day one, post op

here i sit, at 5:16 am, wide awake after day one, post lapidus bunionectomy surgery... it's not as painful as i had thought it would be, but i'm sure that's because yesterday i was hyped up on pain meds. in the afternoon, though, i had a reaction to them and started throwing up every ten to fifteen minutes, with or without taking the meds, so by now, no meds and 14 hours later, the pain is actually starting to kick in. but it's bearable.

so. a recap of the events over the past few days...

thursday i woke up early, about seven thirty, and headed to the gym to run my last run for awhile. five miles later, i took my last sip of water allowed (9:05 was the cut off) and headed back home. i cleaned a little, packed a little. mom showed up and we walked the dogs a little. i picked out my best, most comfortable public-worthy pajamas (grey sweat pants and my Birdman shirt) and got in mom's car- off we go.

we go to check in- there's no line! a great omen for the rest of my experience at kaiser. i must say that i was pleasantly surprised and even happy with the efficiency of my experience: working for the organization that is performing a surgery, i found i was closely monitoring what it felt like to be an actual patient rather than employee. and, i must say, i was quiet pleased...

anyway- we check in, go up to the second floor. i grab a cup, and head to the bathroom as fast as i can go. because i'm a woman of 'child-bearing age', and i've not been able to drink for three hours, i've had to save my precious bathroom trip until i arrived, to take the pregnancy test that proves God Almighty Himself did not immaculately conceive a child within me. great news: not pregnant!

as soon as i return from the bathroom, i expect to wait a bit: it is, after all, 12:20 or so, and my surgery is not until 1:45. however, before i can even sit down in the waiting room, i am whisked back by an elderly, lovely little nurse, who sits me a very comfortable chair and takes my vitals. she asks me weird questions that i know have a point, but are still weird: "do you have any implants in your body? do you wear dentures, have loose teeth? is there any metal inside of you at all? when is the last time you ate? drank? what did you drink?" (these i know are trick questions, because i was under strict instruction about when and what to drink and eat last). i pass the test, and another nurse comes in.

this nurse asks me the same questions... nope, still no loose teeth, dentures or implants; no metal has entered my body in the past two minutes, i'm good to GO! she too is quite nice, and asks me to change into the hospital gown and little socks. i comply, putting on my very first real hospital gown. as i unfold it, it smells clean, and the linen is soft, think and worn. it makes me feel comfortable. she paints my foot with an iodine like scrub, my whole right foot and ankle turns orange and drips with sticky liquid.

i sit back in the chair. my mom comes in, to make sure to talk to the anesthesiologist, and yet another (male) nurse comes in. same questions: no, no implants. no fake teeth. no metal. no babies inside me. no food inside me. yes, right leg. let's do this!

dr. pino comes in, asks me some questions about what my pain in my foot has limited me from doing. he is quiet nice, and even pats me on the leg- after he takes a pen and writes a big YES on my right calve. he was much more endearing, more gentle this time around than he was in the first consultation.

finally, the anesthesiologist comes in (keep in mind this has been about only 15 minutes i've been in here- i'm telling you- efficiency!). she is a young, pretty woman who asks me questions that i've answered before, and then additional ones i don't know the answers to. that's where mom comes in. mom explains family reactions to anesthesia in the past, and then doc asks me what i do for a living. i explain my trio of jobs, and when i say that i bake, she says, "Ohhh! cakes? i love good cake... the last baker i had has died. do you have a card?" i said "well, i may..." and i, naked in my hospital gown, rummage around the backpack that is now my purse, to find a card for my anesthesiologist. i would like to take this moment to point out that here, i was definitely not just a number, another patient in the office: i was a real person to her, and for this i am grateful.

doc then explains the options and tells me that she'd like to give me a 'cocktail' of sorts to make me sleepy and a nerve block in my ankle... i giggle and say something about not having a cocktail for awhile, and she says, 'oh, since halloween?' i say no, since like five years ago. she gets more serious and says, 'well, it's not THAT kind of cocktail...' yes, doc, thank you. i figured that! although, emptying a few dirty martinis in my IV line does sound intriguing...

she puts oxygen around my nose, and starts the IV. she also starts numbing my foot. she's asking me questions and all of a sudden i feel very dizzy and weird- 'am i supposed to feel dizzy right now?' i ask, and that is the last thing i remember...

i wake up at 3:4o or so, in a recovery room, with a nurse by my side. i sleepily open my eyes and she asks if i would like to wake up or go back to sleep, and i say back to sleep, although i keep my eyes open and begin the journey into consciousness... she says something about my dogs, and i surprisingly ask her how she knew i had two dogs. she says, 'cause you told me! you said it's nice to not have them both sleeping on you...' yep, sounds like me!

ginger the nurse and i chat, and she is so kind: she tells me about her two german shepherd dogs, and brings me ginger ale and animal crackers. did you know there are 18 animals in the animal cracker zoo? i looked that up yesterday. she rolled me over to another part of the room, after it was clear i was up and conscious. my foot was wrapped very tightly in a large orthopedic boot. the only thing i could feel was tingley toes, and sensations like it was wrapped very tightly. no pain.

ginger went to get my mom, and then let me get dressed. the boot was surprisingly heavy, but thanks to all the core muscle workouts i've done, standing one-legged and balancing was not too difficult! mom helped me get my pants over the big boot, ginger took one last set of vital signs, and then sat me in a wheel chair to leave the great land of KP.

all in all, i was at the hospital for less than fours hours, and back at home by five pm, feeling fine, and i am pleased. pleased with the kaiser process, the kaiser service, the kaiser employees, even the kaiser animal crackers. thanks, papa k!