Jason's Surgery

Wednesday was Jason's surgery. We woke at around 4:30 or so that morning, got to the University of Utah just before 7 and then started the very long day. They took us back and got him all dressed in the lovely "I see you" gown, started the IV's went over all the paperwork, etc., then the fun began. The anesthesiologist came and took Jason around the corner to put his nerve block in place. The nerve block is about the same concept as an epidural, but placed just behind his knee and it lasts a couple of days. She brought him back and they had also given him a little something to relax him. He was happy. Very happy. Shortly after that, they wheeled him away, and I went to the lobby to wait out the next 6 hours.
The wait really wasn't as horrible as it could have been. I had my laptop and took advantage of the Wifi. I also had a nice stash of Sudoku, word search and crossword puzzles. I also learned that they cater nicely to anxious wives. They called out at 9:30 to tell me they were getting started, then again every couple hours to let me know everything was going great.
Shortly after 1 o'clock, the doctor came out, said everything went great, and told me everything he had done with Jason's foot. he had cut and re-routed a couple of tendons, stretched his achilles tendon, loosened his plantar facia tendon, and cut a chunk of bone out of his heal. A couple screws and a wire were put in place to hold everything and they were done. Even the doctor looked a bit exhausted. He told me they had him in recovery, and I'd be able to go back in an hour and see him.
An hour tuned into an hour and a half. At this point I started to get really anxious, so I went and asked and was informed that they were moving him to in-patient and getting him assessed there, but he was awake and smiling. UGH! Really, he's awake and in his room for the night and I'm still out here waiting. That was frustrating. Finally, about 20 minutes later his CNA came and found me and took me to him. He was looking pretty good, and apparently had been singing and chasing leprechauns.
The rest of the day went pretty smooth as he slowly came out of the anesthesia. Even his pain stayed in control, right up until they made him stand up. On the pain scale of 1-10, he went from a 2 to a 10 just from standing up, with no pressure at all on his foot. It broke my heart to see him in that much pain. Luckily, the amazing nurse Tim didn't even hesitate with the morphine, and it kicked in within 3 minutes. I later bribed Tim to stay for the duration of our stay. Didn't work.
It was a long night, including Jason snagging, and thus ripping out his IV, but that was easily remedied and hardly painful he said. We both had a night of sleeping just a few minutes here and there, followed by a really nice morning.
Jason was terrified to stand up again on Thursday, but it actually went really well and nowhere near as painful. After that, and a successful pee (TMI, but it was a big deal people, worthy of celebration) we were able to get ready to take him home.
His parents brought the blazer down so that he could lay out in the back with his foot elevated still. We made our journey home, with a quick stop for some medicinal In'N'Out. We made it home, got him up the stairs, and settled nicely on the couch. Once he was settled, and I got everything in order, I had a most wonderful shower and we both relaxed for the evening, with just a couple visitors in and out. I've never loved the comfort of home like I did that moment.
Thursday night was rough. Around 1 o'clock, the pain was intense and it was still another hour at minimum before he could have any more painkillers. It was my worst nightmare coming true. I called the surgical center and the nurse there paged the resident on-call for me. I had a call back in less than two minutes, and he okayed more pain meds then. We got him mostly comfortable again to where he could relax, thank heavens. Finally, around 7 am he fell asleep... and I got ready for work.
His mom came over this morning to stay with him while I'm at work. He's texted and so far so good. He's mostly been sleeping, and I'm pretty sure she's just hanging out. I cannot wait to get home to him, and luckily it's Friday, so I'll have the weekend with him too. I'm not enjoying being away right now. Hopefully things will stay on an uphill slope from here. The first few days are the worst, right?