Surgery Complete - On To The Next Step

MARCH 17 2010 1820 - JACKSONVILLE FL - Today was the day.

I woke up this morning at the usual time, eventhough it was not a work day for me. I did not want to be late for my surgery. I actually had arrive by 8:30 am, but decided I would get there a little earlier.

I left the apartment at 11 minutes to seven and went to catch the 7:14 am U2 bus. I figured that since I had to rely on walking that I did not want to run the risk of cutting it too closely. Funny, I've not previously had a major surgery, and it was as if I was anxious to get today's surgery over and done with.

I walked into the Plaza Surgery Center at 7:30 am, completed the paper work I needed, and waited for my name to be called. I was finally called back at 9:50 am.

After what seemed to be an endless battery of the same questions over and over, and following introductions of the surgical team it was time to prepare for the surgery.

You know, I must give the team a 10 for safety. We have all heard the stories of the doctors operating on the wrong body parts, but Plaza ensured such an actio would not happen. Once they confirmed that the surgery was to be performed on my right leg, they wrapped the left leg in an ACE bandage. The doctor also initialed the leg that the surgery was to be performed. At that point it was off to la-la land for me. That next thing I remember was waking up, completely disorientated, but the surgery was done.

My knee was wrapped in a bandage, and I could feel the pain slowly building. Not to worry, the doctor gave me a couple of Percascet, and prescribed Loritab to help manage the pain. By that time, my son-in-law arrived to drive me home. We had to stop to fill my prescription and purchase some crutches on the way home.

So far everything seems to be going fairly well. My son is staying the night with me to ensure nothing happens as a side effect to the annesthesia. I am still unable to stand without the assistance of the crutches, but I have a feeling that I should heal fairly quickly.

I will admit that it is rather uncomfortable at the moment, but considering the trade off is I no longer have to worry about a floating calcium deposit, I can deal with a brief period of discomfort.