The Details

When we got to the hospital, I was in OR prep just as the Tylenol was wearing off, and I was pretty eager to get something.  They said that the hope was that I could get sedation and a nerve block and wouldn't need general anesthetic. That made me nervous, because to find the right nerve, my arm would be twitching, and any movement was pretty painful.  They said that I'd have a local first, and shouldn't feel anything.

Wow, were they right! I was dozing in & out, and the next thing I knew, my arm didn't hurt.  At all.  I also couldn't move it at all, of course, but it was the best I'd felt since I fell.  After that, I went back to surgery.  When I woke up in recovery, they said everything had gone well, and my arm was back in a soft splint again.  It really didn't look any different. 

Then Jeff came back.  He'd talked to the surgeon, who told him it went well and gave him new x-rays.  "You're like the Terminator!" he (Jeff, not the surgeon) said. 

We headed home fairly soon after.  The nerve block still hadn't worn off, so my arm was totally dead weight, which was very strange.  It was like some mannequin arm, just hanging off my body.  But it didn't hurt at all--in fact, I felt pretty good. When we got home, I made some phone calls and Jeff picked up dinner.

A few hours later, my fingers felt like they were falling asleep, which was another strange sensation.  Jeff said the block was probably starting to wear off, so I should take a Percoset right away.  The bottle said to take 1 or 2, every 4 to 6 hours.  I decided to start with one.  BIG mistake. 

Within two and a half hours, all I could do was stare at the clock, willing it to move faster.  By the time four hours were up, I couldn't take two more fast enough. Two was enough to keep things manageable for four more hours.  That was 2AM, and luckily Jeff had the foresight to make sure the lid wasn't fully on the bottle, so I could manage it on my own.  Two more, which held me until 6:30 this morning. 

So the pain is tolerable, though still fairly miserable.  The kids are still up at Jeff's parents, and I plan to do as little as possible for as long as possible. :)