During and after the surgery

The morning of surgery I felt sick. I was scheduled to have surgery at 8am. I had to be in the hospital at 6am to prepare.  When we (my mom and boyfriend) arrived, we were greeted by a pleasant man at the front door.  I felt like I was going into an airport. He offered to take my bags and wheel me around.  My first impression was positive and I felt as comfortable as I could going into a hospital.  The Waiting area was beautiful. Spotless, clean and empty. I expected to see people laying on hospital beds, disfigured or very ill. Luckily because it was so early the place was empty and I could freak out internally on my own.

The waiting time was rough. I was anticipating everything that could go wrong.  I filled out a bunch of paperwork and must have said my name, date of birth and social security number a zillion times.  When I got into the room, to be prepped, It was just as I had expected.  A few beds with curtains and lots of equipment.  A sweet nurse came out and asked me questions and went over a few things with me. After she left someone else came and washed my foot with the yellow stuff. I got a heavy duty gown (which I feared) and disposable underwear! I was panicky because of everything else, now I had to show my body.. I do not even wear a bathing suit in front of my friends... these poor people having to see my rolls and stuff.

About 5 other people came my way, telling me the procedure and what to expect etc. When I finally saw Dr. Levine in his scrubs, I felt a sense of relief.  I stressed to everyone that I was very scared so he told me I would get a little cocktail to calm down.  The nurse that gave me the IV made me laugh, he was a character. I give him major props, he gave me the IV and I barely felt it.  I feared this because my previous doctors have trouble finding my veins, and getting the blood to actually flow. This guy was a pro!  One of my fears.... gone! The anesthesiologist was the last to come in.  She gave me the cocktail and as I was talking to my mom, I felt really sick for a minute, like I was extremely drunk ready to pass out. I remember saying I feel really dizzy... Next thing I know I'm being rolled into a room where I saw some one with purple and green hair...

I wake up and it is all over. I could not believe after 3 1/2 hours I went through it all and I was fine. I felt no pain except my bladder was killing me because I had to pee so bad.  My mom came in the room with me and helped the nurse with the bed pan. I was ready to explode that I only felt embarrassed after the fact.  My leg had a nerve block so It was numb. I had to pee a few times after and I went to the bathroom with the help of my mom.  When I got out of the bed, I noticed it felt like I pulled a muscle in my thigh.  I figured if this was the only form of pain I have, I am lucky.  God only knows what type of position they put my legs into in order to operate on my foot... After checking it out a bit more I could see where the tourniquet had imprinted itself.  Another nurse came in and had me practice using a walker.  I had a giant splint (or as I called it a cast) on I was basically practicing to hop.  Not easy!

My boyfriend came in to join us..   During the surgery he went downtown to Billy's Bakery and picked up some of my favorite cupcakes.  I was so happy! They gave me a turkey sandwich in the post op room because I had not eaten anything. I took some more pain meds (Percocet) and the nurses checked on me to make sure It did not make me sick.   It was already mid afternoon and I could not wait to get home and dig into the cupcakes.