The nurse wrote yes, and I asked for no smiley face, so she put a frowny face on my leg. This helps the doctor know which ankle is being operated on. They wheeled me off after adding a sedative to my IV. I was awake and remember going in the Operating Room, but then fell asleep when the anesthesiologist put a mask of oxygen and gave me medicine to put me under. They moved me onto the table after I fell asleep. Last year, I had the same surgery, at the same place, and I had to transfer to the operating table, and then they put me to sleep. So it can go either way. The surgery took 90 minutes, because they had to repair and tighten tendons with a radioopaque screw. This screw never needs removing, and can only be seen on x-ray. My first surgery on the other ankle in 2014, only took 60 minutes, because no tendon repair was done. Both surgeries cut into the ankle bone, and made a new groove for my peroneal tendons. They were put in the groove, and sutured down, and tissue put on top. I woke up in recovery, and I was asked to rate my pain every few minutes, and then given meds, crackers, and a drink. I was leaving about 45 minutes after waking up. I was wheeled down to the car, and I got in the backseat, and had several pillows and a blanket ready. I was aware enough to text some friends and family, and talk to my hubby on the way home. It takes an hour to get home, so I definitely fell asleep on and off. I get home, and was able to use my knee scooter to get into the house and plopped in the recliner where I fell asleep. I woke up after a few minutes, and made it to my bedroom and finally to the bathroom. I slept a lot the first couple of days. I took pain meds as prescribed, which kept the pain level under control. I still felt pain, but it was bearable. I took a baby asprin everyday for about two weeks, to help prevent blood clots. The day after surgery was very painful, even with the pain meds, it hurt so bad to get up and go to the restroom. I literally groaned the whole time I was on the knee walker. I tried crutches, and it still hurt so bad. I don't know why it hurt so bad, but day 3 was much better. Day 3, I began to run a fever of 99.8-100.5. I kept that fever for about 3 days. This is normal, as long as it doesn't get above 101 degrees. My 2014 surgery, I never ran any fever. Each day, I began to feel a little better. Friends came by to bring dinner and visit, and I was able to get up and move to the recliner, and stay awake for the visit. By day 5, I was able to space pain meds out and by day 6, I was able to get off Percocet, and switch to Norco. I was spending all day in my living room starting on day 4, which helped my mood a lot. My 2014 surgery on the right ankle, I stayed in bed for at least a week, and I made an effort to get up and move around to help prevent blood clots. Love the toilet seat I bought, it was really easy to get up and down. I got in the bed, and that is where I stayed for the next couple of days. Here is the surgical splint that they sent me home in for the next 12 days.
I had to keep my toes above my nose 23 hours every day. Only time I was not elevating was when showering or using the bathroom. I wrapped it in a plastic bag, and kept it out of the shower, propped up on my knee scooter. I used a hand held shower head, which made showering easier. I used yoga pants, sweats and shorts to help get around the bulky dressing.
This is all I did for the first 12 days. I was bored, in pain, and pretty emotional. Make sure you have plenty of movies on the dvr, Netflix, or plenty of things to do while sitting.
No comments:
Post a Comment