The Operation

I was briefly describing to Alya what happened before the knee operation when I suddenly realized how rare the experience was, so I have decided to ink part the story here.

ENTER
Since I was already fasting, the orthopaedic surgeon could perform the surgery immediately. He was very confident that the ligament snapped. About an hour of preparation later, I was on a wheelchair on the way to the theater. The operation theater. (Why is it a theater?) Mom had arrived about 15 minutes earlier and we had a chance to talk for a while. She seemed partly shocked and fully worried of course but she had to brush it aside while answering a call from Alya who was complaining and crying about her difficult SPM trial exam (it had to be on the exact moment I was about to be surgically admitted). We never had the chance to say anything at the last minute because she was on the phone. Afterall, it's just my knee and not my heart or my brain or anything (unless my brain has enjoyed quite a vacation down there on the knees) . Besides, you know your mom's plate is always full if she takes care of 8 children. Perhaps Alya needed mom the most at the time.

INTERMISSION
I was partially nervous and numb. That's right. My brain was numb. I didn't know what to think. What's going to happen to my knee? What sort of surgery is this? How long would I not be able to walk? Oh Lord, this is a test to my health, right? It was cold too. Stunningly cold. I remember this fact. Before anything at all, I had to strip down to my underwear and wear the bare-back robe. I was already uncomfortable and they made me wear a garment that exposed my back. Nice. No wonder it's unbelievably cold in there (it's like three air-conditioning machine in operation at the same time).

Then one of the nurses shaved around my knee. Yeah, I've got some hair down there. It's not a surprise. But before she did, she asked for confirmation first, "It's your left knee, right?" to which I replied yes. It's a good thing she asked. I hope the doctor would do the same before the surgery. You don't want to hear your doctor going, "Hm, I forgot which leg it is. It's your left, right?" "... Right." Then you wouldn't be able to think straight throughout the entire operation, given if you're allowed to stay conscious.

The anaesthetic expert then punctured a needle into my back to paralyze my body from the waist down. It hurt a lot when she inserted it in but I know it's for good measure during the surgery. I lied down for a while before the numbness started coming. She tested her work by asking me to lift my legs. I tried. No muscle moved except the ones above my eyebrows. "The anaesthetic is working! But why am I still awake?" I wondered. Oh. The doctor wanted to show me the injured part from the video. Yes, indeed. The expert was going to shove a camera into my left knee. Cool. YouTube wouldn't want a copy, but House M.D. could probably use one.

I was literally shaking and shivering while they were cutting open my knee. One of the nurses noticed this and put more blanket on my upper body. The surgery went on for about 40 minutes and as promised, I had the chance to see the torn part, its white tissue-like leftovers swirling around, the red mushy blood-liquid mixture courtesy of the break, and the face of my crescent-shaped meniscus from the bone front. I could even see how my patella (kneecap) looked like. It was all very interesting but not all that comforting.

EXIT
Long story short, the anaesthetic expert had to leave to pick up her child. So did two of the nurses. The doctor and the rest of the nurses transferred me to the ward where one of the nurses misjudged my height while sliding me to the bed causing my head to accidentally bang on the bed's top steel-rail. The Head of the Ward nurse couldn't stop apologizing while the young nurses were giggling on something that must've been amusing. I hope it wasn't anything too distracting that had caused the incident.

Mom came by again and this time with Dad, some clothes, and a pair of sandal. I called my supervisor to inform him of the situation and he seemed to be cool about it. All in a day's work - never thought I'd end up here. The day closed in and I suddenly felt very tired and lonely. Picture: zoomed-in version of knee wrapped in bandage, ice-pack, and blanket. It hurt like crazy as soon as the anaesthetic wore off.

Alhamdulillah, I felt that my leg was OK for the moment and wondered what's ahead for tomorrow.