Toe Operation - Friday, January 12, 2024

 

[Editor’s Note:

 

I am sitting in my recliner on Saturday January 13, a day after my left toe surgery.  I am incapable of doing many things I should be doing, such as blowing snow from our foot of snow which fell yesterday and today.  I decided to write a story about what transpired yesterday as a way to stave off boredom for me and promote boredom for reading this story. ]

 

A scheduler from UW Health called on the morning of Thursday, January 11th  to acquire the information UW Health needed for the surgery the next day.  I thought she may be calling to cancel the surgery because of the snowstorm which was forecast for Madison on Friday and Saturday

 

“Hi, I am calling to remind you of your surgery tomorrow on your left toe.  Be at the UW Hospital East at 6:00 a.m.”

 

“Thanks, I will be there.  If you look at the weather forecast there is a predication of large amounts of snow tomorrow and Saturday.  Any chance the surgery will be delayed?”

 

“No.  We never delay surgeries.  It will go on as scheduled. Any other questions?”

 

The snowstorm was supposed to be the worst in years.  I wondered if they kept to their schedule when people driving to the hospital went into the ditch because of the road conditions.

 

UW Health did not want a stinky patient. So they gave me a body wash with a hibiscus fragrance.  The instructions were specific.  Take a shower and get wet.  Turn off the shower.  Apply the body wash with a clean washcloth to all parts of the body.  Stand in the shower and sing the birthday song twice to yourself or other people with in shouting distance.  Start the shower.  Rinse the body wash off. Repeat.  You needed to do this before you go to bed the day before the operation and the morning of the day of the operation.

 

I complied with the requirements.  I smelled like hibiscus before I went to bed and smelled like hibiscus after I rolled out bleary-eyed out of bed at 4:00 a.m. on January 12th and took my obligatory hibiscus shower.

 

To get to the UW - East from our house should take about 30 minutes going on the Beltline, I-39, American Parkway, turning left at the first stoplight on American Parkway, and then driving to the hospital.  As we arose at 4:00 a.m. it started snowing.  We decided it may take longer and left at 5:15 a.m. We packed a snow shovel and extra emergency supplies into the car in the case we ran into the ditch.  We also brought along my wooden crutches for walking after the surgery. (My wooden crutches probably aren’t made anymore so I limp around with classic crutches.)

 

We entered the Beltline off of Verona Road.  The Beltline was sort of navigable.  Snow obliterated the lane markers. The snow increased in intensity and the road became increasingly slippery.

 

We traveled from our house to the hospital going between 35 and 45 miles per hour. I kept to the far right lane as much as possible. I told Jean, “This is just insanity driving through a raging snowstorm to get to a hospital for elective surgery”.

 

We had people whizzing past us going at 60 to 70 miles per hour.  I guess they did not recognize it was snowing.  We arrived at the hospital at 5:58 a.m. 

 

At the hospital, we checked in and sat down.  Five minutes later a nurse came to retrieve us and ushered us into Room 19. Our arrival started the ball rolling.  We would encounter five different nurses (two with the same first name, Lindsay), three anesthesiologists, and the surgeon, Dr. Kurt Rongstad. (I played bridge with his mother online.  She showed no mercy for me and my partner.)

 

Two of the anesthesiologists belonged to a “block” team.  They were tasked with numbing the left foot before the operation.  UW Health appears to have multiple teams and I asked if they huddled and called plays. One of the anesthesiologists said they huddle but they have yet to call a play.

 

My preparation for the operation included placing an IV port in my right hand, getting dressed in hospital gear, and waiting until 8:00 a.m. The hospital attire included paper underwear and a paper gown.  The paper gown had a paper inner gown with a port.  If you became cold while waiting for the surgery, Room 19 had a plastic tube with hot air which could be attached to the gown to keep you warm.  I had the warm tube next to me in bed.  I liked it being next to me and not a part of my attire.

 

Promptly at 7:55 a.m., people came into the room and I was wheeled into the operating room.  I was told on Thursday by the scheduler that I would be semi-conscious during surgery.  I hoped that was not the case. The anesthesiologist then attached something to the IV, I closed my eyes,  and the operation began.  If I was semi-conscious. I never knew it and I woke up 90 minutes later back in Room 19.

 

Dr. Rongstad called Jean after performing the operation.  He said my hammertoe was stubborn and it took them awhile to get it straightened out. But they were successful.

 

I woke up in Room 19 at 9:30 a.m. with my hospital attire, a bandaged left foot and a boot on the left foot. After 30 minutes, one of the nurses came in, told me to get dressed in my regular clothes. Me and my crutches were then brought out to the front in a wheelchair while Jean unburied the car from the snow.

 

I was loaded into the front seat of the car and then Jean drove back home.  The snow was falling heavily.  The only difference between arriving and leaving the hospital was it was now light.  Jean drove as I did, traveling between 30 and 45 miles per hour.  The same people or people like them were still zooming along the Beltline.  We were two miles from our exit when traffic stopped and the traffic did not move for 15 minutes.  We made it back to the house by 11:15 a.m. in one piece.

 

My foot should be healed six to eight weeks from today. I am supposed to sit in a recliner with my foot at a level above my heart. I was told it would heal quicker when the foot’s level is above the heart level. I am not sure when the extreme foot and leg pain will alleviate.  I hope soon.

 

Me, my boot, and my crutches will be in play all of this time.  I hope to play bridge online, read, and sleep.  It should be a boring six to eight weeks.

 

I’ve had a lot of leg operations over my life. I remember the leg operations in grade school and high school were performed at Madison General Hospital (now Meriter) required at least a 3 day stay.  I had my hammertoe fixed and was back home in the same morning. Amazing how healthcare has changed in 50 years.