Day 1 after Surgery

Once in my room, they placed ice packs on my feet immediately. There was no real pain at all. My voice was a little croaky from being intubated, but not bad. I was not allowed to eat for about 3 hours and I had a little nausea from the anesthesia medication. My feet look enormous in the picture, but it really was not bad at all. The ice packs made them look very swollen, but the swelling was very minimal.

During the first day, we were advised to not get off the bed at all. This was okay except that it made going to the bathroom an interesting experience. Using a bedpan is never a pleasant thing, but I guess it is better than other options. Luckily, it was only for one night. My pain level was tolerable. I think overall, the pain may have gotten to a 7-8 at one point, but never enough to ask for an extra shot of pain medication. I just continued to take the pain pills they provided every few hours, which was panadeine. This and the anti-inflammatory medication they provided was more than enough. Several hours later, I was finally wanting to eat something. I could have eaten earlier, but I was not very hungry - probably from all the medication I was given. Here I am trying to eat some fried rice from the hospital. It was not very good, but did serve its purpose to put something in my stomach.

My mom was such a trooper as she stayed with me throughout the entire day and into the evening. I don't know what I would have done without her and am truly grateful for her love and support. My relatives were also so nice to visit me that first evening and it was great to see them. Once everyone left for dinner, I was left to the care of the nursing and medical staff. They were very attentive, responsive, and helpful. My first evening in the hospital was very pleasant, except for the jetlag I was still fighting. :-)