Part 3: Surgery and Recovery

Dr. Gill (r) and Dr. Banffy (l) confident of the outcome

I met Tom Gill for the first time as the anesthesiologists were deadening my leg with a big needle in my groin.  This is called a femoral nerve block and is very effective. I asked if he knew about the circumstances surrounding my arrival. He made it plain that he did. Not surprising. I was, after all, the guy that was evacuated from Antarctica. Three different nurses were surfing 6explorers.com while I was in pre-op, telling me I was living the dream. Funny to be told you are living the dream while wearing a surgical gown and watching a big needle stuck in your groin. I asked Dr. Gill if there was some way to trade longer term recovery time for shorter term mobility such that I could get back to the eastern hemisphere faster. He said with a smile, “you mean put in another stitch?” I said “how did you know?” to which he replied in a confident tone “we’re on the same wave length, you’ll see them soon.”

I don’t know exactly what happened in surgery, but I asked Dr. Gill to take some pictures. They are posted on the very bottom last section of the Photo Gallery, but are not for the weak of stomach. In post-op Dr. Gill came in and informed me that I had, indeed, done a number on my knee. Full tendon rupture and a 270 degree tearing of the tissue around the knee. I went to Dave and Chris Laidman’s house that night feeling pretty good. The nerve block was still in effect and belying the true nature of the beast. The docs and nurses explained my Oxycontin and Oxycodone regimen and admonished me to “stay ahead of the pain.” That night at 9PM I had one Oxycontin and one Oxycodone and went to sleep. No worries. Until the block receded and I was blindsided. From the time I woke up at exactly 4:25AM until about 2:30 PM I was certifiably behind the pain. I was cavalier the night before and paying the greatest price. I later wrote an email to Scott answering his innocent question “how’re you feeling?” in this way:

This is epic. Imagine the worst charley horse that never goes away. Now imagine the feeling of slamming your kneecap into the corner of a coffee table. The sick-to-your-stomach intense pain. Now combine them and have them be constant. Oh Yeah!

Finally, after the doctor suggested I quadruple the oxycodone for 4 hours, I was now well and truly ahead of the pain. I remember thinking to myself, in my cold sweat, that I was experiencing maybe 50% of the actual pain of this procedure. There were, after all, narcotics in my system.  Just not enough. And that, if this was 50% pain, what must the Civil War guys have experienced? Modern man is soft.

I transferred to my own house on Saturday, post-op Day 2. My father had come from Connecticut and was eager to help in any way possible. And he was very helpful. But more so, it was a highly unexpected and most unusual opportunity: a week one-on-one with my father. That doesn’t happen often in the real world. We both gained much from the time, the conversation, the company and the shared experience. Silver lining #4.

Exactly one week after surgery I met with Dr. Gill in his office.  The anxiety and the anticipation were high. I had not gotten any real sense of timing from him and this was to be the day. All the signed pictures of Boston sports greats surrounding me were actually comforting. I could not have possibly screwed myself up worse than some of these guys had. He squeezed the knee, moved the kneecap, looked at the sutures, bent my leg and casually pronounced: “ok, you’re ready to go. Time for an explorer reunion.” I choked up. I asked him to clarify his pronouncement. It was true. My dream of re-joining the squad at the docks as they disembark from the Kapitan Klebnikov in Hobart Tasmania would come true.  Better yet, my dream of surprising them in Hobart and capturing the moment in photographs and video would come true. I later wrote the good doctor that I envied the joy he is capable of bringing through his work and that maybe I should have taken orgo. I really feel that way.

And now, the miracle surprise is on. The family doesn’t have any access to the internet so, for the first time in web history, something on a website can be kept secret. If you know their email address on board, don’t spoil it. January 3^rd the surprise reunion happens. I fly out on December 31^st and arrive in Hobart on January 2^nd. This will be good video.  Really good video. Come back to check it out.