Well, today was the day!! My knee is still a bit swollen going in, but the surgeon said that the swelling probably wouldn’t go down until the meniscus is fixed.
Here’s my leg before surgery:
J and I got up at 5am, although I only got about 3 hours of off-and-on sleep, and got on the road at 5:30. We made it to the surgical center by 6 am; filled out all the paper work, and I was taken back fairly quickly for prep. J was allowed to come back after I had my IV in so he could talk to the dr and ask any questions.
Here I am filling out the last bit of paperwork, and ready to go!
I got into surgery just after the 7:30 scheduled start time. I came out surgery at 9:30. I seemed to wake up right away, they gave me my discharge information, we were out by 10:15.
I was in a decent amount of pain when I got out of surgery, but was still able to manage a ‘smile’.
My knee just before going home. 
J got me home, set up my cryo cuff, and went and got my meds (Percocet, Motrin, an anti-nausea medicine, and an antibiotic). Once I got the pain into a rotation going, the pain subsided into a much more manageable state, not completely gone, but a shadow of what it was before. I’ve never taken Percocet before, but overall I’m quite happy with it! J made me a schedule of when to take what.
The cryo cuff was an optional piece of equipment that we could purchase. I asked my surgeon and he said that he strongly suggested it. He said it would be my #1 aid in pain relief and that 100% of his patients who got it were happy with it. It’s basically a cooler you fill with ice water.
It is then hooked up to a cuff which stays on my knee.
I plug it in for 30 minutes, and it pumps ice cold water through the cuff. The only down side is I have to turn it off for 2 hours between uses. I will say, it seemed quite expensive at $250 (not covered by insurance at all), but it is worth EVERY PENNY!!! It’s only day 1 and I love it. It stays put so much better than ice packs. This way, J doesn’t have to keep running ice packs up and down between me and the freezer, which means I can also ice my leg while J is at work next week.
I called all my family and talked to everyone. I have been surprisingly alert today.
We had a friend from our Bible Study group come over. She brought us dinner and chatted with me for a bit. She is in between jobs right now, so she volunteered to check in on me mid-day next week. We gave her our spare key :). Another friend came by and brought me flowers!
I am overwhelmed by how truly blessed I am. I know I am covered in prayer by my family and friends. I have amazing friends who take time out of their busy schedules to come over and help us. And a truly amazing husband who has been patiently waiting on my hand and foot.
Casa de Zhang 