Surgery Day and Day 1 Post-Op

So much has happened in the last day! First I need to thank EVERYBODY for their messages and support - I appreciate each and every one!!

Yesterday started out REEEEALLY early.  After a long night of not really sleeping (something to do with having surgery looming, sharing a bed with my mom, and my dog upset that he was not also sharing the bed), Mom and I were up at 4:40am to get showered and ready for the hospital.  We showed up right on time - 6am!

The packed waiting room at 6am

I got all checked in and headed back to my room.  I got a couple great warm blankets and they started me on some fluids.  That way, once all the paperwork was in place, they could easily dump in the antibiotics and send in the good stuff.

Waiting for the good stuff

I got to talk to a prep nurse, anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, orthopedic resident and finally, the surgeon, and I'm pretty sure every single one of them asked me my birth date and which knee they were going to be working on (better safe than sorry!).  I also got to mark a big 'S' on my left knee for 'surgery knee' and when Dr. Schorfhaar came in, he marked his initials on my left knee too.  There was to be no mistaking which knee was to be operated on!
I could tell my mom was pretty nervous (as was I).  But, I had the luxury of having met my surgeon several times previously, whereas my mom had no idea who was going to walk through the curtain and who would actually be cutting open her little girl in just a matter of minutes.  Luckily, when Dr. Schorfhaar popped into the room, I could tell my mom liked him.  He signed his initials like I mentioned and gave the go ahead to drop the good stuff in the lines.  I had to give up my glasses and with a hug and a kiss for my mom, I was whisked to the OR.  Soon, a mask was covering my face and I was breathing deep - it was on like Donkey Kong.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up and the nurses were asking how the pain was.  They changed around some drug levels and I was feeling pretty comfortable, so I got wheeled into the recovery room where I was treated to more warm blankets, apple juice and graham crackers!

I love me some post-surgery apple juice

I was still feeling a little loopy, but soon enough I got loaded up in the car and made the ever important trip to the pharmacy to pick up my painkillers.  The night of surgery day was pretty low key.  I kept up with my pain meds and my mom made sure my ice box stayed full.

This was my spot for most of the night.

Mom and I both got more sleep the night after surgery.  I think Lambeau (my puppy) was a little more understanding about not getting a spot on the bed :)

Today, first day post-op, was much like yesterday.  Lots of lying around, keeping ice on my knee and painkillers in my system.  I did have a doc appointment today where I saw Dr. Schorfhaar briefly - he said things were looking good, I could do some straight leg lifts and quad fires and was told to keep doing those in the next week or so before moving on to other rehab.  I was also told crutches for at least a week (which I can definitely handle).  Here's a (graphic) pic of my knee from when I got my bandages changed today.

Some lovely bruising and stitches.

I'll leave you with one final picture.  My roommate Randy got home from the vet clinic with something for me after my surgery.  I love my roommates :)

Time for more meds!