Surgery Update

Okay, so I never thought I'd say this (though I prayed about it every day)...

...this surgery is already so much different than the last.

I was admitted to the surgical hospital at 10am then waited in a very cramped pre-op room for Dr. P to pull me back to OR. The place smelled like a putrid mix of stale Simple Green and hand sanitizer. My feet pushed against the bottom of the bed so bad that every nurse who came to check on me asked my height and whether or not I wanted a longer bed. I didn't want anything. I didn't even want to be there. (And that was my response most times.) I'd say, "Just get me in and get this thing over with."

I waited 2 hours, watching patients check in, repeat their medical information for probably the millionth time as I had, then get prepped and wheeled back for surgery. Although I was the first one admitted into the pre-op room, I was the last to leave. Nothing like making an anxious gal wait.
EDITED TO ADD: Although the waiting was horrible, I was smart enough to bring my JR Ward "Lover Unbound" book with me. I read over a hundred pages...and I kept reading until my eyes blurred from the words instead of the drugs. Good stuff.

And even though I was sporting a bright red allergy bracelet, and told every person who crossed my path that I was allergic to the typical anesthetic, when the anesthesiologist came in, he told me that exact medication is what he scheduled. I mean, really?

After he asked a few questions and realized how much of a lightweight I was, he got a weird look in his eye and said, "Well, I guess we'll figure out something to give you." Great. Just what I needed to calm my already skyrocketing heartrate.

When I got into the room I was so scared. The monitor behind me was beeping so fast...it wasn't until an OR nurse came and held my hand, stroking it back and forth, that I realized the beeping was my racing heartbeat. And with the snap of the anesthesiologist's fingers, I was out like a light.

I woke up an hour later with an oxygen mask on, my knee in ZERO pain, and a ringing in my ears. The surgery lasted twenty-five minutes. Recovery lasted ninety.

Now here I lay, in my bed with my knee wrapped up and iced (and above my heart of course), still in minimal pain. If you want to know how bad the experience was the last time they worked on my knee, just picture the absolute opposite of what I just described. I am so thankful for all the prayer emails and well wishes...they were heard and cherished.

Thank you.