Surgery is successfully done, but not without my usual little complications. Originally, I was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. this morning…to arrive at 5:30 a.m. However, my doctor had a doctor’s appointment. Kind of funny to think of it, but I guess they have to go to the doctor too. Fortunately, I found this out last night so I got to sleep-in a bit. Got to the hospital at 8:00 a.m. I was supposed to be in surgery by 10:00, but my veins did not cooperate. Three different nurses finally were able to slide the needle into my wrist while silent tears rolled my cheeks. Not my favorite spot, but both hands blew so she went for the next one she could actually see…with an infant needle. The good news is that it only took three tries. That is a low number for me, so my tears were short-lived and there was no meltdown.
Once the IV was in and I got my medicine, I was in the OR in just a few. Took the doc an hour longer to do the surgery than she thought it would. Somehow, I think we should plan for that since it seems to happen every surgery I have. Don’t remember much, until I woke up in the recovery room hurting. (I had decided against the nerve block so I had local anesthetic in my knee, which wears off more quickly.) I got some pain medicine, which dulled the sharp pain somewhat. I got another dose shortly after that to finish it off. I am not sure how long I was there, since I was in and out of hazy sleep. One more dose and the ache finally stopped, as I could not feel my body at all.  lol
They moved me to post op, and I slept some more. But when I woke up, after some crackers and Sprite, the nausea came. Not much, but enough they gave me some medicine for it. I napped again. This time when I woke up, I was in a cold sweat with my mouth watering like it does right before I throw up. The nurse grabbed the little pink container made for such emergencies in one hand, and the fenagrin in the other. My reaction to fenagrin, some of you will remember, is to sleep for 2 hours straight…which I did. Once my siesta was over, I felt more like myself and we went through the mountain of paperwork to be released, but not before getting a dose of Loratab for pain for the road. I tell you what, I have been more goofy and out of it today than I have ever been. The extra time to find my vein, plus the extra time in surgery, plus the extra time for nausea means that we didn’t leave the hospital until around 5:00. Long day. Good day.
The doc said that my meniscus was badly torn as a result of the school accident, so it wasn’t the cyst after all. I also had a ton of fluid and my cartilage is not flaking off like you would see normally with age, but it is coming off in chunks. She cleaned all of that stuff out, but also said that down the road I would be looking at knee replacement. (I am praying it is a long, long time down the road.) She wants me to try some cross training for the long term, rather than walking as my main exercise. However, she did say I will be ready for the three day this year, while at the same time saying it would not be wise for me to do it year after year. Though this wasn’t exactly good news, it did help me to know how I can best prepare my body for future activities and health. It is like a warning I can do something about by picking up new sports. I am grateful to know this new information.
Tonight I am tired and ready for even more sleep. My knee currently feels better than it has in months. I am assuming that all the pain medicine is working, even though I haven’t had any since leaving the hospital hours ago. I will take it before bed to help me sleep. I want to thank all of you for your prayers. I could feel the Lord’s presence surrounding me the whole day. He is always with me in these medical situations, through whatever complications that arise, because when I am weak HE is strong!