Post knee surgery

Background: My kneecap dislocated a lot. Nothing could stop it and it happened randomly. After 5 times we decided it was time for surgery.

On Wednesday, January 13th I got the the hospital for surgery at 6:30am. They had me up in the ambulatory unit within 15 minutes. I got my gown on. The nurse had a horrible time finding a vein for my IV. It seriously took her 20 minutes! Once THAT production was over, the anesthesiologist came in and told me I was going under general anesthesia and when I woke up I’d get the femoral nerve block. My OS came in and told me all the fun stuff he’d be doing, signed my knee, and went to go prep. I was the first one in the OR that morning, no waiting around for me. The anesthesiologist came back in and gave my my nausea meds, the "I don’t care" meds, and something else…not really sure. He then quizzed me on my 60’s music knowledge…not really sure about that one. That’s when he wheeled me off into the OR. I remember getting to the OR, and moving to the table…and them putting my mask on. No counting. Just a "goodnight" and off I went.

The surgery took an hour and a half. I woke up when they were getting ready to do the nerve block. HOLY CRAP. I wasn’t expecting that.  He warned me in my pre-op visit that I’d twitch a lot while he searched for the right nerve and then he’d give me the block, but man, was I not prepared for the amount of pain I experienced when I twitched! I cried a lot, and I think passed out, because all I remember after that is waking back up in my room a little while later. This is where the fun began!

I woke up and ate some crackers, joked around about still having my underwear, apparently I had seen the doctor twice at this point…don’t remember ANY of that. I was out of it. Then I got violently ill and stayed that way all day. They tried getting me up, but I had a horrible reaction to the anesthesia and kept getting sick. Finally got me into the bathroom to pee by noon and then set me in a chair for recovery. I wasn’t allowed to leave until I kept food down, which didn’t happen til almost 3pm. After much persuasion, I finally got the nurse to let me go home. I made it back (half hour car ride that was brutal), and then I had to go up stairs to get into the house. I’m still not sure how I did that, but I managed. I promptly got sick when I got to my bed. Man, I felt better after that.

Passed out for a few hours…Dad brought me my painkillers and sleeping pills. Finally ate some soup.  Best friends came, boyfriend was texting. I don’t really remember much of Wednesday to be honest. Thursday sucked (I was still getting really sick). Friday was okay. Saturday was okay. Today was shower day! Man, that was nice but nerve wracking. If ANYONE has any tips for showing in a tub with sliding glass doors…with very limited room…I’d greatly appreciate it!

So far, recovery has been okay. I feel good considering. And here are the stats I’m sure you all want!

I’m weight bearing as tolerated in an immobilizer until my post-op appointment on Tuesday. I have about a 3 inch incision from the VMO advancement and two small artho holes. I’m only using one crutch right now and that’s only because the pain meds make me fuzzy and wobbly. I’m icing the CRAP out of it. Moderate swelling. Minor bruising. He superglued the VMO incision! Haha. Stitches come out on Tuesday for the small holes. He’s putting me in a hinged brace on Tuesday at 0* flexion. I start PT on the 25th.

The pain is really okay. I’m on oxycodone but I’m not taking a lot of it. I have temazepam for sleeping at night. Mostly it’s just Aleve that I’m taking. Overall, I’m doing really good considering. I’m just tired a lot and it’s a pain in the butt to pee with an immobilizer on!

We’ll see what happens on Tuesday. I’m anxious to get out of this house! I’m going stir crazy. I’m supposed to start my last semester of college on the 26th, but I was able to get a week extension from all of my professors so I have another week before I have to commute 30 miles to and from school. I’ll probably start work the end of this week. Thankfully, I can telecommute.