Surgery 4.3.08

Michael had his knee surgery today. We were at the hospital at 7:20 and finally left around 2:30. It was a long morning!! He was taken into the pre-op room and given two 'margaritas' to calm him, then given a spinal block anesthia. They found that the meniscus was not torn laterally, but was damaged on the outer rim. There were several other things fixed while he was in there – lots of scar tissue & damage on the cartilage which was also scraped & cleaned up. He even watched the procedure while the Dr. narrated. Unfortunately I was not allowed in the operating room to watch too - bummer!! He was taken to his own room for recovery - with a beautiful setting just outside. The hospital itself was also beautiful and everyone was extremely helpful.

Our friends from Pacific Voyager, Pat & Barry, joined us on the trip – praying & keeping me company in the waiting room. Michael got off of the boat and Barry met him at the front of the boat and said "I'm all dressed up and have no where to go - I guess I'll go with you to the hospital!" What a treat! And he has had several people come over to find out how he’s doing since we made it onto the boat. It’s wonderful to have such warm & loving people in your lives! Thank you also for all of the kind thoughts & prayers – they certainly helped!!

Once he was out of surgery, he was taken to a private room to recover. We found a taxi back to the Marina and then jumped into a golf cart and taken to our dock, where the security guard helped Michael navigate the dock ramp. It’s not easy to get around a boat on one leg! But he’s managing just fine. So amazingly....the entire day set us back 19,000...Pesos. Or about $1,900 dollars. $12,000 for the surgeon, $3,000 for the anestheologist, $1.000 for the nurse, and $3,000 for the use of the hospital - operating room, private room, etc.

So he has 7 days of crutches & staying off of the knee. He’s on antibiotics, pain, & anti-inflammatory meds. Then we have a Dr. appointment next Thursday and will move into a condo and start packing the boat for hurricane season. Who said this cruising thing was easy!?! We’ve been doing the preliminary items that we can – packing all of the food in vacuum food storage bags, locking down or removing items from the deck, etc. Lots of things can’t be done until the very last minute or at least when we move off the boat! Like defrosting & cleaning the fridge & freezer, packing everything down below, opening everything up, etc. But it’ll be an action packed week!

More to follow…Rene