Pre-op i layed around, leg elevated, in the Salon. (5 weeks)
My cockpit view the night before surgery. Red Sky at night....
My view in the Surgical Prep room. For about 90 minutes i lay on a bed in a surgical gown staring out the window waiting for the doctor to arrive. They put a party hat on me, an IV in me and i practiced my deep breathing and relaxation exercises. Blood Pressure 120 / 70.
When Dr. Lippy shows up and we have our surgical suite ready, they wheel me in. "Mr Williams, do you want more covers?" ITS FREEZING IN HERE! "Yes, we keep it cold so bacteria cant grow." (it feels like a refrigerator or freezer in there.) First, transfer me from my practice bed to the operating table. "Mr. Williams we are going to let you butt bounce like an inch worm over onto this thin table. Be careful, it's really thin." (it's about an inch or two wider than my hips on both sides.) "Are you centered up on the table?" (I butt bounce some more and get just exactly centered) Then they strap me down. A big seat belt safety strap goes across my middle and they cinch it up tight so i cant fall off the table. "Mr. Williams we need your arms on the sides to place them on 'arm rests." (Like a large T shape with the arm boards outstretched and strapped down.) At this point, i have received no sedative, no pain med, no anesthetic. We are talking, i'm looking around. THEN I WOKE UP
It was about 11:30am when they wheeled me into the Operating room. the clock in this shot shows it to be 1:42pm. So I am obviously awake and very obviously still heavily medicated! (duhh) So i am in recovery and some idiot has given me my phone. If i called you, i apologize for anything i may have screamed. If i tweeted to Trump, or North Korea, or Putin, again i apologize.
The doctor has determined for my own safety to keep me in the hospital overnight. "Since you live alone - ON A BOAT - we want to keep you for observation." (I'm glad they did.) But first we have to transfer from the Outpatient Clinic to the Hospital Proper. (this surgery is performed in an outpatient clinic and not the hospital) So... how do we get from building A to building B about 200 yards away? Let's call an Ambulance! (turns out procedure is move patients via an ambulance. *note: i made that same journey in the weeks prior on crutches)
That's my toe in the foreground. (under the freezing blanket) and those are my Ambulance drivers doing paperwork to move me across the parking lot. Outpatient to Hospital.
This shot is Post-op in my hospital room, as the Pain Meds are wearing off
and i begin to experience some "Mild Discomfort." The 'donor site' does not hurt, but the sewing area does. (they have debrided the wound prior to sewing on my patch.) Debridement removes dead, devitalized, or contaminated tissue, and any foreign material from a wound, which helps to reduce the number of microbes, toxins, and other substances that inhibit healing.
Yikes. It feels like they used sand paper to scrape off the top layer of my new skin.
Rt Leg, skin graft leg. Donor site, upper thigh, outside.
Lt Leg, pressure cuff to prevent blood clots.
So I lay in bed hooked up to tubes and hoses on both legs and one arm. I'm in a drug induced haze in much more 'discomfort' than euphoria. It's my experience that the Opioid helps to block the pain but is not a pleasant feeling at all. I have fitful sleep with awful dreams bordering on nightmares and am happy to get out just after lunch the next day. *GETTING OUT is 'odd' as the entire staff of the hospital has no concept of boats. "You live on a boat? How can you get on it with crutches? How will you be able to move around down below on crutches?" It turns out 'procedure' demands - the rules are - you HAVE to have - somebody come sign you out. A driver to pick you up. I told them i'm calling Uber. (they literally have a jaw drop and eyes bulge to this news) "Surely you can have a friend or family come pick you up?" I just laugh. I dont know anybody. I SAILED HERE and dont know a soul. We go round and round. (this starts a week prior to admittance on the phone with some lady. With my doctor pre-op and then again post-op. "Skip how can you handle this on a boat?" The Nurse in the hospital says, "I'll gather your paperwork and be ready when your person comes to sign for you." i inform her - I dont have a person. "How can you not have a person? How will you get home?" the same way i got here, I'll call Uber. I did finally manage my escape with no incident.
Later, back on the boat last night i find a missed heart monitor.
So, I'm on crutches down below and am being very careful of the leg. Slept like a baby.
The laying around resumes! I'm on an antibiotic and stopped my pain meds.
Note and shout out. When i got to the Marina i stopped in at the Marina office to ask if one of the dock guys could help me get to my boat? Maybe help carry my hospital bag of stuff? (I'm visualizing walk with me carrying a chair in case my crutches get me down, dizzy, or tired.) Sam, the Marina manager says, "Heck No." (he was teasing) Turns out they had a wheel chair and Eduardo pushed me all the way home. Thanks again Sunset Bay Marina!
Mondays appointment is at Lippy's office, about a mile further down the road.
I'll use Uber and my crutches.
- Peg Leg Pirate Skip
