Tuesday, May 30, 2006

As I sit here writing this, my hand hurts far more than when I actually broke it or at any point between now and then. I’m hoping the cocktail of drugs that I just began to take, will aid in this little problem.

Well, the BIG day started without the alarm clock going off at 6:00 as it were supposed to. Apparently, I forgot to finish setting it last night. Fortunately, the inability to have a good, sound night of sleep paid off, and I was wide awake and ready to go.

I figured that since I was going to be bed ridden for most of the day, I would forgo taking a shower this morning, in anticipation of getting a sponge bath from a cute French nurse. Needless to say, I am still dirty at day’s end.

After stopping off at the Peace Corps/Senegal Office, one of the wonderful PCMOs and I headed to the clinic. We had to wait a few minutes before I was called back. I had to strip down and get into a gown, which was an experience, especially because the arm of my broken hand didn’t go through, so I was trying to keep the gown from falling down at times with my chin. For about 30 minutes or so, I laid on a bed in what I guess was a prep/recovery room. I got hooked up with an IV. I don’t know what they were pumping into me, but even if I had asked, I probably wouldn’t have understood them. Looking back at it now, being my first true surgical experience, it kinda makes it more interesting when you don’t know half the things that were going on…and still don’t.

At this point, and not any point before this, did it kinda hit me that I was having surgery, and having it in Africa. I still don’t truly know what to think. The past few months have bee such a whirlwind that not a whole lot has had a chance to register.

Finally, I was walked down to the operating room by the anesthesiologist and laid down on the operating table. They fixed the bed a little, hooked up heart rate monitors, put some stuff in my IV, and…

Well, for the next several hours, I couldn’t tell you what happened, but I had a great nap. I still don’t know what they did to my hand. I woke up in the recovery room, dozing in and out of consciousness for probably the next hour or two. Nurse came by and turned the air conditioning unit on that was above my bed, which I’m thankful for, because despite not really having many clothes on, actually none at all, unless you consider a loose, unclasped gown, I was getting a little sweaty. I guess I was really hoping the body odor would sweep the room and a sponge bath would be ordered. I really need my left arm cleaned because I’m having a hard time figuring out how to do it. As I was starting to cool off, the air conditioner starting dripping water on my bed. I didn’t really know what to do or say. I never learned how to say “my AC is leaking” in French or Wolof, so, I let it continue to drip and soak a portion of my bed until a nurse walked by. I think she thought that I was just cold so she turned it off. The dripping stopped and I moved to the dry portion of my hospital bed.

Nothing else real interesting happened in the recovery room. I laid there for a few more hours starring at the ceiling and counting the beeps from the heart monitor of the lady on the other side of the curtain.

Around 6:00, I was finally allowed to leave. My PCMO and I headed back to the PC office to pick up some of the prescriptions and stopped by a pharmacy for the rest. I am on three drugs; a anti-inflammatory, pain relief, and a penicillin type. Over the course of the day, I have to take about 12 pills. Fortunately, right now, the drugs seem to be kicking in because my hand feels much better than when I started typing.

I arrived home, starving because I hadn’t eatin since the night before. I think I missed lunch at the hospital because I was knocked out, but they did give me tea to drink. I ended up fixing some leftovers from lunch…maffay. It is plan white rice with a peanut sauce. It’s really good. I ate that, talked on the phone for a bit, and then it was time to eat dinner.

Here I am now…still dirty, drugged up, and full…it has been a complete day. Thanks to everyone yet again who has conveyed their concern over my hand.

Here are some pictures once i got back to the house after surgery. I was hoping to get pictures with the doctor and some action shots of the surgery, but i failed miserably
http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?&conn_speed=1&collid=16017922709.24429187809.1149103330385&mode=fromsite