Surgery day

All in all, surgery day went well. The doc repaired the tear in the brevis (shorter part on the side of heel), which we knew about. There was also a small tear in the longus under the foot that he had to tear a bit more to be able to stitch and repair properly. That totally validated the pain in that area and will not affect recovery so I'm happy about that. 

Surgery was scheduled for 10 but they took me back closer to 10:30. For some reason i got hiccups right before the put me out, which had everyone in the OR cracking up :-)When they woke me up in the OR the doc was still there and I was just clear headed enough to ask if it was a bad tear and wheter he used dissolvable or permanent stitches. He said wasn't too bad and permanent. I found out about the 2nd tendon later when Adam fille dme om on what the doc said to him. When i got to recovery i asked the nurse the time and she said 12:37, so i am guessing actual surgery time was about an hour. Thankfully i was not feeling nauseated from anesthesia, but I specifically expressed concern to the anesthesiologist and she said she'd use anti-nausea....i would assume that's standard but don't really know. My throat felt sore so I asked for ice chips, and the RN gave me dilaudid and something else which quickly made me nod off, though somewhat aware of my surroundings. I am pretty sensitive to loopy meds. They got me back to the short stay unit about 30 mins or so where Adam filled me on on the doctor's comments and my RN gave me crackers, water then some percocet. I nodded in and out and they checked my vitals every 15. Finally I got up to hop to the restroom and shortly after I confirmed I felt more than ready to go home. My pain level was hovering around a 2, and the TN assured me I could take up to 2 of my oxycodone (generic percocet) at home if needed. I was in the car by 3...longer day than expected, but also was told my surgery was scheduled for 9, so arrived at the hospital at 7 am.....sans caffeine :-/

The biggest challenge upon arriving home was how to hop up the one high step into the house...mostly because i was weak and shaky. With Adam's encouragement and waiting to catch me i managed :-) I went straight to the couch and he made me a sandwich. I was surprised at how alert i felt and low pain level. Still, I wanted to stay ahead of the pain so i took a pill after my lunch and dosed off about 30 mins later for about 2 hours. 

Sleeping wasn't too bad. I am sleeping in the guest room for the time being to avoid Adam or i kicking one another on accident and because I know i will toss and turn. I propped my foot on 2 pillows, was able to sleep on back and left side (cast is on right foot). I woke 4 hours after going to bed and popped a pill. One problem is hip pain, which I presume is partly from elevating my foot. I have a bad back including herniated discs, so I expect this situation to aggravate it a bit. Early this morning i reduced it to 1 pillow and was able to sleep on my belly for a bit, which is my preferred position. 

The one thing I was unprepared for is the pain in my left ankle from having to put all my weight on that. I am going to use the band exercises prescribed in PT to strengthen my bad foot and see if that helps. I also have weird arches, so making sure I have a supportive shoe on should help. 

Pain level is increasing only a little today....so far. I expect it will increase as the numbing the doc did wears off. Wiggling my toes regularly and icing under knee, per recommendation from others online. Will also start with ibuprofen, for both my back and my foot.