Long note to Chrissy/my surgery/don't read if you're squeemish

[Guest guest]

Hey Chrissy,

No emails from Bob are necessary......I'm home, on the bed with pillows

everywhere, a few to keep me upright and then a hug pile to keep my leg

elevated. I've got the laptop on a legged bed tray, a TV on the dresser, and a

bedside table beside me, which is actually an antique butler's wheeled drop

leaf tray table. With the leaves up, it expands into a perfect sized side table

to keep all my junk, medicine bottles, the phone, some snacks, books and

stuff on the shelf below...etc. The cats are THRILLED with this arrangement,

and have been clustered around me all afternoon.

It was too cold for the boat.....darn, but maybe not such a good idea in total

cold darkness at low tide anyway. The staff at the hospital were great, except

the prep nurse had a horrible, consistant cough and when she went walking

around me, hooking up all these monitors, coughing every time she turned

around, I felt like pulling the sheet up around my face to protect myself. She

finally had to leave the prep-room to get some losenges or something to clear

up her cough. When she came back she had the kit to set up the IV, and

then the usual " hard stick " business was brought up. I told her yeah, I was,

and could they get an IV specialist to do it. She said that she hated it when

anyone told her that, (about the hard stick), cause it immediately set her on

edge. She said she could do it just fine, no IV specialist was available, etc.,

and reassured me that she'd numb the site with lidocaine first. So I thought

I'd give her benefit of no more than 2 attempts, then start screaming. She

went for a vein on the top of my hand, and didn't listen when I told her that

one had never been productive........I don't CARE how it looks, m'am, it

doesn't work! It was too late, she'd already stuck me and tried to put the

little

tubie thing in....cringe, cringe.....and of course, it didn't work!!

Fortunately, she went for the vein on the side of my wrist the next time and hit

pay dirt, and that business was finished up and over with. Then the

anesthesist and the doctor came in and we all had a discussion about what

was going to be done about anesthesia. Normally, they do a local, and then

put the patient out, but I'd had a really low FBG that morning that they were

concerned about. Plus, my primary doctor had already conference called

about the anesthesia situation with the surgeon, so they made the decision to

do a block instead, to keep me awake, with a nurse anesthesist standing

behind me, and a slow duclose drip for the low FBG in the IV. I opted out on

watching the procedure personally or by a monitor, though, so they put up a

screen so I couldn't see......lol!!

Stop reading now, if you're squeemish about hearing about surgery details!

The block worked well, (it's just started to wear off...16 hours later), and

there

were only two times that I felt pain and had to ask for more numbing drugs,

but with my being awake, they immediately responded and injected some

more. I didn't feel any of the cutting, yet I could feel someone holding my

foot

gently. When he started using a saw I had to ask for some more, I guess

that's when he was removing the excess bone and cartilege. Then when he

used the drill to insert the screws I needed some more. After that I was fine,

and actually was laughing to myself when he started pounding with a

hammer! I told Bob afterward that my foot had turned into a construction site

in the operating room....lol! After that he stitched everything up and injected

the last block, this time a long acting one, to keep everything numb for the

rest of the day. Since they didn't have to do any waiting around in a recovery

room with me, they just wheeled me directly out of surgery and back to the

pre-op room. After a beverage of choice, which was coffee for me because

everything else they offered had sugar in it, they disconnected all the wires

and IV, and fitted me with a surgical shoe. I choose black, which I thought

was much more fashionable than the electric bright blue one that was also

offered. So I was out of there by 10:00 a.m.

We had a bit of a scare on the ride home. We made a stop at a gas station so

I could use the rest room, and then about 5 miles from home I looked at my

foot and saw all this bright red blood staining the gauze and the thicker ace

bandage wrapped around my foot. It was getting larger as I watched, so I

made a quick call to the dr's office, and he told me to stop at his Bluffton

office and have one of his associates look at it. The doc there ended up

having to put even more padding with pressure and then more clean gauze

and a new bandage, with the instructions to stay of my feet entirely the rest of

the day and tomorrow, keep it elevated at all times and put an ice pack on it.

So I've been complying with all of this like a good patient. So far so good,

and I have had to just take my first oxycodone dosage before I close down for

the night.

You are a complete angel for offering your help over the weekend, Chrissy!

That is so sweet and thoughtful of you. But I had already talked to

about it, since she knew Bob has to leave first thing in the morning and will be

away all weekend. But you should come down here sometime when I'm on

my feet and the weather is nicer so we could spent an afternoon on the dock

or out in the boat. We don't have 126 acres of woods surrounding the

Griffeth enclave anymore, like you are so lucky to have. It was like that when

Bob lived next door as a child and teenager, even, but since then has been

built up into a quiet little neighborhood. We tore down our horse stables to

build our house, and used the land where the horse's riding ring was to put

up our garage. It still feels more private than most places, though, and with

the river as the boundary of our front yard, at least there's no neighbors on

that side, except for the dolphins, herons and oysters!!

I've written this in bits and pieces since early evening, and now it's well past

midnight, so it's been very long. Even though my long afternoon nap afforded

me the time to stay awake so late now, this girl's got to go get another ice

pack and get herself to bed. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to sleep right through

the worst of the expected pain, as the doctor said the first night would be the

worst, and that it shouldn't even hurt at all, (when elevated, that is....lol!)

by

the end of the second day. And now it's already the 2nd day....so I'm off to

bed.

Thanks again so much. I'll give you a call sometime Friday!

With love, hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina State Rep.

South Eastern Regional Rep.

PAI

Note: All comments or advice are based on personal experience or opinion,

and should not be substituted for professional medical consultation.