(Sorry for brief one-liners, but I do want to thank each and every one of you individually for your well wishes, because I really do appreciate it. You have no idea what it means to me)
Dear Nightwish: Thank you for the well wishes! It's good to meet you!
Dear Bluebarbie: Thank YOU! Actually, YOUR journey is such an inspiration, despite the complications you had you still endured. I hope I can have half as much resilience and positive attitude you had during my weak moments in these coming months!
Dear Adonis: Thanks bro! Feel free to message or visit me anytime.
Dear Penguinn: Thank you! I will try to maintain this positiveness. Please do feel free to yell at me in public on this thread if you detect that I'm losing my positive attitude. (In fact, everybody is welcome to do that!
)
Dear Axelf and KrP1: Hi guys, thank you both for the well wishes! Axelf, I'm willing to share rooms with you, but it depends on KrP1. The reason is because I've already agreed to share with KrP1 from 15 September to 15 October. But if KrP1 chooses to extend because of complications or whatever then I would prefer to stick with him and not leave him stranded. By the way, I am flying to Canada on 31 October.
We don't need to decide now, we can choose to revisit this issue after October. It seems MIC has that flexibility. KrP1, what is your current plan so far?
Dear Concernedmom: Haha, thanks for the concern (get the joke?
). To answer your previous question, I had spinal anesthesia with a sedative, so there was lower risk compared to general anesthesia. Besides, I have 120% faith in Dr. Monegal's technical skill.
Dear Ouroboros: Fellow Canuck, eh?
Thanks for the well wishes! We Canucks gotta represent!
Dear TrueSpartan: Thank you once more for your prayers and encouragement. I will do my best to stay strong like a Spartan! :-)
I'm truly grateful to each and everyone of you, thank you. Onwards now to our story...
The night before my surgery was also sleepless (I guess I'm still jet-lagged). I napped a bit to get up at noon, took a a quick shower and then said my final goodbye to Elena and her family. Before I left I asked Elena about a folded-up wheelchair in the middle of the corridor. Everybody in Elena's family is able and healthy so I was always thought it was peculiar that she kept a wheelchair in her home. I asked her about it and she said, "Ah, my father.. six months," and then she made a sleeping motion, putting her palms together next to her cheek. I expressed my condolences as best I could and she smiled in acceptance. How short life is! Whatever it is you want to do in this world, do it now.. You only get a limited number of "tomorrows."
After walking to Clinica, I introduced myself to the receptionist on the ground floor. She took me to a small office behind the desk to what I took to be the administrator in charge of admissions. She examined my passport and took the hardcopies of the tests I did the day before. She was really nice and the first thing she told me upon introductions was that her English wasn't that good. No worries, I took out my smartphone and introduced her to the Google Translate app. (If you haven't tried it yet you should. It's really amazing, both parties just SPEAK into the phone and it translates on the fly offline, no need to type!) She was so impressed with the app she asked me what it was.
Afterwards, someone else escorted me to the third floor to what was to be my room for the next seven nights. It's about 30 square meters or so, very clean and modern. It has plenty of closet space, a mini-vault (the type you would find in a hotel), a bench sofa that folds out into a single bed (I suppose if you have relatives coming over to take care of you), a large armrest chair with wheels (not a wheelchair), tv, desk, normal chair, and a very large, accessible, washroom (it's almost the same size as the bedroom).
Then two nurses came in, one young, one old. I presume the younger one was called in because the older didn't speak any English. They did some blood pressure tests, and instructed me to how to use the special soap to shower and change. I had already shaved my legs prior to coming to Barcelona so they didn't have to shave me. When the younger nurse asked me if I had any "conditions or diseases," I made a joke and used Google Translate to tell her that "I suffered from having a broken heart"
She laughed loudly and explained the joke to the older nurse, who then began to look at me with softer eyes. It's amazing how jokes about love and heartbreak can break cultural barriers. I guess it's something that speaks to our common humanity, no matter what culture you're from, that we all love and cry and have the same insecurities, emotions and childhoods deep down inside.
After the nurses left I showered and changed as instructed. A male nurse came in to check in on me, I would later come to know that his name was Emilio. After that another young man by the name of Sergio came to pick me up to take me to the OR. I was instructed to get on the bed and he wheeled me to whole way. I was looking straight up at the ceilings and it was really surreal to watch the tube lights come and go, in and out of my line of sight. For some reason I offhandedly thought: "Hmm, so that's what it feels like to be a corpse, when you die they wheel you to the morgue like this
" Just a quirky observation. Don't read it the wrong way; I was not nervous or anything, it's just a comment (in fact I was quite enjoying the process!). From the hospital bed, I transferred to a gurney and then into the prep room.
Also, I should mention that from the ground level to the nurses, every single person (even the lead admin) made a note to ask me about my allergies and whether or not I had eaten anything during the day (a big no-no for anesthesia). It really put my heart at ease that they were so diligent. It made me feel that they were taking things very seriously and that I wasn't "just another patient."
In the prep room, the anesthesiologist's assistant came over and took her time to explain what was going on and how they were going to do it. She asked me what questions I had and also asked me when was the last time I ate, if I was medication, any jewelry or piercings, etc. She reminded me of my sister and I was instantly put at ease by her demeanor.
The actual anesthesiologist doing me didn't speak English I guess, because everything he said the assistant had to relay it to me in English. For the spinal anesthesia, you have to sit up and arch your back so he can insert the needle correctly. I guess they were afraid of miscommunication so the assistant bent down facing me and put her forearms on my shoulders and pushed down, sort of like a half hug, or a
boxing clinch. I don't know if this is standard practice or not, but for me it was a very personal and caring experience. Her head beside mine, she whispered what the doctor was doing and translated his words.
I can't remember too much after that since the assistant also gave me a sedative. I can't remember if it was before or after the anesthesia. I remember prior to being in the OR Dr. Monegal greeted me and introduced me to his assistant, Diaz, but I can't remember if it was at the prep room or not.
I remember waking up and Dr. Monegal was telling me that the operation was a success. For some reason, I spoke to him in French and apologized for taking so long
. The next thing I remember was back in hospital room at about 10:30pm, I think. Two nurses came in to do some tests and I asked one of them to help plug in my laptop. I woke up don't-know-when and sent my previous forum post update and then passed out again. Finally I woke up for real at about 2:30 or 3:00 and started surfing and working on my laptop up until now. (Yes, it really has taken me HOURS to write this post!
) I called for assistance at 4:30am because I felt nauseous and was having hot flashes because the anesthesia was beginning to wear off. The nurses were here within 30 seconds. They gave me an IV specifically to combat the urge to vomit and also gave me a large bottle of water to drink slowly. (It's almost 11am and I've been typing since then.)
I watched the sunrise on beautiful Barcelona from my hospital room window. It was the most glorious sunrise I've ever seen yet. Alone, in a foreign land, I shed a single tear of happiness for all these years of dreaming coming to fruition. It was a new day, and a new chapter in my life.
I can't remember what time, but a nurse named Nalita came to check in on me at daybreak. Aside from her name, I can't remember that exact details of that interaction.
Not long afterward, a tall, young nurse came in at around 7ish. She warmly introduced herself as Martha and asked me what my name was. Martha was the type of person that seemed to brighten up any room with her positive presence. She explained to me that she was here to hook up some painkillers and antibiotics to the IV.
Not too long after Martha left, Dr. Monegal came to visit me. I was glad to see him and we chatted about the operation ("Haha, was I speaking French to you after the operation? I can't believe I did that") and he showed me x-rays that they had taken post-op. I learned that my left femur took him about 1.5 hours and my right tibia (which is more complicated) took him about 2.75 hours. I also learned that I have already distracted 5mm as a starting point. Dr. Monegal also checked if I could move my feet and push against his hand. I could only do it a little bit, but now, several hours later after the anesthesia is dissipating, my ankle-ROM is much better, and my toes are at 100%.
Breakfast came soon afterward, served by an old lady that didn't speak any English. She was a bit bumptious with me, but I think it was out of frustration because I couldn't speak her language in her own country. When I used the google translate she warmed up to me (and even helped me plug in my laptop cord when it came loose), so I think she was angry at the situation, and not necessarily at something I did. It was a simple continental breakfast served on a tray. There's a table that allows you to eat at your bed.
By the way guys, a small, important sidebar: BRING AN EXTENSION CORD. The electrical sockets are too far away for an Apple MagSafe cord to reach the bed comfortably. Depending on what part of the world you're from, don't forget to bring a universal adaptor as well.
During the day, Martha came in several times to replenish the IV with more painkillers, since the anesthesia is slowly wearing off.
My sponge bath was at about 10ish, and Emilio and Martha came in to clean me. Guys, I tell you, after today, I have total and complete utter respect for every nurse in the world. I will always look at nurses now with admiration of their compassion; they are such unsung heroes! As they were cleaning me, it became apparent that I had made a mess on my bed spread. I had no sensation and didn't even realized that I did that. Without complaint they rolled me on my side and Emelio went to get fresh sheets. I was so embarrassed, and as Martha held me close and used her body to brace me so I wouldn't tumble over, Emelio switched the bed sheets. I had seen Emelio in the afternoon yesterday (he told me he gets off at 14:30 today), so I suspect he was pulling a 24-hr shift. As Martha was holding on to me I used Google Translate to her I was sorry for the inconvenience. When she heard that she rearranged her position and warmly rubbed my arm and cooed, "Ah no, Glenn, it's ok, it's ok." I hope I never forget such kindness.
At 11:40am, the cleaning crew came to clean the whole room, including the washroom...
At 1:30pm lunch was delivered. Soup and fish. Was ok for me. Dr. Monegal also WhatsApp'd me to see how I was doing.
It's taken me quite a few hours to write this, and by now I'm quite tired. I think I will take a nap guys..
And finally, if Dr. Monegal is reading this, I want to give him a special thank you for making all this possible. If it wasn't for him, none of this dream would be able to come true. Thank you so much for everything.
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Topic: Dr. Monegal - Tibia and Femur - Fitbone - glenn (Read 68808 times)