Shoulder Surgery

Let me tell you about it. On March 16 I called Dr. Jaffin's office and gave them my insurance information. Lavonna, the insurance person, asked if I was ready to schedule and I said I was. She said she'd call back later that afternoon. I took Alex to his pediatrician that afternoon and when I got back she had called. I called back and we scheduled the surgery for the following Monday, the 22nd of March with a pre op set for the next day.

I went to the pre op and they did all the usual stuff, blood pressure, ears nose throat. I asked Dr. JAffin if I needed the surgery and he made me do that test where he'd put his hands over mine and made me push up. There was a marked weakness in my right hand where I could barely move it when he applied downward pressure. It was a matter of do it now or later, but it was going to have to be done.

I was given forms for blood work to be done but when I got to the lab, I found out that it had to be a fasting test, so I had to come back the next morning. Of course this panicked me because I wanted to be certain the surgicenter would get the results, but it all worked out.

The Saturday before, Pat, who had been sick, ended up in the urgent care clinic with bronchitis. He had to take antibiotics for 5 days and was sick for close to 2 weeks.

Of course I was panicking for the next few days and weekend and of course I kept dwelling on it. The night before we bought a new camera. I wanted this so that we could take pictures of what was going on with me. I quit eating that night at about 7:30 though I didn't have to until midnight.

Dr. David Shapiro called the night before to go over the procedure and see if I had any questions. I wanted to cry when he told me about the nerve block where they would insert needles into my neck to numb my arm for the next 18 hours.

I didn't sleep well that night, and kept waking up. Finally, at 3:30, I was up for good. Pat woke up at 5:30 so we could leave at 6 as I had to be there at 6:30. We left and got there in plenty of time. As I was signing in, in walked Dr. Shapiro and it finally seemed so real, that I was going to have surgery.

In the preop ward, I had to undress to my underwear and put on a gown. Then they gave me heated blankets and put the IV in. I made Pat hold my hand for this, but he didn't want to. They had something call a bear care device that could pump warm air under the blankets, but I didn't use it. Then the surgery nurse, Pat, came over and introduced herself. She put a bracelet on my right arm with my penicillin allergy on it and marked my right arm for surgery. I asked how they'd keep me on the operating table and she said they had belts and things for that. Then Dr. Shapiro came over and gave me something to relax.

Dr. Jaffin showed up in green surgical scrubs, and a red hat. He asked what arm was I having surgery on. Then He asked me what was on my right arm. I said my allergy bracelet. He asked me why was it there, and I told him what Pat had said, there wasn't room on my other arm. He said it had to come off to prep my arm. He went to one nurse, who said I wasn't his patient, then he addressed someone else who happened to be a doctor. I don't know what happened, but it was off when I woke up and my arm was covered to orange sticky stuff. Pat. my husband, said the nurses did it because Dr. JAffin was raising such a fuss over a bracelet that was nowhere near my shoulder

He then said they'd be waiting for me in the back, and I was given a wheelchair ride back to the operating room after I'd told Pat that it looks like here's our parting of the ways. Everything was very yellow, and I remarked that it looked like a closet. They said it was better to have everything where they needed it instead of having to go looking for it. I got onto the operating table and they told me I had to scoot up about a foot. I was given a mask to put over my face, then I barely remember my arm jumping around as they did the nerve block. At some point I was totally knocked out with the tube down my throat, etc.

When I woke up, they were wheeling me into the post op. I was covered in blankets and they were trying to fit oxyden tubes in my nose. I remember asking for Pat, but I couldn't get the "T" sound out, so they wanted to know if I was saying pain. Fortunately, a nurse realized that I was asking for my husband, and one nurse told the other that my husband was just pulling into the parking garage. The first thing Pat said to me was it looked like the 80's were back in style at I had a giant shoulder pad. I wish Pat could have gotten a picture, the bandage was at least 3 inches thick. In post op, Pat said I kept asking the same 4 questions, what happened, where am I, was my rotator cuff torn, and how long was I out. Then I'd sort of pass out, he'd say boink, and a few minutes later it'd start all over again. I kept feeling like I was going to throw up and they gave me medicine both by IV and by an old fashioned shot to help that. The shot did the truck. At some point they needed my gurney and got me dressed and transferred to chair to wake up. Pat said he needed to go get Daniel and I needed to wake up so he could bring me home, but the nurse said that wasn't necessary. They put me in a wheel chair and took me down to the garage. Pat had to move the Rav so I could get in it. He had brought a pillow for my arm and an ice pack.

When we got back to his house I still wasn't awake and he had to carry me into the house. I remember being carried and telling myself where I was, but I couldn't articulate it, but I thought, OK, were gong by the junipers, now we're going by the door, but I couldn't say anything. He put me in the green chair where I slept for the rest of the day, and for the most of Tuesday.