November 10, 2022

We left home this morning at 8:30AM to make our 10:00AM appointment time.  We arrived at the Oro Valley Surgical Suites and went through the registration process.  They took us back to a curtained area which will be mine for my duration here.  Of course you have to wear one of those hospital gowns.  After donning my gown and getting into bed a Receiving Nurse came over to take vitals, start IV and ensure that the correct body part is being operated on by the correct doctor(s).  I spoke with an anesthesiologist.  I had two options for this operation.  First is general and the second is a spinal block.  Nancy and I and the anesthesiologist all agreed to do number 2, the spinal block.  But the first option is still in play if unsuccessful on the block.  Just my luck, they didn’t have a needle long enough so a general anesthesia it is.  They operation is supposed to take about 45 minutes to an hour.  The actual time was 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I had dense tissue.  A polite way of saying i had a lot of fat to cut through.  Before they moved me they took an x-ray to ensure everything was in place.  They moved me to the gurney and back to my curtained haven.  I was seen by Recovery Nurse Sara.  Sara noticed that my left foot was turned outward, not straight.  I was also in some pain and my feet itched.  A common practice is to have the patient stand and kind of sway back and forth to get blood flow to the leg.  I did so without any relief or change,.  They put me back in bed and gave me more meds.  They also contacted Dr. Smith about the situation.  As soon as he had finished with his patient he was at my bedside.  He seemed very concerned and perplexed.  He very rarely has a patient that doesn’t go right by the book.  I was his second patient to do this.  So to correct the issue, they gave me Versed.  Love versed!  Took me back to the OR where the C-arm x-ray was.  They took another x-ray and it appeared that I might of had a muscle spasm to dislocate the hip.  I was very loopy but I remember the Dr. manipulating my leg and I felt a pop.  Everything felt fine now.  After another x-ray I was returned to my “room” where I stayed until I was discharged.  The staff at Oro Valley was awesome.  Very friendly.  Very caring.  Nancy says that the staff and even the administration was concerned about her feelings and what was going on with me.  One manager came out of her office and talked to her in the recovery area.  The Mgr. wanted to make sure Nancy was okay.  Being the battle hardened ED nurse, it was no big deal and she expected me to pull some kind of stunt.  I’m known for it.

I got into the truck without much of an issue.  I just needed Nancy to maneuver my left leg into the cab.  Quiet ride home.  I was starving.  We arrived home around 7:30PM.  I got out of the truck and climbed the 4 steps into the RV.  And into my recliner I went.  This is my bed for the next few days or so. Nancy decided to sleep in the living room with me also.  She opted for the fold-out couch.  But in the morning, she regretted not having slept in the recliner, next to me.