Day One

The surgery went perfectly. The surgeon talked to Mom while I was still in the recovery room and told her that there was a little more damage than he initially anticipated, but he fixed it all and said I will make a full recovery. He was great. Before I went into the OR, we were chatting and I said, "how are you feeling today? Everything good in your life? Feeling confident and happy going into this operation?"

He laughed and said, "absolutely. We're going to crush it." And we did.

Pre-op, rocking the sexy socks.

But it was a rough evening. After I woke up, I was groggy and in pain. The anesthesiologist had focused on two nerves along the front of my thigh because that was where the bulk of work was going to be done, but it was harder for the pain medication to spread to the hamstring, which was where the tissue was harvested for the ACL reconstruction. 

That was the part that was in a ton of pain. They administered fentanyl and some other powerful drugs, but they wear off quickly. And the next thing I was allowed to take was Tylenol, and not until 8pm. I would be able to take another dose of Oxycontin 3 hours after that.

It was 5 o'clock.

Coming out of surgery is miserable. Your body is in trauma. You can feel it being angry at you. "What are you doing? Why? Whyyyy? Fuck you!!"

So I went home and suffered. It hurt to use the crutches. It hurt to sit. I had a hard time finding a position that was comfortable to keep my leg elevated that. 

Ouch.

Everything hurt.

But! 

There were positive signs. After a few hours, I got my appetite back and ate some toast and Greek lemon chicken soup. I found a comfortable position and turned on my cold therapy machine, which is the greatest contraption ever. My mom and I watched the women's Final Four, which was entertaining and distracting. 

And we got in bed and I took two Oxycontin pills and the world became a brighter place.

After I took the dose, I said, "Alexa, set a timer for 3 hours."

Three hours later I took Tylenol. 

"Alexa, set a timer for 3 hours."

Three hours later I took Oxy.

"Alexa, set a timer for 3 hours."

Three hours later I took Tylenol. 

Etcetera.

The hurt abated. My body calmed down and stopped cursing my name. I got some sleep. 

When I woke up, I read my post-op instructions. Today I am to continue icing my knee. I am to get up and move around every 2-3 hours. I am to try to bear some weight as I am able. I am to start working on range of motion, slowly bending and straightening my knee and raising my leg several times a day.

So I got up and moved around. A couple of times I stood straight on the leg without the crutches. I laid down in bed and bent my knee - range of motion was pretty good. I raised my leg about ten times. I made it down the stairs on crutches. The knee doesn't feel stable, but I wouldn't expect it to today. The hamstring hurts, but with the meds the pain is tolerable. 

All in all, I'm encouraged. Here we go.