Day 1: Surgery

Yesterday, June 10th, was my surgery! Let me tell you, it was a LONG day. I had to arrive at the surgery center at noon to sign in. My mom came with me, since you're supposed to have a responsible adult come with you to drive you home and take care of you. The RN took me back to prep soon after I arrived, and had me change into the awful hospital gown. He had me lay down on the hospital bed, and then another nurse came and took my blood pressure and vitals. My heart was beating super fast! (I hate getting surgery). She also put the IV in my arm which wasn't bad. After the male RN asked me all the mandatory questions (do you have any allergies? heart conditions? etc.) my mom was allowed to come back. We waited for an hour before my surgeon and anesthesiologist came over and answered our questions.

My surgeon went over the details, some which I was happily surprised about: I can bear weight on my foot after surgery! I don't have to wait until the external fixator is removed (Of course, I'm staying on crutches with no weight on my foot for the first week just to be safe). I only need about 10 mm of lengthening, which is less than I had expected. After I reach my desired length and stop turning, the external fixator only needs to stay on for less than a month, because he feels that leaving it on for 4-6 weeks like other people do is "overkill." The surgeon and I both agreed that this could all change based on my individual healing, but I'm staying positive!

After questions were answered, I was rolled into the OR at 2 pm. The anesthesiologist gave me some kind of relaxant since my heart rate was over 100 bpm. Then he put an oxygen mask on me and told me to take deep breaths, and that's the last thing I remember. The surgery took three hours, longer than they had anticipated, I guess because they kept taking x-rays to make sure the pins were correctly placed. When I woke up I was super drowsy and nauseous. The nurse told me not to hold it in if I was feeling nauseous, and I listened to her ;) I had some crackers and a little juice, and after making sure I was stable for about half an hour, I was wheeled out to the car! I threw up again in the car with the little bag the nurse gave me.

When I got home around 6:30 pm, my family had me lay in bed and they gave me ice for my foot and more crackers. I still felt really drowsy and nauseous, so I took a nausea pill and a pain pill. I was in less pain than I thought I would be! It just felt like a very dull ache in my foot. I stayed in bed for the rest of the night.