Surgery!

The night before my surgery I was searching the internet for my doctor as I laid around the health care parking lot in the middle of the night. It was then I realized there are about five different facilities for this health care center! OMG! I don't know which one I'm supposed to be at tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn! They never gave me the address! Jeez!!

I called the number I had for them praying someone would answer a phone. They did and I am not at the right facility. Good god! It's only 12 minutes away but I'd hate to show up late and they say, "Too bad for you!" Then I'm in a panic because I don't even know if my new doctor takes my insurance! It was a stressful night!

At 4am I get up. prepare and head out to find this hospital in the dark of dawn. Beautiful complex! I get registered (I wasn't even registered...I was an add on). The nurses are all wonderful, friendly and kind. The doctor...on a scale of 1-10 for bedside manner he was a negative 5. When he left I asked the nurses and they said, "Yeah, that's normal." He seemed put out by my questions, but I kept asking them anyway because fuck if I care if I'm inconveniencing this young, arrogant, piece of shit. Do I care if he has a bad attitude? Maybe that makes him a better doctor...I just want someone who knows what he's doing.

New Weight-Bearing Cast!

I'm out like a light after breathing brain-numbing anesthesia and wake up hours later in EXCRUCIATING pain! They give me a block. Great sleep though. Doctor informs me everything went very well. I finally come out the other end and I'm sick, dizzy, and miserable. They keep feeding me drug after drug for pain and nausea but nothing seems to work on the nausea. Even oxycodone didn't work on the pain. I've never vomitted so much in my life. Finally I say, "Maybe it's the drugs causing the nausea?" So I argue with them at two in the morning.

How many times was I asked, "On a scale of 1 to 10?"

Of course, I have not admitted to anyone I'm chemically sensitive. Conventional medicine just doesn't understand what that might mean. She finally gives me one last drug for nausea and sleep and I finally get some relief.

The next morning, I see a physical therapist so he can assess if I can be released into a VAN! By the time he left he said, "That will be the easiest thing I do all day!" I pulled off being ready and confident!

The nurse told me it's illegal to drive with a cast on your foot!! Shit. She said, "Don't get pulled over or you'll be fined!" I wonder what they'd do? Impound my van? Throw me to the street? Hmmm...I looked it up online and it said it's not recommended, but it's not illegal. Maybe in the lovely state of Maine? I don't know. I don't have a choice. I'm just not sure where or when I'll be leaving.

My plan is to stick around Bangor and park at the hospital for the next two weeks until the follow up appointment, get the stitches out, find out progress and next step. Then we'll see!

One step at a time and this will all be over. In the meantime, I'm searching Zillow for a real place to live!