Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery - MINE!
Yesterday (Thursday 15th January 2009) I went in for much overdue Carpal Tunnel Release surgery on my right hand.
To say I was a tad nervous, would be an outright blatant lie . . . I was shit scared!
Now this is very routine and simple surgery. Takes about 20 minutes and the job is donr BUT for me it was a major deal. I have never had to go to hospital and the last time I was in hospital I don't even remember it. It was the day I was born.
Leading up to this surgery I did nothing but complain about this and about that, totally and unequivocally absorbed in my own life problems. SHIT, I was really, I mean REALLY scared and as far I was concerned my "stuff" was more serious then anyone elses or anything else.
I arrived in hospital at 1000 as requested.
I was admitted for surgery a short while later during which I broke down in tears. The administration nurse was fantastic, she was very understanding and caring. So much so that she took me to my bed after the administration process was completed. Another wonderful nurse came to ask me some questions and to comfort me and reassure me about the whole thing. She even said I could talk to the anesthetist about that side of it.
A lady anesthetist came over shortly after the second nurse left and began to talk about what she would do, speaking ever so gently and the whole time reassuring me and encouraging me to ask anything I wanted and to express any concerns I had. She suggested that I could think about having a sedative as well as a local aneathetic though I was so scared and over whelmed by everything that I had no idea what I wanted RE: the surgery but I was very clear that I did want the pain to go away without being chopped up!
After she left I dosed off to sleep, waking up a while later to go to the toilet. That done I went back to bed and dosed off again. I woke up again to go to the toilet though I have no idea why . . . I had not eaten or had anything to drink since 2330 the night before! As I was heading back to my bed the nurse asked how I was to which I said I was feeling sick and wanted to go home. She walked back to my bed and talked with me for a while. of course it was the nerves talking! I was so scared that I just wanted to run away.
Shortly after she left a male anesthetist came over to talk to me. HE gave me a mind sedative which relaxed me a little. Some 20 minutes later I was wheeled into the operating room and it all just went so slow yet so fast.
I started to get all worked up and asked for a General not just Local anesthetic but that was not going to happen, just more gas to relax me.
It was all done in about 20 minutes.
Here is a really good video clip of the surgery I had. It goes for an hour but well worth it to see exactly what goes on. Thanks to Google and to OR Live for providing this excellent video footage.
YouTube has a few clips also that may interest you:
are you better?
ReplyDeleteNot yet, but thanks for asking :o)
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