My parents picked me up early in the morning. I had packed my things for the overnight as well as for staying with my parents house for the week afterwards. I was admitted to the hospital and was taken up to the 4th floor to prep for surgery. I changed into the gown and a nurse came in to attach an IV to my arm. Around 9:15 AM, I was taken all the way down to the "B" floor for surgery. I waited for a while and finally the anesthesiologist came in to speak to me. The first thing she said was, "I understand you know my colleague Theresa Chang!" I was glad to hear Theresa's name and that she worked with the doctor that was about to put me under. I explained that Theresa and I attend the same church in the city. She told me Theresa was in the hospital today too. I was surprised and happy to hear this since Theresa told me she was never at Davies on Wednesdays. Dr. Dye stopped by, said hello, signed my left knee, and off I went to the OR. The doctors and nurses talked to me about my job at Old Navy as they got me all situated. Eventually that very calm feeling came over me... and I was out. "Yeah, " I thought, "My mind can finally rest for a while."
I woke up in the recovery room an hour later and Dr. Dye was suddenly by the bed. He talked fast (as usual) and I was still quite out of it, so I only got the gist that the scope went well.
I wasn't sure if there were any specific details he may have mentioned, it just seemed positive. My friend Theresa walked up and it was so great to see her. It was nice to see a familiar face in such a strange place. Soon after, I was wheeled to my room. I was in room 313 and had the bed near the window. This was the view that first afternoon, a rainy day in the city. At first, I felt fine. Maybe a little nauseous, but I thought that was because I hadn't eaten anything since the evening before. I ordered some soup and fruit. My parents stayed for a short while, but left once I was settled in so I could get some rest. It wasn't long afterwards that I decided (excuse my candor), hospitals suck!There is NO quiet. Either my roommate was groaning or watching TV. Honestly, I'm pretty sure she never watched the TV, she just left it on for background noise while she slept soundly. Err... Or someone down the hall was crying out loud. Really, there were screams of "Help me! Help me!" Wow. I'm a light sleeper, so this all was rough. Then, I got more and more nauseous. Nurses came in to check my vitals (not because I didn't feel well, they were on their usual rounds) and insisted I order dinner. I listened to the meal options over the phone and almost hurled right there. Sorry again for the candor, but I'm just trying to explain the situation. The dinner options weren't bad, I was actually impressed at how much they had to offer, I just felt so sick. My friend Becky came by after work and I did my best to hold it together while she was there. I was really happy to see her! I don't know why, but I didn't expect any visitors. Even though I didn't feel well, it made me feel really good that my friends took the time out of their evenings to visit me. Theresa stopped by when she was done with work and convinced me I should accept the nurses offer of the anti-nausea medication.It didn't cure it, but it did take the edge off. Another friend Lauren and her friend Sherman, visiting from out of town, came by too on their way to dinner. Very, very nice. I managed one bite of the quesadilla I ordered and a few spoonfuls of chocolate pudding. Ick, no more. The next nurse came by and gave me some saltines and graham crackers. I had those nearby on my tray in case I needed them. Around 10:00 PM my nurse at the time offered me a Vicodin and a sleeping pill! Woo hoo! ; ) Still, the night was awful. Even with a sleeping pill, hospitals are not for sleep. The staff checks on you all the time and nurses wake you up for new sets of vitals. Blood pressure, temperature, etc... Everyone tending to me were quite nice and very good at what they were doing, but I was miserable. A saltine here, a graham cracker there, I tried to eat something and drink lots of water.
With little sleep under my belt, I sat up around 7:30 AM and turned on the Today Show (I made sure to watch using my headphones as to no disturb anyone else). This is what the morning looked like out my window.
Yes, a little bit brighter. Dr. Dye came in around 8:30 AM and checked out my knee. As usual, he was efficient. He unwrapped the bulky bandage and took the drain out of my knee. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention the little contraption hooked up to my knee making sure any excess fluid did not accumulate in my knee. The first thing Dr. Dye pointed out to me on my MRI when he diagnosed the Synovitis was the extra fluid in my left knee due to inflammation. Anyway, he carefully took the drain out, added a few Band aids over my stitches and said my knee looked really good. He said he definitely found Synovitis (inflamed synovial tissue) in my knee and had reduced it significantly. He also said (somehow he knew this was important for me to hear) this would not have gone away on it's own. I would have continued to suffer without the surgery. Whew, it was good to hear. Dr. Dye plopped a big bag of ice on my knee and told me to rest and ice my knee as much as possible. He would see me the next week for our follow up appointment. My Dad arrived to pick me up a short while later. It was so great to change into my own clothes and get out of there! The car was all set up for me to stretch out in the back seat. My Dad even brought an ice chest holding frozen peas for my knee. Thank you Dad, you think of everything! I was glad to be on my way to Lafayette for some real rest and TLC.
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