RIGHT KNEE ARTHROSCOPY- ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION WITH QUADRICEPS TENDON AUTOGRAFT WITH C-ARM & A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.

Addison had her ACL surgery on Friday. We were able to squeeze it in, to round out 2024. Chuck took the reins on all of the pre op prep. Is there a better way to bond than over a leg brace fitting?

Christmas was on Wednesday which was a fantastic distraction. I decided to make Thursday an Addie day. We picked up her friend and hit the after Christmas sales. No better way to take her mind off surgery than spending that Christmas money. Honestly if she would have asked for a pony I probably would have gotten her one.

Our arrival time for surgery was 5:45am. As bad as that sucks it’s also a blessing. Being one of the first patients definitely has its perks. Trying to explain those perks to a 13 year old who is not a morning person is a whole different story.

A mix between nerves and lack of caffeine made for a quiet ride. I didn’t think Brogan needed to go but apparently he and Addie had decided that he was going. He’s a great buffer. He’s the fine line of pain in the ass and a calming presence.

Once we arrived we got registered and then we were taken to a waiting room. As a mom I was just praying that our nurse would have a personality and be comforting. Welp, we got a woman with zero relation to Mary Poppins. As we were waking down the hall she asked Addie how old she was. She then proceeded to say, “you’re the youngest I’ve ever seen have this procedure.” I looked at Addie and she looked at me and for a split second I think we both went into flight mode. She then took us to a room, told Addie she needed a urine sample, put a gown on the bed, told her to undress and tie it in the back and she was gone.

My prayers may have been answered a bit late but thank GOD she was not the nurse. We had two nurses, Heather and Jenna. Now they knew what they were doing. They were amazing. They were both very gentle in how they explained things and really put her at ease as much as possible. The normal train of people filtered in and out. Dr. Matelic, the anesthesiologist, the 3rd year orthopedic resident, then the nurse anesthetist along with an OR nurse. As they wheeled her away I tried to fight back tears because she was being so brave. Even though I tried a few stray ones ran down my face.

Considering we had Brogan with us our first visit was the cafeteria. He got breakfast and then second breakfast. We walked around a little and then headed back to the waiting room. When you’re watching the patient update screen it feels like it takes forever. They have a nice text option that lets you know when surgery has started and when to go see the receptionist. Dr. Matelic came and talked to us. Her surgery went perfectly. He was able to do the quad graft and was very happy how it went. We had another 30 minutes or so until we could go to see her in recovery.

When we pulled back the curtain there she was eating crackers and drinking apple juice. She was groggy but way more alert than I have ever been. There was a bit of spunk in there though because as soon as Brogan asked how she did she snapped back with an irritated, “how do I know, I was asleep.” After a few more crackers and a little cat nap she was ready to go.

Of course we had to have some excitement. The mix of someone that gets motion sick, 2 glasses of apple juice, and first time anesthesia made for one sick little girl. I thought for sure that she was going to pass out. Somehow we got her into the car and home without her getting sick.

This kid has blown me away with how she is handling her recovery. Friday afternoon she was applying fake nails and doing a face mask. Saturday was her birthday. Not exactly how she would choose to spend it but she made the best of it. She got flowers delivered from her boyfriend that is out of town and two of her best friends came over. All the giggles, games and girl time were so good for her.

Today we took the brace and bandage off to take a shower. That was tricky even with a shower chair but we managed to get it done. We started out on Friday setting an alarm every 2 hours for medication. We have backed off to about every 3, 3.5 hours so that she can try and get some sleep.

I made chicken noodle soup today, did a load of laundry and colored. We hang out in her bed and color with her new markers and books she got for her birthday. She is getting up and down all by herself. I’m trying not to jinx this but so far she is doing great!