Waking Up on Pins & Needles...

Well, here I am... after being wheeled into the room post-op... Mr. Sunshine!

I'm writing to you now from the confines of my parent's house. So yes, my friends, I have been discharged! Whoo hoo!

We have a lot of catching up to do in the meantime! What a week it has been... who knew I'd start the week off by getting ready to run a Half Marathon, and end it on my back and with numerous wires and pins in my knee.

While I'm still heavily drugged up, and as I'm groggily typing each word, I've been encouraged by my good friend Laura here that NOW is the perfect time to rehash all of the greatest moments... and my thoughts and opinions of each of them. So get ready for one loopy ride...

I didn't sleep very well Tuesday night. Even though I went to bed at a decent hour, I was a bit distracted from sleep as I thought about the knives and flaps and blood and anything else going into or around my knee for the surgery. I also thought about my mom not knowing, and how THAT was going to go... hmmm...

We got down to Medical City around 7:30 AM. Mel showed up to keep Chandra and I company, and brought some stuff for Chandra to stay entertained while I was off in La La Land. This was an area called PreAdmission Registration Services.... or something like that. Basically, "Day Surgery."

From there, they had me get into my fancy hospital gown and then wheeled me (bed and all) into the Adult Holding area. This is the place where you sit in a room that looks like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise waiting for drugs and last minute consultations with your doctor, nurses, and anestegiologist.

While I was lying there, a nurse by the name of "Soupy" hooked up my IV. She had a very cheerful personality... so much so that she cracked herself up, as well as the both of us. At one point she said she'd be back to hook up my catheter... "Uh, I don't need no stinkin' catheter, Soupy!!!" (Thankfully, Soupy didn't have to do that for me...)

After they wheeled me from Chandra, I remember me arriving in a room that didn't look like an operating room at all... it looked more like the maintenance room! I was asked to think of the vacation spot I would like to be at right now...

The next thing I remember was being in Recovery. THAT was a painful time... the meds had worn off and my knee was killing me, and they needed me to tell them what medication was working (and not working). I not only felt the ache of the knee, but the stinging of the wound! Yikes!

They eventually wheeled me into room 611 - a private room outside the nurse's station. Chandra was in there (snapping that picture above) and was a great friend to act as my personal Public Relations guru. You have no idea how big of a job that entails when everyone and their mother's brother wants to be updated...

Due to an elderly patient in his 90s, they asked to move me to a larger room - 624. That was a nicer one because it also had more chairs and a couch.

Dr. Rutherford stopped by to tell me that the Patella had a good piece and a bad piece. The good one, sitting just inside my thigh, took most of the anchor for the damaged piece. They removed about 1/3 of the other piece because it was mostly "gravel." Nice, huh? They used wire wrapped around both in a figure 8, and then inserted a pin.

For the next 3 hours, I was pretty well jacked up. I remember friends coming by (Mel, David, Stephen) and family calling (mom, sister)... but geez louise was I on some kind of crazy trip. Not only was I taking a very strong pain pill (2) every 4 hours, but I was on a morphine drip... that I could control if I wanted more!

Everyone left around 8ish that night and I pretty much had one wild and crazy night of sleep... or, more specifically, napping for a few hours and then dealing with the nurses that would come in and check on me. The staff was outstanding... everyone made me feel like I was their only patient. And I tried to make sure they knew my gratitude.

At 4:45 AM, I awoke to a nurse saying, "Good morning... I'm here to draw some of your blood." Well, that CERTAINLY is a good morning wake-up call! A few hours later, a new nurse arrived to give me my first ever shot... in the stomach! That's an interesting feeling to say the least.

Thursday was a rough day... I had my first physical therapy session (walking on crutches in the hallway) and it didn't go well at all. I didn't make the "lap" that they needed me to do, and I was pouring sweat. After visiting with my doctor, and talking it over with my mom, we decided it was best that I stay another night since I was still needing the pain meds.

I had another PT session that afternoon, but I still didn't make that lap. My mom left around 5ish, and I got settled in for another evening of trying to get comfortable with a big pain in my leg.

Have I talked about the food yet? Wow... it's very good. The first night I had a grilled chicken breast, asparagus, and wild rice. Last night I opted for chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans. I also had a salad.

After dinner, I was pretty dang sleepy. About 8:30 I turned out the lights... but by 9 I was back up. I was very hot last night, so it made for a rough night of sleeping.

Had another shot in the stomach this morning, and found out I was getting discharged today! Yea! I had another PT session with Rudo this morning - she was fantastic - and I made 2 laps! One with the crutches, and one with a walker.

After a shower (sweet aroma goodness!), we checked out. Joel drove me home while I laid across the back seat. Once we got home, Laura showed up with my luggage/stuff from Chandra's and the OKC Marathon... and brought a walker.

Yes, my friends, I'm on a walker. However, it is awesome! No tennis balls on it, but it sure does help me with my balance and maneurvability.

So, how am I really? I'm very tired... I know a lot of you want to talk with me, but emails are really good for me now because I can get back to them when I have the stamina. Now that the blog is up and running, check here first for updates.

Thanks for all of your support... it means more than I can truly express.