Surgery Recovery - Day 1

Friday....

As the Anesthesiologist explained, the goal was to manage the pain - the meds wouldn't take care of it completely. Translation: I still felt pain and it totally sucks. I was up much of the night Thursday trying to get a little comfortable and also because I had to take the meds every 4 hours. Thank god my boyfriend Ari was able to help me so much. Otherwise I would be a pile of knee braces, clothing and pee laying on the floor somewhere in my apartment.

Going to the bathroom: it is completely impossible for me to get my leg out of the bed (or off of the couch) and onto the floor without significant amounts of pain (actually, my knee cap feels like its going to pop out the side of my leg) . Ari helps me by holding my leg straight out, off the bed or couch, until I have the crutches then slowly lowering it. Sitting down to pee is also nearly impossible - I would imagine boys have it way easier. Fortunately my bathroom is embarrassingly small; I can reach the wall, the door, the towel rack and the sink all without moving. I use one or many of those items to lower myself into "position". This still sucks on the knee - but if you keep your crutches close, you can prop the busted leg up on one while you do your thing and the support actually feels better than just leaving it on the floor.

Friday was the hardest day so far - the blocker had worn off and the pain medication, while helping, didn't completely alleviate the pain which unfortunately still felt like someone was stabbing the upper left corner of my knee, made worse by a general deep aching all through my knee. The pain subsided during the day, although it became particularly bad if I had to move to do something (like go to the bathroom, which is literally all I would force myself up to do). Friday night was by far the worst. I was in extreme pain, the pain meds didn't seem to be working, and of course the doctor was not available and the hospital was closed. I kept the Game Ready and pain medicine routine up all night, taking deep breaths sometimes helped take the focus off of the pain, but don't expect much.