Bridget Melanie : One week out

Here I am! I am one week out from my right PAO surgery, it's kind of hard to believe. in this blog I'm going to do my best to do a run down of what I've been through in the past week or so, so here goes :)

Last tuesday I headed to Salt Lake City to reunite with my boyfriend who I hadn't seen in 6 weeks. We had 2 amazing days together that really helped my pre-surgery anxiety. My parents arrived on wednesday the 18th of December and I had my pre-op appointment to make sure that all our i's were dotted and t's were crossed. We then went to PF Changs for my "last supper." That night I got very little sleep because of my anxiety and nerves. On the 19th we woke up at 5:45 am and headed to the hospital where I was checked in at 6:30, I was really tired and not the happiest person. By 8 o'clock, they had my IV in my hand and epidural in my back. I was wheeled off to surgery after giving my family lots of hugs and kisses. The next two hours I had no idea what happened, because I was knocked out. I woke up in the recovery room around 10 o'clock and felt pain in my right hip, I wasn't too sure what was going on, so I decided to ask the nurse by me when I would be going into surgery, "Your surgery is done, my dear." Insane! It had gone so fast, seemed like a split second to me, thank goodness for anesthesia. I was kept in the recovery room for a couple of hours to make sure that I was stable and then they took me to my hospital room where my amazing family was waiting.

The first couple of days were pretty pretty draining, but the pain was so under control it was pretty shocking. When the anesthesiologist told me about the epidural I was slightly nervous to get it, but I am so glad I did, it completely numbed me and I felt no pain whatsoever. My boyfriend was such an amazing nurse, he did pretty much everything I asked and was so good at helping keep me calm, especially with my family. The first night was pretty intense. The nurses wanted to make sure I was stable because I had surgery that day. I've always suffered with low blood pressure, my normal is usually 110/68, but my blood pressure the night of surgery was dropping even lower, the lowest I registered was a 68/40 so needless to say the nurses came in frequently to check my blood pressure. Every 30 minutes they came in to check vitals: blood pressure and heart rate. My blood pressure got so low, the doctors decided to give me multiple bags of fluids. I went through 4 bags of fluids and my blood pressure didn't increase, finally the nurse decided that my heart rate was 68 bpm and I wasn't showing any symptoms to cause concern. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep that night. The next morning I was cemented to the bed eating every meal, getting my meds and using my awesome bladder catheter. My family spent a lot of time with me, we watched Elf, played games, but mostly we talked and they got a kick out of me on my pain medications.

The next day my catheter was taken out and I was taught to use the toilet again, that was a bizarre experience for sure. The physical therapist worked with me every morning and afternoon and helped me walk further and further each day with a walker. I also wore these amazing compression pumps, compression stockings and a CPM machine. I was so impressed with the staff at the Utah Medical Center, they were so attentive, compassionate and friendly. I really felt a connection with each one of them and was told by many that I was their best patient and my family was so fun to be around, I'm sure they tell all patients that, but it made me feel good :). My doctor came in almost every day to check in on me and answer any questions that I may have. On friday they took my epidural out which was my least favorite thing, because the doctor that took it out didn't communicate that she was taking it out to my nurse that day, so she had no idea to increase my pain medications. The pain was pretty excruciating. Finally they got my pain under control and a doctor told me that it was likely that I could be discharged on Saturday 12/21, this was shocking to me, because I thought I wouldn't be able to leave till at least Christmas Eve. We were discharged on Sunday the 22nd and flew home at around 3pm. The plane ride was pretty uncomfortable, but being that it was only an hour and a half made it bearable.

I am back home now and have had a great last couple of days. I spent the night with my boyfriends family on Christmas Eve and had an amazing Christmas yesterday with my family and boyfriend. Each day has had it's challenges, but I am so blessed to be home and healthy. My range of motion in the surgery leg is pretty great being a week out from surgery. I have yet to see my scar, because I need to leave my bandage on until next thursday when I see my doctor. I am slowly decreasing my pain meds and getting great sleep. My dad and I have started the Lord of the Rings trilogy and have been chipping away at it everyday. I am so pleasantly surprised at how smooth and painless this process has been. I was so anxious and scared of all of this could go, but none of my fears have come to be a reality.

I feel so lucky for all the love and support I have gotten. God is so good :) Here are some pictures of the process :)