Finally on the other side of surgery


Phew.
Surgery is over. 
Thursday was by far the hardest, longest, and most painful day I’ve ever had.
Thursday night I wished I hadn’t done the surgery, had opted for a knee replacement instead, and pretty much wanted to die. 
I’m not exaggerating. 

But just one day later, I cannot believe how much better I feel. Every hour I feel stronger and more like myself. Still a lot of pain, but the anesthesia is slowly getting out of my system so I feel less shaky and blurry minded. 

Dr. Z called me this morning in the hospital (I was too out of it to talk yesterday and he has clinic today, so he called me between patients).  The surgery was extremely successful. The meniscus fit near perfectly, my new ACL is strong and attached in the right place, and the cartilage they grew from my cells successfully patched the defects in my bones. 

It was a LONG surgery...he explained that there really isn’t a more delicate or complicated orthopedic surgery than this one. All of the work that they did also guarantees alot of pain and a very specific rehab process. 

He took pictures and videos for me and will email them to me later...I can’t wait to see them!  

Day #1 post-op:
Slept, ate some, learned how to walk without bearing any weight on my left leg, got dressed, got my nerve block removed, and discharged home late afternoon. 

Had a co-worker bring me an amazing coffee this morning. 


Had a nice stranger bring me homemade Challah!


Somehow diet ginger-ale is the most amazing thing ever in the hospital...but I literally couldn’t bring myself to eat any of the food. 


After being cleared by PT that I could safely get around on crutches, I was discharged home!


Getting home and finally seeing my boys was great. I started my home recovery with organizing and making a tracking sheet for all of my medications...


And now I’m in the torture device known as the CPM (continuous passive motion) machine. 8 hours a day, 2 hours at a time. No fun at all...


So surgery is over. 
Rehab is here for the next 4 months. 
I can do this. 

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