Surgery day

Wednesday, March 22. 2023

This is Keith’s story, so I am typing while he is talking. He can type – he worked all day, but now that I am here, I have to worry and help.

I had carpal tunnel release surgery today. I had to be there at 6:30am. I felt bad for the staff starting so early as they were clearly there well before me. They had five people lined up today for the same procedure. I was the third. The surgery was at 7:30. Everything before it was just the usual prep stuff – get changed into the backwards gown, answer a bunch of questions about medical history and medicines, get my hand numbed up, joke with the staff, and chat with the surgeon. They rolled me into the OR and the surgery took about five minutes after all that prep was done and the surgeon came into the room.

They asked me about 20 times what I was having done today; it does make you feel confident that they are going to do the right thing. Two different people wrote on me; one wrote “yes”, and the other wrote “this” in purple sharpie on my left wrist. I was in my car and driving away at 7:59. They said on Monday that I should be on my way by 8:00. They clearly have this process down.

I was told that I would have no ability to grip anything for three to four days, then slowly get better over three to four weeks. I was also told that when the anesthesia wore off this afternoon, it would hurt a lot. Really a lot. Luckily, they were wrong about this. Still not much pain past 11:00pm. Maybe tomorrow. Probably tomorrow.

I had a nap this afternoon. For the past couple years, I would wake most mornings and after most naps with both hands completely numb and in pain. It’s a weird feeling; it doesn’t seem like something should be numb and painful simultaneously. Today the right hand was the usual numb and painful, but the left hand had just a little pain from the surgery. And no numbness. I guess it worked.

I’m curious what it will be like tomorrow. And I’m curious what it will be like in four weeks when I have the same thing done to the right hand.