. She mentioned something to my parents about "Young people doing too much and being hard on their bodies." I have to say, I was a little disappointed that there didn't seem to be any broken cartilage or something like that floating around in my knee. Hard to believe just some inflamed tissue has caused me all this pain, but it did support he point Dr. Allen from UCSF made that sometimes an inflammation will not go away on it's own until it is removed. My parents and I waited in that post-op room for some time as the nurse monitored me and let me drink some water and juice. Still no nausea, yeah! Dr. Anderson stopped by and gave me the report directly, which I appreciated. She did say my joints looked good and there weren't any tears. I'm grateful about that, as those problems are harder to recover from. I said, "Well, I hope this helps me." Dr. A replied in a sincere tone of voice, "I am very hopeful it will help you too." She seemed very positive about it and I figure she should know from experience with many patients over the years. After that I started to get a little bored and called my sister from my cell phone. I only got in a few words that I was OK, then the nurse came in to take out my IV.
Around 3:30 PM I could finally leave the hospital. I have to say everyone at CPMC was very nice to me, especially the nurses. Each one was so detail oriented and caring at the same time. Outside of the nurses, I decided that I'm not a big fan of hospitals. I was ready to go home. Once I got to my parents house they embarked on a lot of TLC. My Dad offered me his recliner for the next few days as it puts me in a good elevated knee position. My appetite was good, too good if you ask me. ;) I pretty much ate everything Mom and Dad put in front of me. I crutched myself off to bed around 10PM.
I woke up this morning feeling surprisingly well. I do feel some shoots of pain here and there, but I'm still bandaged up. I've been instructed to keep taking my prescription anti-inflammatory medication and Vicodin. They told me at the hospital, "Don't be a hero, take your pain meds." They explained that if I take them my recovery will be a lot faster and smoother. Good to know. Speaking of, it's about time to take those meds and almost time to remove my bandages. I'm supposed to start my range of motion and quadriceps exercises today. I'm hoping the pain does not get worse, but time will tell. So far, so good!
2 comments:
Great news, Ali. I'm glad things went well and am glad that they found something that could be the culprit of your pain. I'll be thinking of you. Enjoy some extra TLC while you recover.
so happy everything has gone well so far. you sound great! you'll be up and running in no time! XO
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