Ow

The procedure went fairly quickly this morning. John came over early so he could hold Parm down while I cut off a large wad of matted fur (I had enough for a new kitten when I was done), and then he took me to Duke Raleigh Hospital. I was checked in by 9:20, and a nurse took me back for prepping about 9:45. The nice lady gave me a valium (but she wasn’t nice enough to give me two), and the surgeon popped in to initial my wrist. He also initialed my palm and made a comment about making an incision there, too, but we figured out later that he must have been confusing me with his next patient, who had both a cyst and carpal tunnel.

They got me into the procedure room before 11:00, but I’m not sure exactly when. The nurse designated to distract me has two dogs, so guess what we talked about most of the time? The most painful part of the whole procedure was the shots for the local. Man, those hurt. I’m just happy they had a sheet blocking my view, because I had no interest in watching the procedure. The surgeon said the cyst was pretty large – I think he mentioned a size, but I don’t remember what he said. By then, the valium had kicked in and I really just wanted a nap.

While I was waiting for John, I dozed with my face on the pillow that was propping up my arm. The nurse told us that she’d been checking on me and she knew I wasn’t suffocating myself because I was still pink every time she looked. Of course, that was mostly due to the fact that I was lucid enough to make a little gap in the pillow just under my nose… I have no idea what time John got back to the hospital, but I do know that we got to the Target pharmacy at 12:20. We picked up my Tylenol with Codeine and a few other items that I meant to get yesterday, popped into Subway to get some lunch, and then headed home. John played with the pups for a few minutes and then headed out. I was very ready for lunch, but by then, I was also very ready for the drugs. Sadly, they aren’t doing a spectacular job, although they’ve toned down the pain from a sharp stab to a dull roar (as long as I don’t wiggle my fingers). If its still like this tomorrow, I may call the doc and ask for something a smidge stronger. We’ll just have to wait and see.

So, I’m splinted from knuckles to mid-forearm, I have to keep the hand elevated for 3-5 days (so no typing with the left hand), and I can’t take the bandage off unless I need to loosen it. Always fun to shower with a plastic bag over my hand and arm. At least its only for two weeks, as I go back to the surgeon to get my stitches out on the 19th.