Done!

Today is the day!  Pain free from now on!  :)  We got up early and I went to take my antibacterial (requested by doc) shower around 4:30 am.  Heath went ahead and packed up the car and got everything ready.  No breakfast for me.  Huge blessing to be first on doc's list today for surgery.  We headed down the mountain and got to the hospital early.  We went for a little walk outside the hospital to take in the beautiful scenery.  We were the first ones in the hospital and had to use the little phone outside and have security let us in.  All went well.  Got all my paperwork filled out and my armband on and they took us back.  

They were all so very nice to us.  They got my iv in just fine and dandy with only one poke.  My surgeon, Dr. Greg Sarin, came in and checked in with me and told Heath that he would let him know how surgery went and where to go to wait.  Jaimie Zelkin-nurse practitioner, Dr. Scott Fahrner-my anesthesiologist, and the operating room nurse all came in and chatted with me.  I had a fabulous anesthesiologist!  He started putting stuff in my iv and told me that they would start getting really funny.  "What do you mean funny?" I said.  Then, Heath told me that I started waving to everyone as they were wheeling me away.  :)

They put me on a $100,000 operating table.  They put a post between my legs and a boot on my left leg.  They pulled my leg just slightly out of socket to get to where they could work on my labrum.  The original diagnosis was torn labrum off the bone with a plan to use 1-2 tacks back to bone with 4-6 weeks of non-weight bearing then 4-6 months to full recovery.  Once they got in there, they actually found that I still had good labrum stuck to my bone but the labrum was tearing away from itself.  So, while they were in there, they had to take into consideration that I was a 27 year old healthy triathlete.  He was consulting with the docs who let him use the equipment in the operating room.  They decided that it would be better to remove the floppy part of the labrum and actually some of the hyaline cartilage.  Now, we are talking about just a tiny portion of my hip joint here.  When I started seeing Dr. Sarin in March in Scottsbluff, we talked about 3 options:  removal, repair, or reconstruction.  He told me upfront that if it was a reconstruction, he would refer me to someone else.  After MRI and x-rays, etc. we decided we needed to do a repair.  Turns out we did a removal and when I woke up they told me to use crutches "as needed."  Total surprise!

As you can see from the below photo, I was very cold after surgery.  I was cocooned for hours.  I had a 2 hour surgery and I was supposed to be in post-op for 2 or so hours.  I was so out I was in recovery for 4.5 hours.  It was the first time in a long time that I could relax and so I was just totally enjoying this extended nap.  It was so weird, I could hear people talking, but I could not open my eyes or move my head from side to side.  I did know Heath was in the room though.  I remember waking up hungry which was an awesome sign.  The nurse gave Heath graham crackers and water with a straw to give me.  Eyes closed, he totally knew when I needed a drink and every time I was thirsty, he had that straw right there in my mouth.  I remember asking him how he knew when I was thirsty, apparently I was moving my lips in a funny way.  I guess I drank like 7 glasses of water and the nurses finally told Heath where to get the water on his own because I was drinking it like crazy.

As you could expect, with all the hydration, comes the restroom situation.  They suggested a bedpan.  So the ever so sweet nurses came in and asked me to scoot around and put the pan underneath me.  Heath and the nurses left the room to give me some privacy.  Now that was a new experience having my eyes closed with a bedpan under me.  I had no choice at this point.  Wow, is all I can say.

Well more graham crackers and water later, the situation arises again.  Hydration.  I just started crying because I knew that bedpan thing was coming again.  :(  (Apparently, the drugs make you cry.)  The nurses came in and said this time I had 2 options this time:  bedpan or unhook iv and try to get to the restroom.  So, they wheeled my whole bed over to the restroom and closed the old man's curtains across from the bathroom so I didn't give him a show.  I think I would have given him a heart attack.  I kept apologizing to these nice women for having to help me with this....they were all in there with me.  They just kept telling me that we have done this for many years, it's no big deal.  They were so nice.

I finally woke up and they told me that I could get dressed.  Luckily, I had brought a dress to alleviate the pressure of pants on my hip.  Apparently, I was really concerned with getting my unmentionables on and I just told the nurse that I might go commando!  She assured me that she would not announce it as I was being wheeled out of the hospital!

Once we left the hospital we went to Qdoba!!!!!!  Naked burrito again!  YUMMY!  That was a way long time since I had eaten last...11 pm last night!  We went back to the hotel and just passed out again.  Both of us were out!  It was great!  Later, for supper, Heath went and got Beau Jo's pizza for us!  I was up and walking around the room and later we went outside and sat by the poolside to under the stars.  Way wonderful!

My hospital socks match my dress!  :)