I’m Happily at Home!

So yesterday I had surgery on my left wrist to repair a fracture caused by a fall off my new scooter on September 29th (the first day of Fall.) Yes, I had a nice fall! 🍁🤣🛴

I was super nervous about it, as to be expected I suppose, but when the day came I was as prepared as I could be and put on my brave face when going into Kaiser. Mike drove me in and we checked into Pre-Op early. The nurses were incredibly nice, informative and personable and made me feel at ease while asking lots of questions, instructing me to pee into a cup, change into a gown, rubbery socks and fancy shower cap and hook me up to an IV and blood pressure cuff. I got a chance to speak to the anesthesiologist who was open to questions and also described a nerve blocker option after the surgery was complete (which I pre agreed to whole heartedly!) Then the nurse said they had paged Mike to come back and visit several times, but he couldn’t be found. After 30 minutes they finally called his name at reception and he came on back. Apparently he was in the waiting room the whole time, but was never paged. (No worries - this was the only mix up throughout the whole process.) 

Once he came back my doctor, Dr. Diekman also arrived to give me a last minute recap of what was going to happen, so I was very glad we were both there to get all the info. He said surgery could last anywhere from one to five hours depending on what they needed to piece together. He said the 3” incision would be on the inside of my wrist where they could move aside the nerves, tendons, veins and ligaments then go in to make the repair and install a small metal plate and screws permanently, then close me back up with dissolvable stitches. I listened intently, asked some questions and thanked him in advance for his work. He shook our hands and then left to suit up.

Crystal the happy patient

It was at this point when Mike and I were relatively alone, so out came the cell phone for a quick picture to send to my mom and a brief Facebook Live video to ensure friends and family I was in good spirits and ready for this procedure! During the video the nurse ensured us that they paged Mike several different times with no luck and I agreed, but Mike said he was in the waiting room the whole time and even held going to the bathroom in anticipation of getting called back. Regardless, I was glad he was there now. But 5 minutes later, the OR was ready for me and it was time to get wheeled away!

The anesthesiologist started making conversation with me in regards to how my injury happened and he said he got a concussion falling off a Razor scooter himself! Those things are dangerous people! I told him I had surgery when I was 18 with no adverse reaction to anesthesia and he told me I could be asleep for 2 minutes or 2 days but it would still feel like 2 minutes to me. I thanked him for his help in advance as well. 

Once I got into the cold operating room I saw one man in the far corner with his back to me arranging the metal instruments. As they clinked and tinged I also noticed the loud rhythmic beeping, seeemingly reflecting my own heart rate as it elevated. Then I switched from my warm wheeley bed onto the solid, slender operating table. It was cold and less comfortable. The anesthesiologist told me he needed to scoot me up a bit so he gently moved me where my head dipped back onto an uncomfortable crevice. Then as I looked at him upside down with furled eyebrows he asked if I wanted the pillow. I happily agreed and took a deep breath as I more comfortably laid back down and the beeping normalized to a slower pace. About six more people entered the room and I thanked them all in advance before going under. Soon, the oxygen mask went on and I took my last few conscious deep breaths as I felt a hot sensation in my IV arm. This was it - Night-night time. 

When I awoke (seemingly a few minutes later) I was shivering like crazy and I heard them muttering about how low my blood pressure was. My eyes fluttered open and I was in a post-op room staring at my shaking feet underneath a tinfoil blanket. They asked if I was cold - duh - and so they got a warm flexible hose inserted which filled the blanket with wonderfully warm air. Soon my left arm was getting extra warm, hot even and the pain started setting in like crazy. Luckily, the man with the nerve blocker came by and asked if I wanted it or not. I said yes please, whatever will make this intense pain go away! Then he said he’d be back. At this point my discharge nurse asked what level of pain was I at? I said a 7. The whole arm was throbbing and on fire and I could tell where they opened me. Luckily, the nerve blocker guy came back and had me lift my arm up so the ultrasound could locate the nerve under my armpit and he could inject the numbing agent - thank god!!! He did lean on my arm and fingers twice though which shot me up to a pain level 9 as I kindly asked him to move off of my arm. Ouch! Then like magic, the arm went dead and suddenly I had no pain. I thanked him again and again. He told me it would last 12-18 hrs and to be careful bumping into things since it’s completely numb and heavy as a lead balloon. He also told me it could wear off gradually or immediately, so be sure to take my prescription as scheduled so I don’t get a shocking surprise in the middle of the night. 

So now Mike was called in and I asked him what time it was. 5pm?! I went in to the OR before 1 - geez! Once the shivering stopped, he helped me get dressed, picked up my prescriptions and pulled the car around. An assistant wheeled me out and that was it - I was officially discharged! 

Wrapped arm with swollen fingers. 

Driving home was a trip. 5:30 traffic on the 10 freeway, the sun in our eyes and I suddenly noticed I was super hungry! We stopped at a drive thru and before you know it I was home! My arm was totally dead weight but the fingers were hotter than hell as I hungrily ate with one hand and swallowed my first pain pill. Then it was nap time and lights out at 7pm. What a day! Phew. 

The nerve blocker wore off around 2am  - boo. Now I’m counting on pills, elevation above my heart and tender massages of my puffy fingers to get me through. The pain is tolerable, but resting and sleeping are number one on my agenda. I have two weeks off so Mike will hopefully be pampering me, Poof will be comforting me and friends will be wishing me a speedy recovery online and via text. I feel thankful there were no complications and that everyone at Kaiser was so professional, friendly and helpful.

Hopefully, this recovery process will be a piece of cake and that I’ll be able to take photos, exercise, type and eat again successfully with both hands in no time! Thanks for everyone’s kind words, well wishes and healing thoughts. 

Much appreciated and thanks for reading! 

Happily Home, 

-Crystal Olguin

October 10, 2018