On the Second Day of Hanukkah

My true love gave to me … a tour of the Surgery waiting room, holding and recovery area at Menorah Medical Center. Meanwhile, he was prepped for surgery and waited and waited and waited and waited and finally entered the operating room at around 2:30 p.m. In about half the time originally mentioned by the surgeon (thirty minutes instead of an hour), he was in the recovery room and already awake and alert. Even though he had fasted (both food and all liquids) since before midnight (on the first day of Hanukkah), the anesthesiologist and my husband decided a general anesthetic was not necessary for the surgery to his right hand. A local block for the right arm, coupled with some sedative, provide sufficient. Which made recovery faster and relieved my anxiety immensely.

About an ninety minutes after the surgery, Terry was dressed and ready for the road trip home. The nurse sent me off to fetch the car while she wheeled him out to the entrance in a wheelchair. We left the hospital just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset and all the rush hour traffic along I-435 that southern Johnson County is so famous for. We still made it home before dark but not before the sun set on the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice 2011). He’s doing as well as can be expected this morning. His attempts to contact his surgeon (and doctor) about some medication concerns (and some swelling this morning) are frustrated by the Friday before Christmas Eve short-staffing epidemic.