I lived to post another day.
The surgery went well and even though I was awake for it, thankfully I didn't see anything or hear much of what was going on. Rather thana general anaesthetic, they gave an epidural, but before that, they asked if I wanted to have something to relax me -
Of course!!
And once that went in, I was aware of them cleaning my back for the epidural needle, but past that, I only remember bits of pieces of what happened, even though I was "aware" of what was going on the whole time. And I barely remember what was said, even though they were talking through the whole surgery to a student doctor in English.
It goes to show how attention works.
Because I was unable to pay attention to anything, even when I tried - not that I tried very hard today. However, it illustrates how a group of people can all share an experience, but have a very different experience of the events. Just because I was there, it doesn't mean I experienced anything valuable. Well, other than my brief thoughts about attention itself, before those thoughts faded only to be remembered much later.
I would have been fine without the relaxant I believe, since I am able to switch my attention off better than most. However, I also like to experience things that I can't by myself, so when I get offered free mindbenders at hospital, I take them. The experience of the surgery (my first ever) was better than I expected and I am glad they didn't give a general anaesthetic after all.
The whole lot was pretty good actually, where after checking-in early and sitting for a while, a nurse stepped me through the clothing and then all the steps that were to follow. A physio came to ensure I could use the crutches correctly and spoke about what to expect post-op. And then the surgeon gave another consult to ensure we were still on track and that everything was clear.
They were running a bit later due to some other surgeries going over time, so I ended up sitting for an extra hour or two so before my turn, but once in the theatre, they ran through the pre-op checklist to ensure everything was in order and everyone in the room knew what they were doing. The nurse with the checklist didn't speak English well, but others in the room helped her out. And then in what felt like no time at all (drugs are great), I was being wheeled out to the recovery ward.
Once more cognisant, a lovely nurse let me rest a bit, before getting me up to eat. Then went through all the details necessary details in English with me and added notes to the Finnish version in the hospital app (which makes all kinds of treatments pretty easy, as it has a timeline path of what to do and when), and she kept offering to bring me coffee and water - to be nice - but mostly because they can't kick me out until I can pee. While dropping due to constant government cutbacks, the public healthcare system in Finland is still pretty good.
And the nurses are generally great.
I generally don't take painkillers, but they offered some oxy so I took it. However, they only gave three pills and then I will be on Panadol after that, so I can't abuse them. I asked the nurse (jokingly) about taking all of them at the same time, but she said the dose is so low it won't do much. Kind of takes the fun out of having surgery, doesn't it? Finland is actually really, really stingy when it comes to painkillers, which is probably a good thing as Finns tend to have addictive personalities, and there are also the lessons learned from the US system of distributing drugs like well, drug dealers.
In regard to recovery, the doctor thinks I will be up and about in a few days and then ease into normal life over the next month, only needing crutches for a day or two for longer walks. The physio thinks crutches for a week or two and not much for a month, and then at three months being able to do everything. That is quite a difference, but both of them said that no extra damage can be done (under normal circumstances), it will just cause more or less discomfort. I am not planning on doing too much until a few days after the stitches are out, which is in a couple weeks from now, and then easing into it anyway, with some easy cycling and upper body stuff.
No heavy squats or box jumps.
But now, here I am, one oxy in, on the couch, already bloody bored of not being able to move freely. I will have to b e here for the next couple days, legs elevated above my heart to reduce swelling, watching TV or writing or something. Though, while I am still unsure if it is a good idea, I did book in a session with clients at nine tomorrow morning. The joys of needing to work, because you work for yourself. My wife has been really great through this, despite being very busy herself.
And she doesn't even get any good drugs to calm her nerves.
She might soon need the oxy more than me.
Taraz
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