Ankle Arthroscopy (Day Two)

DAY 2:

Day 2 was a bit rough as my body was still waning itself off of the anesthesia which made it difficult to sleep.

From 8 am on the day of the surgery to around 11am the following day I probably got around 2 hours sleep.

The only real adverse reaction I have had thus far was that my cheeks became flush similar to a sun burn as a reaction to the anesthesia.

The femoral block that the anesthesiologist administered prior to surgery was still working and I would describe the feeling as if your entire leg were asleep. No feeling or sensation in my foot or toes whatsoever.

The first requirement “post op” is to keep my foot elevated for 72 hours. Sounds easy enough, but I’m not one to lay there in bed prostrate, so I usually end up on the couch for most of the day.

From this point I’m going to start describing my pain and comfort levels on the “1 to 10” scale that you typically see used at the hospital.
On the second day there was no pain, and my only discomfort was a result of sitting there with my leg up…All day.

They say another snow storm is on the horizon for next week so as I sit here typing I’m wondering if my gamble of putting the surgery off until 2011 is going to work out after all.
There’s probably never a “good” time for something like this, and it’s always going to shift the burden somewhere else.
The funny thing is that my wife recruited my own mother to keep “over watch” on me during the 72 hours of foot elevation, so at 38 I’m back to taking orders from my mom. (So is "The circle of Life")

Another area I’m going to cover is the financial aspect of having the surgery;

Here is the break down so far;

2 Consultation visits at $40.00 a visit “Co-pay” with insurance.

No Co-Pay for the initial X-rays. (Covered by Insurance)

$100.00 Co-pay for the MRI prior to surgery

$300.00 Co-Pay for the actual Arthroscopic surgery
Sum total of $480.00 “out of pocket” thus far.