Pain level: 4
Going into surgery #2 is a bit of a mixed bag. There is a fear of reliving the pain of surgery #1 and there is the comfort of experience that tells me that I’ll get past the pain. I was told that this extraction will be much less painful than the surgery to fix the broken bone and that I should be able to walk out this time in my boot and be partial weight bearing on crutches.
I let the nurse know that last time coming out of general anesthesia I was a real grouch (or so my husband says) and that I was terribly nauseous. She assures me that they can put some additional medicine in my IV as I regain conscious to deal with the nausea.
There’s a lot less excitement this time around… sign this, sign that, been there, done that.
Today’s anesthesiologist is all business – there is no chit chat or counting back from 10. He simply states that I’ll be taking a little nap and places the mask over my nose….
Coming to is much more pleasant this time. No nausea! Hooray! I couldn’t be happier! (given the circumstances.) I’m not grumpy at all either! No overwhelming dizziness! I can eat saltine crackers and drink ginger ale right away!
The nurse give me some pills and after half an hour the pain has leveled out to an unpleasant 4. I ask the nurse what she gave me and she replies: Percodan. I ask if that is okay to take with Oxycodone and she asks why I want to know. I explain that my pain level is about a 4 and I can only assume that it will go up later and I just want to know if it is okay to take something stronger if I need it to sleep at night. I have plenty of Oxycodone left over from my first surgery. She tells me that I should only be a little sore right now, that I won’t be pain free today.
Why can’t I be pain free? Pain is so unnecessary. She gives me a prescription for a low dose of Oxycodone. (Later I find out that Percodan is half Oxycodone anyhow.)
I ask: “How do I get the boot over the splint that has been placed on my leg?” She shows me the note on my chart. The original note stating that I placed in a walking boot and partial weight bearing is crossed out with a note to be non-weight bearing for two weeks. Needless to say, I’m pretty disappointed to be non-weight bearing again. Crutches really suck when they have to bear all the weight - I might as well walk on my hands for two weeks.
Again, I am amazed at the comparatively low level of pain and dizziness I am experiencing and I practically hop into the back of the car. At home I zoom up the stairs. The nurse had advised that I go up on my rump using the backwards crab walk since I should be subject to dizzy spells for the next 48 hours. Again, I am amazed at the comparison - last time each individual step felt like a monumental task. This time I make it up all 39 steps without needing a break. Then I climb into my nest and curl up for a long summer’s nap.
Ah, glorious sleep!
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