CEO Surgery Experience, Day 1
- Posted On:
- Written By: Andy Fitzgerald, CEO
Editor's Note: What follows is a first-person account on a surgical procedure and rehabilitation that CEO Andy Fitzgerald is going through at Campbell County Health. He plans to post his account several times over the course of the next two weeks.
Day One
Today, I experienced surgery for the first time in my life. My surgery took place at Powder River Surgery Center (PRSC), under the very able hands of Dr. Hans Kioschos, at Powder River Orthopedics and Spine.
My particular surgery was the repair of the left rotator cuff on my shoulder and a slight repair of my bicep tendon. According to Dr. Kioschos, I had a good outcome and should experience near full functionality; however, I was warned that there will be an extensive rehabilitation period where I as the patient must fully participate in order to regain this functionality, which is the part I least look forward to enjoying.
The staff at PRSC was very kind and did their best to meet my every need. Nevertheless, surgery is a very challenging aspect of what happens to us as human beings when our bodies, either by injury or simply by age, are in disrepair and in need of medical care. Obviously, I wanted to have the surgery done to restore my left shoulder to full functionality, but I also went into it wanting to understand what a patient sees, experiences and feels while staying at a CCMH facility.
My pain, so far, has been very limited as Dr. Lowell Amiotte, Northern Plains Anesthesia Associates, PC, put an initial nerve block in my left shoulder. This has greatly helped me and I'm sure I will appreciate even more as a nerve block begins to wear off in the next day or two.
Just as my surgery took place at CCMH, so will my rehab. I begin that journey on Monday at CCMH Rehabilitation Services. I'll be reporting to you frequently over the next week or so as my experience progresses from surgery to post surgery and rehabilitation. Stay tuned.
Andy
