Let The Healing Begin

Today was Hubby Tony Ankle Surgery Day. (Whoo Hoo!)

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The surgeon Tony chose is associated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital (colloquially called "Big Barnes") , a teaching hospital affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine. The huge campus is almost a half mile long and wide, and before Tony's ankle incident I never had any reason to go into any of the buildings. After two visits to the surgeon's office I knew how to navigate there, but today the directions were completely different.

Tony was the first procedure of the surgeon's day, and we were to be there two hours beforehand, so it was still dark when we left the house. However, the early hour meant there was no rush hour traffic to contend with. Both the parking process and navigating over the sky bridge to the building were easy. Despite the early hour everyone we interacted with was pleasant and polite.

The check in procedure went smoothly, and then an associate walked us back to the pre-op section. While waiting to go to the operating room Tony had a series of professionals stop by. There were a couple of nurses, several anesthesiologists (some full-fledged professionals, some in training), the surgeon and one of the fellows who would be assisting. 

When it was time they wheeled Tony off and directed me to the waiting area. I had a pager to provide  updates, and the surgeon called me at the end to let me know things went well. During my three-hour wait I killed time in the waiting room, walked around, and visited the cafeteria. I was excited to receive word when it was time to meet up with Tony in the post-op area. 

The post-op nurse gave me a set of instructions, as did the pharmacy tech who showed up with prescriptions. When it was time for Tony to leave I went to get the car. As soon as I pulled up to the entrance I saw Tony in a wheelchair by the front door, accompanied by a porter. The porter helped Tony into the car and we were free to go!