Hey everyone, Lizz here! I had surgery on my elbow yesterday (March 27th), and knew I would likely be incapacitated for a while. However, I know a bunch of you wanted to know what was going on as soon as possible – especially since we weren’t sure which surgery I would receive. To easily update everyone, I am having Dan write this post (I’m writing this blurb in advance)! I will write my own update as soon as I am able. There may be a few non-updates that come out in the meantime, as I have a few drafts that Dan just has to hit “publish” on. Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram, as I’m more likely to be able to update that before I can update here.

Without further ado, here’s Dan’s update:

Post-Surgery Update – Dan’s Perspective

As Lizz indicated in her intro, yesterday was her surgery day. Since her arm pain began, over two years ago, it’s been quite a journey trying to figure out the cause. There was definitely a little tension built up from having to deal with that and the looming surgery so I’m happy it’s finally done. Here’s how it went.

We started the day super early, waking up at 4:30 am, so we could have time to get to the hospital for a 7:15 am check-in time. We managed to get there with plenty of time to spare. The nurses and doctors taking care of Lizz were very friendly, did a good job communicating with us about what they were doing and was going to happen, and were responsive to any requests we made. It wasn’t until about 9 am that the surgery team took her to the OR.

The surgery was supposed to be about an hour so I just went to the waiting room to, you guessed it, wait. I brought a magazine with me so I spent a little time reading. I had enough time to go the the hospital pharmacy – which, thankfully, was easy to find –  to pick up a Dilaudid prescription for post surgery and then return. I did some more reading while I waited. I’ll admit I was getting a little anxious to find out which of the surgery procedures was going to be required. For more details about the two surgery options, please read her “Cubital Tunnel Syndrome Surgery” post. After about an hour of waiting I got a call on my cell phone to tell me the surgery was complete, Lizz was doing well, and that she was being taken to the recovery room to wake up. It was another hour before I got to go back to see her.

In the meantime, Dr. NS (her surgeon) came by to fill me in on how things went. She only had to have the release surgery, no transposition! He said that everything went very well and that the nerve was staying in place after the release. He also said that normally when this procedure is performed the nerve isn’t as flexible as Lizz’s and that usually there is more pressure on the nerve. He attributed that to Lizz being much younger than most patients who need this surgery.

When I finally got to see Lizz she was awake and excited to see me. She wasn’t in a whole lot of pain – though her hand was numb – and seemed to be doing well. This was partially due to having three doses of fentanyl and a Dilaudid. We were both excited that the transposition wasn’t needed and that she wasn’t all groggy. We went through the typical post surgery routine – slowly moving to more upright positions, getting dressed, and going over the discharge instructions. I retrieved our car while the nurses brought Lizz to the pick up area and we were on our way home by 12:45pm.

Lizz took a good nap when we got home and has been doing pretty well since then. She hasn’t had much nausea so she’s been able to eat a decent amount. Her pain seems to be under control and she was able to go to sleep last night. The initial recovery process (so she can use her arm again) is supposed to be about two weeks, but she should be getting back to updating her social media sooner. The first place that she is likely to update will be on her Instagram (either in stories or on her feed). Make sure you’re following her so you see her posts! You can get to her Instagram here: @findinglifessilversun.

Overall we’re pretty happy with how things are going. We’re thankful for how we were treated at the hospital. And we’re hopeful that the surgery will correct her arm pain.