Tuesday started bright and early at 6 am when one of my surgeons came in to have me sign consent forms. Consent forms that were completely in Korean! He told me basically what they said and showed me were to sign.
Then, a nurse came in the room to put my IV in. I am terrified of needles, so I cried as soon as she walked in the room. Unfortunately, I hadn't been able to drink any water in almost 12 hours, so I was dehydrated and my veins were no where to be found. She put the IV in my hand and then took it right back out. She said a "better nurse" would come in at 8am to try again. And of course, at 8, the nurse couldn't find a vein either. But, third time's a charm and she finally got the IV in my hand.
I figured once the IV was in I would head into surgery shortly after. No such luck. Even though the surgeon said my surgery was very urgent and it would happen in the MORNING, we waited alllllll dayyyyyy. The nurses kept asking me what time my surgery was, which was weird to me. FINALLY after Drew ended up going to the nurses' station and asking when I would go to surgery, they told us I was "up next."
Almost immediately, three nurses came in and got me ready. They put my hair in braided pigtails AGAIN and injected antibiotic into my IV. And cue never ending tears. The antibiotic hurt so badly and I was so scared to go into surgery. They took me downstairs to the operating floor. Drew was able to sit with me for a bit while one of my surgeons told us about what could go WRONG with the surgery. And then.. it was time. I kissed Drew goodbye and they pushed me into an operating room. Laying on a bed, waiting to have surgery is always scary, but doing that in a room full of people who aren't speaking English is one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I could not stop crying. Especially when a nurse asked me for my blood type. I told her it was O- and she looked at me like I was crazy. She said, "No, like A or B?" Again I told her it was O- and she didn't understand. That's the last thing I remember.. thinking I was going to die from getting a blood transfusion! I was SURE they didn't even do surgery because it seemed like I'd been back there for 10 minutes max. Apparently it was more like 3 hours!
Almost immediately, three nurses came in and got me ready. They put my hair in braided pigtails AGAIN and injected antibiotic into my IV. And cue never ending tears. The antibiotic hurt so badly and I was so scared to go into surgery. They took me downstairs to the operating floor. Drew was able to sit with me for a bit while one of my surgeons told us about what could go WRONG with the surgery. And then.. it was time. I kissed Drew goodbye and they pushed me into an operating room. Laying on a bed, waiting to have surgery is always scary, but doing that in a room full of people who aren't speaking English is one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I could not stop crying. Especially when a nurse asked me for my blood type. I told her it was O- and she looked at me like I was crazy. She said, "No, like A or B?" Again I told her it was O- and she didn't understand. That's the last thing I remember.. thinking I was going to die from getting a blood transfusion! I was SURE they didn't even do surgery because it seemed like I'd been back there for 10 minutes max. Apparently it was more like 3 hours!
At this point I had gone 29 hours without eating a meal. AND they still made me wait til 6 to eat! :( I was starving, thirsty, in pain, and in denial that I had surgery. I really wanted to talk to the surgeon to hear how things went. He finally showed up and gave us some great news! He said he only had to make a small, T shaped incision because my nerves were still partially connected! The knife had only cut half of both nerves. This made it easy for him to find the two pieces of nerves and to put them back together. ALSO, the fact that they weren't completely cut meant there was a much greater chance for the nerves to regenerate!!! There is still a chance that they might not grow back together and regenerate, but it's all up to God now. The doctor did all he could do and now I have to take really good care of my hand and continue to pray that the nerves heal. There were a bunch of pictures of my hand during surgery, and I'll be getting copies of those soon!! For now, here's a hand drawn picture of what went on:
After the doctor left, a nurse came to draw my blood for post-op labs. This was the 3rd time I had my blood drawn in 2 days :( Since I had surgery on my left arm, and an IV in my right arm, they had to draw blood from MY ANKLE. Yeah, that sucked. I cried, (shocking) but my body stopped producing tears! haha
At 6, they brought me the best hospital meal I've ever seen. This picture is all for you
Isabeb.
At 6, they brought me the best hospital meal I've ever seen. This picture is all for you
Isabeb.
Drew left Tuesday night and I hung out by myself for the rest of the night. I got some much needed rest while I felt like I was floating from my pain killer. Koreans don't skimp on medication, that's for sure. I was on 12 different things. 4 IV bags, an antibiotic injection, and 4 pills. That pain killer was amazing though ;)
This morning I woke up while the nurses did their rounds and injected me with all kinds of stuff. They brought me breakfast and then I went down to meet with the surgeons. They changed my bandages, showed me my stitches and the pictures from surgery, and taught me some exercises to strengthen my hand. It turned out that my tendon was fine, I was just having trouble moving my finger due to pain and swelling. I can bend my fingers down a lot farther than even yesterday, and TONS more than Saturday night.
I have to take an entire pharmacy worth of pills every day for the next 2 weeks. 12 pills a day to be exact! I have to change my bandages twice a week and then I go back to Suwon on August 11th to have my stitches removed. My cast stays on for 3-4 weeks and I'm not allowed to use my hand at all (besides my exercises) until it's off. After my cast is off, I'll start therapy and be well on the road to recovery!
This morning I woke up while the nurses did their rounds and injected me with all kinds of stuff. They brought me breakfast and then I went down to meet with the surgeons. They changed my bandages, showed me my stitches and the pictures from surgery, and taught me some exercises to strengthen my hand. It turned out that my tendon was fine, I was just having trouble moving my finger due to pain and swelling. I can bend my fingers down a lot farther than even yesterday, and TONS more than Saturday night.
I have to take an entire pharmacy worth of pills every day for the next 2 weeks. 12 pills a day to be exact! I have to change my bandages twice a week and then I go back to Suwon on August 11th to have my stitches removed. My cast stays on for 3-4 weeks and I'm not allowed to use my hand at all (besides my exercises) until it's off. After my cast is off, I'll start therapy and be well on the road to recovery!
Now, time for a nap!