I went home on the morning of the 3rd day post op. I went packing with an antibiotic, pain pills, anti-nausea pills, a spirometer, flowers, bathroom commode and walker. I said my goodbyes to the wonderful nurses that took care of me and two of them wheeled me down to the car. The ride home wasn't bad at all.
I did forget to mention something about the afternoon of the 2nd day. The pain block thingy that fed anesthetic to my foot wore off suddenly. I had usually reported my pain level being about a 2 or a 3 on the pain scale. Let me tell you - it went from a 2 to a 10 in a heartbeat! I called the nurse's station and asked for something. It was about 20 minutes until someome brought me a pain pill. During that time, I lay in that bed and felt like I was in labor! Relax....concentrate.....breathe......deal with it.......dig fingernails in hand.......close eyes.....are you kidding me????? I never went without something on board after that.
Today is a day of some sharp nerve pains in my foot. Even the bottom of my foot. They go away as quickly as they come and I find that interesting. None of the pains seem to be where the STAR system is located but if you go to YouTube and search for ankle surgery, you can see where your entire foot is manipulated, twisted, poked, prodded and almost turned inside out. No wonder there are some pains here and there. That being said, I rarely take more than two pain pills each day; however, I can supplement with Motrin.
My days are spent reading, watching TV, doing computer stuff, and the #1 priority is keeping that leg elevated high. "Toes above nose." I'm doing it. I want this to be the best surgery and recovery as humanly possible.
With your positive attitude, this WILL be the be the best surgery and recovery as humanly possible! Keep up the good work Jan! You're doing an awesome job. In time you will realize that you have made a very good decision in getting your ankle replaced. I'm routing for you!
ReplyDelete~Suzanne
wish I could fix my comment...sorry for the will be will be...
ReplyDeleteHi Jan... you're right about your foot being manipulated during the surgery. They have to move things around here and there, not to mention that your nerves have been blocked to ease the pain, so they have to "come back to life."
ReplyDeleteI had my STAR surgery on 10/6/10 and I am still having tingling sensations on the bottom of my foot and in my toes. My physical therapist told me it could take as long as a year for that feeling to go away... there's also a possibility it will never go away.
Still... the surgery is well worth it!! :)
thanks for writing this- my mom is having her TAP in a few weeks and is very nervous about it I will send her the link to your blog.
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