My Fractured Frau

Unless things change, this will be the last update involving Mrs. Me’s broken leg and her subsequent surgery.

The Fair Stephanie™ was a late addition to the surgery list and the doc had her slotted for a 4 p.m. starting time. We all figured that if she got in by five, she’d be doing well, since the OR never seems to run early, especially over the course of an entire day. But by the time I got back from this afternoon’s kid run, she had already been in surgery for over a half hour.

Steph doesn’t tolerate anesthesia very well. OK, not well at all — unless your idea of “well” includes hours of post-op nausea and disorientation. The Lord provided an anesthesiologist who was quite willing to go with a spinal block. Steph agreed, as long as she also got enough of a sedative that she wouldn’t hear the drilling and screwing going on at the other end of the operating table.

She got through everything just fine, awakening easier and feeling better than any other time I’ve seen her following an operation. She has for permanent additions a plate and a few pins. Doctor Bear also ran a screw between tibia and fibula to pull the displacement together but plans to remove it under a local anesthesia in his office in about 10 weeks. (Don’t tell Stephanie, but she probably will hear that procedure!)

I got to see her in her room by about 6:30 p.m. She looked good, her pain was significantly less than before the surgery, and they were giving her better pain meds and letting her eat a little. In other words, all was (almost) right in her world. God willing, I’ll have time in the morning to make some other hospital visits and then be able to bring her home in the afternoon.

She and I both thank all who’ve been praying and also those who either sent emails or left posts on the blog. They’ll give her something to read while she sits at the computer, staying off her foot for the next 5-6 weeks. Of course, that also means she’s away from work and the corresponding paycheck, but even that’s trivial compared to what some of my other hospitalized or recently released parishioners have been facing.

God bless all of you who pray for Stephanie. Special thanks to those who drop her a few words of encouragement — not just now, but over the next several weeks. Feel free to reply to this post or send an email directly to her at sassyrn @t galaxycable d0t net.

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