I wake up in recovery. Luckily I haven't been thrashing around like a maniac like after the last surgery. I am now back in the hospital gown, and my left arm is encased in a stylish black sling. Unfortunately the delightful white Teds are still on my legs.
Feeling no pain, I try to sit up so I can walk back to my room. Apparently I'm not allowed to do that. So I sit up on the bed while they wheel me back to the room. I seriously could have walked. I remember the nurses have a fit when I had my wisdom teeth removed under general and when they wheeled me back to the room I hopped off the stretcher and jumped into the bed in the room. I seem to get a bit hyperactive for their taste after an anaesthetic.
It's now around 11, so my surgery must have been quite fast. Given the video I saw (seriously, don't watch videos of it, it's horrifying to watch the surgeon casually stab a scalpel into the shoulder. Well to me it is.) most of the time is spent in a huge amount of preparation and positioning. The actual jabbing sharp metal objects into your flesh part doesn't take that much time.
I am starving. And very hyper. I explore my shoulder with my right hand. There are some slightly bloody plasters, one on the back and one on the front. I guess I only needed two incisions. My arm is completely dead. I mean, I knew I was having a nerve block, and it would be numb. What I didn't expect is that it would not work at all, in any way. I cannot move my fingers at all, I can't make my arm budge. It's weird. Also the first time in 10 weeks I am completely without pain, so I'm enjoying it.
Various visitors come round. The nurse is in and out a lot, checking my blood pressure, which is quite a lot higher than it was before (over 120 on 70, which is very high for me). It comes back down over the next hour though. I am begging to be allowed food, but no, not til Mr Shoulder has seen me. I wish I'd brought chocolate in with me, at least I could have snuck that in without them knowing.
Mr Shoulder arrives. He looks tired. I'm guessing it wasn't my procedure that made him tired, given mine was the simplest of the day. He says it went well, and he completed all the procedure except the manipulation to release the anterior IGHL (inferior glenohumeral ligament), as that would have broken my humerus all over again and that seemed like a bad idea. Oh, and from the list below I'm not sure if I had the steroid injection.
Mr Shoulder then picks up my arm and swings it about - interestingly I feel a pull in my tricep from this, even with a dead arm. It moves so much more than before the surgery. He warns me to expect pain when the nerve block wears off, and tells me to take the pain meds before that, don't wait for it to hurt. I ask why I only have two incisions, after he said I'd need three. He immediately offers to make the third right now. It's nice having a surgeon and anaesthetist who are also comedians.
The nurse is back in after that, for more checks. Then the anaesthetist comes in. This is new, I've never had an anaesthetist come to see me after surgery before. She says I'm much perkier than before. She also warns about pain, and reminds me to take the pain meds. She won't take out the cannula though, that has to be the nurse.
The nurse is back and finally I am allowed food, and she takes out the cannula, yay. While waiting for the food to arrive, I get dressed. I go into the bathroom, and it's more of a logistical challenge than before, as a dead arm is even less use than a painful arm. I remove the sling, and forget that my arm is useless. For some reason I don't realise it will literally drop like a stone - so heavily that my hand hits my thigh hard enough to leave a bruise, and there is a ripping sensation in the incision at the back of my shoulder. Oops. A spurt of blood appears under the plaster, but doesn't get worse, so I continue dressing and ignore it.
I'd ordered a cheese sandwich, and it was fabulous. I'm still hungry, and send my mother off on a chocolate hunt after that. Now I start agitating to be allowed to go home. Oh, and I remove my Teds, which the nurse isn't happy about at all. She goes to get my pain meds, updates the charts, and I am free.
I remain pain-free and fine all day, and then sleep really well. The nerve block starts to wear off in the evening, and sensation returns to my fingers. It gradually creeps up my arm in pins and needles. It's mostly still dead when I go to sleep, but 4am I wake up and the feeling is back in my whole arm and shoulder. But no pain, yet.
Feeling no pain, I try to sit up so I can walk back to my room. Apparently I'm not allowed to do that. So I sit up on the bed while they wheel me back to the room. I seriously could have walked. I remember the nurses have a fit when I had my wisdom teeth removed under general and when they wheeled me back to the room I hopped off the stretcher and jumped into the bed in the room. I seem to get a bit hyperactive for their taste after an anaesthetic.
It's now around 11, so my surgery must have been quite fast. Given the video I saw (seriously, don't watch videos of it, it's horrifying to watch the surgeon casually stab a scalpel into the shoulder. Well to me it is.) most of the time is spent in a huge amount of preparation and positioning. The actual jabbing sharp metal objects into your flesh part doesn't take that much time.
I am starving. And very hyper. I explore my shoulder with my right hand. There are some slightly bloody plasters, one on the back and one on the front. I guess I only needed two incisions. My arm is completely dead. I mean, I knew I was having a nerve block, and it would be numb. What I didn't expect is that it would not work at all, in any way. I cannot move my fingers at all, I can't make my arm budge. It's weird. Also the first time in 10 weeks I am completely without pain, so I'm enjoying it.
Various visitors come round. The nurse is in and out a lot, checking my blood pressure, which is quite a lot higher than it was before (over 120 on 70, which is very high for me). It comes back down over the next hour though. I am begging to be allowed food, but no, not til Mr Shoulder has seen me. I wish I'd brought chocolate in with me, at least I could have snuck that in without them knowing.
Mr Shoulder arrives. He looks tired. I'm guessing it wasn't my procedure that made him tired, given mine was the simplest of the day. He says it went well, and he completed all the procedure except the manipulation to release the anterior IGHL (inferior glenohumeral ligament), as that would have broken my humerus all over again and that seemed like a bad idea. Oh, and from the list below I'm not sure if I had the steroid injection.
The nurse is back in after that, for more checks. Then the anaesthetist comes in. This is new, I've never had an anaesthetist come to see me after surgery before. She says I'm much perkier than before. She also warns about pain, and reminds me to take the pain meds. She won't take out the cannula though, that has to be the nurse.
The nurse is back and finally I am allowed food, and she takes out the cannula, yay. While waiting for the food to arrive, I get dressed. I go into the bathroom, and it's more of a logistical challenge than before, as a dead arm is even less use than a painful arm. I remove the sling, and forget that my arm is useless. For some reason I don't realise it will literally drop like a stone - so heavily that my hand hits my thigh hard enough to leave a bruise, and there is a ripping sensation in the incision at the back of my shoulder. Oops. A spurt of blood appears under the plaster, but doesn't get worse, so I continue dressing and ignore it.
I'd ordered a cheese sandwich, and it was fabulous. I'm still hungry, and send my mother off on a chocolate hunt after that. Now I start agitating to be allowed to go home. Oh, and I remove my Teds, which the nurse isn't happy about at all. She goes to get my pain meds, updates the charts, and I am free.
I remain pain-free and fine all day, and then sleep really well. The nerve block starts to wear off in the evening, and sensation returns to my fingers. It gradually creeps up my arm in pins and needles. It's mostly still dead when I go to sleep, but 4am I wake up and the feeling is back in my whole arm and shoulder. But no pain, yet.
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