A Day in Day Surgery

Yesterday was a different sort of day – in day surgery. And what a great day it was…

I’ve been plagued by an old knee injury from my running days up to 2000. I thought giving up running had seen it mend, and I had quite a few years of mountain biking and walking and tramping. But a couple of crashes on the Naseby 12-hour relay last year, a big ride round the Waitati circuit late last year, and finally orienteering in February completely stuffed it. After a long round of physio GP, GPSI (GP with Special Interest), MRI scan, GP again, and finally Orthopaedic Surgeon, it all looked a lot like the old injury, and I learned that knee internals don’t really fix themselves. Heaven knows how I got those intervening years out of it. But it was deemd that it needed a “bit of a tidy-up” which sounded nicely low-key. The surgeon had a slot that was only three weeks away and I wanted it done.

So I talked nicely (begged) to ACC, and they were very helpful in getting approval through in time. In fact I have been very impressed with ACC, they have been helpful and efficient. So I got my slot yesterday, and the hope of being able to bike and walk and tramp again.

Because it is covered by ACC, my operation was done in a private hospital, Mercy. By a lovely coincidence yesterday was the first day for their new Day Surgery Unit. Brand new. I was one of the first through the door at 8am. In some ways it’s more like a hotel, with half-decent gowns and dressing gowns and slippers! All the staff were great, friendly and efficient, both of which help with the anxiety – my last general anaesthetic would have been 30 years ago and not much fun! The whole process this time went very smoothly – it is scary getting “knocked” out.

Wow! The recovery was fun 🙂 Must be good drugs 🙂 No anxiety, no nausea, no pain, no worries about anything. Just a very slow fade in to reality and relief. Once I was functioning enough it was back to the DSU and Wyn and a relaxed couple of hours making sure I was OK and ready for departure. They even gave me a photo of inside my knee. The technology these days is amazing. I was ready to go by 1pm, with a stop off at a pharmacy for an impressive bag of drugs. The most impressive drug is Panadol I reckon. So far that is all I have needed to keep the pain away, which is great.

Wyn has taken lovely care of me. I felt quite spoiled, which is a nice thing to feel. An afternoon nap beckoned, and a late tea, and that was about it for my day of surgery. It may seem weird, but it was a day I enjoyed. 🙂