The Starting Blocks

My morning started early as the alarm rang out at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, November 12, 2008.  As I crawled out of bed and headed to the kitchen I remembered I could not have anything to drink or eat.  I would have to live without the quenching glass of water and fix of caffeine until sometime after my surgery. Directions said I could not have any food 12 hours before surgery and no drink after midnight.  I redirected myself towards the bathroom to shave shower and brush my teeth without swallowing any water.   The scariest part of the morning, including the actual operation, was waking my wife at 5:15 a.m.  The mistake of the day was not getting her up in time to enjoy her cup of coffee.

After being admonished for my poor judgment, we were off to the hospital.  Thirty minutes later we arrived at Porter Hospital.  Wow, Porter is like checking into a hotel, not a hospital.  Very modern and it does not smell like a hospital.  After checking in and waiting for a brief time, I was off to the pre-op area.  Here I was reintroduced to the wonderful hospital gown. The hospital gown has not changed a bit.  You would think with someone would event something better after all of these years.  We can send messages email and text message through the air but not figure out how to properly cover the human buttocks.  Modern advances in medicine would eventually be the theme of the day.

Next came the fun stuff.  A very friendly pre-op nurse made me feel as comfortable as possible as she found a vain to put a IV in.  As my leg was being shaved and washed the anesthesiologist, Doctor Nightingale, explained my options.  He said a nerve block was the usual practice.  The inject the leg at the hip first then later make an injection in the lower spine which blocks your nerves.  They would also give me something that would put me to sleep.  General anesthesia would not be used.  I have had numerous operations and all have been with general anesthesia.  General anesthesia is much harder on your body, organs and brain.  You are usually unconscious and or groggy for hours after surgery.  I just wanted to make  sure I would not here, see or  smell any part of the drilling, cutting etc.

I was wheeled to the operating room which is kept at a very cool temperature to reduce germs.  I was quickly covered by a preheated blanket and transferred onto the operation table.  I heard someone mention the procedure would be video recorded.  I was given some type of injection in the IV in my arm which would make me relaxed and sleepy.  I was sat up on the side of the table and was told to lean on the nurse.  A needle injected something into my lower back and the next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room.  I was surprised how quickly I regained my senses.  I soon realized I could not feel anything below my waist.  NO PAIN!  I was a little worried that I could not feel my male parts so I used my hand to see if it was all there.  To my relief it was and still is there.  I did find the dreaded catheter attached.  This is one of the parts of surgery that is quite de-humanizing.  You definitely have to check your ego at the door.  

Surgery was scheduled to take about 90 minutes but I was to extend this time by 45 minutes.  I always do things big!  I had lost more movement in my knee than most people so I was told it took longer to “loosen things up”.  My orthopedic surgeon, Douglas Dennis told me he appreciated challenge.  I did put him behind schedule though.  I think he had 3 other joint replacements on his schedule for the day. One before me and a couple after.  This is a light day for him.  Dr. Dennis is headed to Panama where he and his team will perform 70 plus joint replacements in 3 days for individuals who do not have access to these procedures normally.

Surgery started at about 9:15 a.m. and when I woke up it was about 12:00 p.m.  and I was in the recovery room.  I was taken up to my permanent room by 1:00 p.m.   No nausea and NO PAIN!  This was the result of not using the general anesthesia.   The “block” would keep the pain away through the night.  I was able to eat dinner and actually stand up with a walker by evening.  In between I had a perpetual motion machine which would bend and straighten my knee.  Again there was no pain.  The machine was removed when the physical therapist came to show me exercises and stand me up. 

Again, Porter is more like a hotel than a hospital.  They provide room service. They actually have a menu with good food which you can order from anytime between 7:00a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Salmon with veggies, rice, a salad and carrot cake.  I was actually hungry again before 7:00 p.m. so I was able to order a turkey sandwich which was also good.  Breakfast was ok but the coffee was terrible!  Luckily my wife Cherlyn  brought me some Starbucks.

Physical therapist showed up early Thursday morning to get me up on a walker.  I was able to put quite a bit of weight on my leg with only moderate pain.  I did take some percusets before therapy began.   I was able to walk 300 feet.  The PT said I did better than most.  I would graduate to forearm crutches in the afternoon.  I also had an occupational therapist show me things I will need when I get home.  Most of this I had previous experience with so I did not really learn  anything new.  We did make sure I could get down and up from the toilet and later I practiced transferring onto a shower bench in the bathtub.     I am supposed to go home tomorrow.  The pain pills are kicking in so until tomorrow…