The One Where I Got Surgery... (on my shoulder)

My swollen hand (right)
because it has been hanging in a sling doing nothing for days..

The nasty IV that sat in my arm forever.
It fed me lots of strong medications after surgery.

Me finally back- at the Potts home.
In monstrous amounts of pain.. :(

Surgery Schedule:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
@ 12:00 am - No more food/liquids
@ 1:30 pm - Sister Becky Potts picks me up and we drive to the Surgical Center
@ 3:45 pm - Finally head back to pre-op and get prepped for surgery
@ 4:00 pm - Received IV and saline (1st "liquid" since previous day)
@ 5:00 pm - Head to surgery?
@ 7:30 (time is fuzzy after they drugged me... hahha) Surgery completed.

* note: Surgery was supposed to be 30-45 min, but instead lasted 90 min.. Turns out my doctor while performing the arthroscope surgery found that the slight tear in my labrum that was shown in the MRI taken Oct 2008, was now a completely torn (barely still connected at all) ligament. The surgeon was able to reconnect it, but dang is it painful!

@ 8:00ish pm - I start to wake up from anesthesia in a lot of pain..

The rest of the evening was filled with pain, vomiting, tears, screaming, coughing, and more pain. By about 10:30 pm they gave me morphine in the IV and I crashed right away. They kept me over night to monitor my pain and vomiting. I was lucky they did so because they were able to keep giving me drugs to ease some of the pain.

Thursday, February 18, 2010
@ 5:30 am - I wake up and the night nurse gives me pain meds, and remove the IV. The nurse spends some very difficult 20 minutes getting me dressed. It was sooo painful and hard to do..
@ 6:00 am - Brother and Sister Potts pick me up from the surgical center and I am released.
@ 6:30 am - I arrive at the Potts Home.

Since being released I sleep probably at least 50% of the time, and am in constant pain. The drugs take only the edge off the pain and I always hurt, no matter the position I am in. The Potts family have been so good to me, taking excellent care of me. I owe them so much.

Last night I was able to take my first bath since surgery. I was a most pitiful and painful bathing experience, but it felt good to be at least somewhat clean.. I felt ridiculous struggling so much just to bathe, but I could barely stand at times..

So I am in an immobilizer shoulder brace for 4-6 weeks on orders not to use my right arm/hand/shoulder at all. And you'd be surprised how much pain I can be in with how little I do, and how much pain meds I am on.. Its ridiculous. Then after those 6 weeks, I will start a rigorous set of physical therapy to gain back strength in my arm and shoulder. Fun fact: after the right arm heals... we get to do it all over again with the left arm :( sad life.. ha ha.

** Note: For all those who may not know what this surgery was indeed for... It was a shoulder arthroscopic surgery. The purpose was to "fix" the constant pain that I have been in the past 2 years. And no, I never did anything to injure or break myself... my body obviously likes to break itself. **

So, if there is one thing you could do (besides sending me flowers... haha, just kidding), please keep me in your prayers, I need all the prayers I can get.

Thank you! Wish me luck on life, and catching up with school and work..

- J


p.s. TYLER POTTS GOT HIS MISSION CALL!! And I totally guessed he was going to England...
so I win! :) He reports May 28, 2010 to the England MTC, and he is serving in the London England Mission. Congratulations Elder ;) I'm SO happy for you :)