Under the Knife

On December 11th I went in to the UofA Hospital in Edmonton for surgery.  This relates to the surgery I had almost a year ago... last January... to repair my broken leg.  Recently I consulted with my surgeon and elected to have all the hardware removed from my leg.  This includes a metal plate and six screws.  The fibula is healed just fine, but the hardware bothers me when I wear skates or boots.  So... on December 11th I went under the knife.  Before putting me under anesthetic they gave me a marker and told me to write the word "YES" on the leg that required surgery.  That didn't really instill a whole lot of confidence...?! 

I was given a spinal block so that my entire lower body lost feeling, but other than that I was wide awake during the whole procedure.  It is a very strange feeling.  It felt as though my knees were up in the air and my heels were digging in to the mattress of the operating table.  But when I looked, my legs were laying flat and pointing in a different direction.  I even got some phantom cramping in my thighs, from the feeling that my knees were up.

When I got out of surgery I was taken to a recovery room for the spinal block to wear off.  That took a few hours, but eventually it happened.  The nurses were a little concerned because during the recovery my resting heart rate dropped to under 40 beats per minute.  I have been monitored ever since and it seems it was just my body's reaction to the anesthetic.  Since then everything has returned to as normal as I get.

Since the surgery I just have to play the waiting game and let the incision heal.  I didn't have any significant pain and haven't bothered to take any of the medication that was prescribed to me.  They put about a dozen staples in my leg, which are pretty uncomfortable, but not really that big a deal.  I am scheduled to have them removed on December 29th, after which I should be able to return to regular activity... including hockey.