Weight Broke my Leg Part II -Leg Surgery and Hospital Recovery

(before reading about my leg surgery, make sure you read how I broke my leg in Part I.) http://www.tryitdietsisters.com/weight-broke-my-leg/

The day of my Leg surgery dawned.

I didn’t sleep well the night before, well I hadn’t really slept well since I broke my leg. I had to have help getting out of bed.

I went into the bathroom and my mother told me that I needed give myself a sponge bath so that I was at least a little bit clean before the operation. That was difficult. I sat on the toilet with all my bathing stuff spread on the sink beside me. I could only clean my torso and the one good leg.

I decided to wear a skirt to the hospital because it would be easy to get on and off over my splint. I was given a clean shirt to wear and I was ready.

Getting into the van this time was difficult. We hadn’t quite figured out which way would be best. The front bench in the back could be moved from one side to the other, we had it on the right side, so I would be close to the door, but then I would have to swing my left leg into the van to rest on the bench. It was awkward and it hurt getting in.

Both my parents took me to the hospital. And when we arrived, I was already not in a very good mood. I was Slightly freaking out. . . okay really freaking out. . . And still in pain.

After getting checked into the Hospital for the leg surgery, we were shown to a room where they told me to change into a gown and to pee in a cup. It is very hard to pee when you went 30 minutes ago! But I finally did it. I laid on the bed and the nurses and whatnot came in and out to do things. I was given an IV, had my blood taken. . .again.

The anesthesiologist came and talked about what he would be doing; that he would give me something and I would sleep. I had to sign a paper saying that was okay.

The surgeon came in.

One of the first things he said was “There are two breaks.”

What? Two breaks? In addition to the one he previously saw there was one on the other side of my knee as well. It was a crush break, meaning a little part of the bone had been crushed. By what? probably my own body weight.

When we originally planned my leg surgery, we agreed that the incision should be along the side of my knee, close to where that break was; but now we decided to cut down the middle, so he could get to both sides just in case the crushed bone needed something. He had me sign something as well.

Finally, after all the information, and the many visitors, it was time for my leg surgery.

I was given a moment to say goodbye to my parents.

‘Everything is going to be fine, I will make it, this is not how I die, this is not how I die’ I repeated to myself over and over again.

They wheeled me out around several corners and through multiple doors. Apparently its cold in the Operating Room, so they put a warm blanket on me.

I had to help maneuver myself onto the operating table.

The Nurse noticed that my leg had not been marked, so he reminded the surgeon that he was supposed to have marked the leg earlier.

The Surgeon laughingly said “It’s just so we don’t do the wrong one!” as he marked my leg.

The next thing I remember is voices, the doctor talking about how the leg surgery went. My parents answering or asking something. I realized that there was something on my face, underneath my nose, my throat hurt. I could feel something coming up, I tried to say something, to warn them.

I remember my mother yelling “She’s gonna throw up!” and something being placed under my chin right as my mouth opened and I emptied my stomach. I don’t know how she knew, but I am ever so grateful that mothers can read their kids so well. The thought of having to change my clothes because of that was terrible.

I was in and out of consciousness through most of the day. I remember my sister Crickette coming at some point and my parents leaving. I ate a cracker, but couldn’t stomach anything else. My leg felt tingly and numb at the same time. I didn’t understand a lot of what was going on.

I finally woke up late at night. I had to pee.

I called the nurse and when she came in she asked me how I wanted to do this. After thinking, and deciding that there was no way that I was going to be able to get out of bed, we used a bed-pan. There is nothing so embarrassing than having another person put something underneath your rear and you peeing into it, and then having them wipe you and hoping you didn’t spill on the bed. But now that I was aware of myself, I needed to pee almost every hour!

It was one of the longest nights of my life. I refused to take the “big pain pills” as I called them, I would only accept Tylenol, which was every 6 hours. I could still feel the pain, just dampened a little, thankfully.

But because of all my sleeping I would have these big stretches of wakefulness. . . which was probably about 30 minutes, I would then fall asleep, and wake up 30 minutes after to go to the bathroom. The entire night went like this.

Chrickette slept the whole time. I felt so alone. I just went through something traumatic, something I didn’t know if I would wake up from, and now the night was spent with strangers bustling around me, and my sister sleeping through my inner turmoil.

At one point during the night my bed-pan did leak. My nurse had to go gather help to change the bed sheets. When she came back she had a male nurse in tow. The embarrassment of the night escalated. They had me roll away from him, so my entire butt was there for him to see. I could have died! I know they are professionals, but that didn’t stop me from hoping to crawl into a hole right then and there.

Early morning came with the changing of the nursing staff. My sister still slept. The pain was still there. I could wiggle my toes, but they felt weird, tingling and numb. I still couldn’t stomach food. All around, a miserable early morning.

When my sister finally woke up, well nothing really changed. At one point I forced her to pretend to sleep so I could use the bed-pan again. . . that was awkward.

The doctor finally showed up, talked a little about what happened. My parents came. I was able to order some fruit to eat. And finally, finally, They released me from care!

I got home before noon. They parked me on my chair with a pillow under my leg. Being home was such a relief. The hospital was fine, They took great care of me before and after my leg surgery, but there is something so relaxing and de-stressing being able to be in your own house. Now to wait out the next 3 months as patiently as I can.

Want to know what else tryitdietsisters do besides break their legs? Check out us comparing two diets – The egg fast diet and the military diet

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Week One of my Recovery is Here http://www.tryitdietsisters.com/recovering-after-leg-surgery-week-one/

Get to know me better by checking out my bio here http://www.tryitdietsisters.com/about/nani/