Day One of Post Op

Day One of Post Op:

First impression on picking her up from the vet: SHOCKING.
I was prepared for a shaved leg, for a cone, for stitches, for an incision...

But Sonar was absolutely stoned, with shaved patches with meds in them, staples, what seemed like tons of swelling... her face was droopy and sticky, dehydrated drool clung to her teeth and gums. She looked like she'd been through hell, and there were sticky boogers of whatever in the fur on her head. She lacked the constant agility and vigilance of the Sonar I know. The waiting room was crammed with dogs, and she couldn't muster a head nod. It was bizzare, and I briefly fought some tears that sprang up from nowhere.

I stared at her leg and the words "cut" and "bone" were suddenly gruesome and shocking. On the way home, the thought of the plate in her leg was startling to me, as though I hadn't watched the animation of this surgery hundreds of times.

The receipt that listed what she'd had was like reading an awful novel:

Surgical Consultation
Sedation
Radiograph-Initial
Radiograph-Additional view
IV Fluids-Catheter & First Bag
Blood Urea Nitrogen
PCV/TP 1st four
Epidural
Anesthesia Induction, injection
Anesthesia Monitoring
Propofol 81-160lb
Hydromorphone 2mg/ml 20 ml
Isoflurane 1st 30 min
Isoflurane per additional minute (60)
Surgical drapes and gowns
Surgical suite instrumentation
Surgical staples
Tibial Plateu Leveling
Lavage fluids per liter
Cefazolin Inj 100ml/ml 10gm bottles
Bandage-Level 1
Surgical Implants
Radiograph-Additional View
Cephalexin 500mg capsule
Tramadol HCL 50mg tablet
Duragesic Patch 100mcg/hr
Duragesic Patch 50mcg/hr
Hospitalization per hour
Hydromorphone 2mg/ml 20ml
Hydromorphone 2mg/ml 20ml
Hydromorphone 2mg/ml 20ml
Cefazolin Inj 100ml/ml 10gm bottles
Cefazolin Inj 100ml/ml 10gm bottles

It almost made me woozy to read the blow by blow, imagining my dog going through all this.

She's sleeping now, behind me in her crate while I type. My fingers smell like peanut butter from the Tramadol I persuaded her to take, rolled in Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter. She resisted at first, but then decided it was good.

Getting her in the door was a bear, I had to use a towel under her back end to help her walk. We were clumsy, but she got in with a minimum of extra pain. I called in to work within 5 min of picking her up and asked to take some sick time to keep an eye on her. It was granted, so I'll be hanging out with her today. Maybe I'm wrong, but she looks relieved when she wakes up every so often and sees me there.