Wednesday 1/7/25
Getting up well before the rising sun to head to the hospital on a very chilly morning. Arrived at the hospital at nine, an hour before the sunrise in Homer, Alaska.
After getting checked in, I was prepped for my surgery. They offered and I accepted a nerve pain block. While they were dong the injection, I was able to watch, as they were using an ultrasound to ensure they hit the right area and didn’t nick the artery. As the artery showed up, I commented that I didn’t see any signs of arteriosclerosis. They went back to the artery and did a color view and confirmed it was clear. The first injection didn’t work, so they injected some more, that worked. I was wheeled into the operating theatre at 10:30. They situated me on the operating table and started me on oxygen.
The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room, in extreme pain. They did a third nerve block, and that did the job. As she was injecting the nerve block, she stated that normally there are 5 nerves, I have 8. I am unique, though those who are close to me would probably use the word, abnormal. LOL!
I was then able to get dressed with some help from the nurse. I was given instructions and sent home, it was 1:30.
Later that evening, my fingers got very swollen and warm. This concerned me as the nerve block was still in effect. I attempted to contact the doctor unsuccessfully. I called the hospital and was eventually transferred to a triage nurse. After going through a bunch of instructions, I was advised to go to the ER. After limited sleep the night before the surgery, the surgery and being on hydrocodone, it being freezing cold with snow on the roads, I was not looking forward to the journey.
After arriving at the ER I was seen quickly. They contacted my doctor and determined everything was proceeding normally. Came back home around 11:30, -9 degrees, grabbed my iPad, went to the cabin and bed, another late night.
My thanks to all the professionals who made this a great experience.
Before Surgery.
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