RECAP: When we got home Kevin helped me out of the car and into the house. When I got inside, I went straight to the bedroom and slowly changed my clothes and got into bed. Nick came in not long after I got in bed. "You did great up there tonight. You didn't seem nervous at all to me. How do you think you did?" He told me as he was changing. "Better than I thought I would. Now that that's over with I can focus on getting my strength back in my knee."
"I know but don't forget that you have another appointment in a couple of days since you still need to have surgery to repair everything." I sighed. I hate it when he's right and kills my good mood. "I know, I know I just don't want to think about it right now. I just had a fun night and you mentioning the surgery kills my good mood. I just don't want to think about it until I have to." He sighed and came over and laid next to me.
He pulled me into his sided and held me. "I'm sorry babe but you know it's going to happen sooner than you think. I didn't mean to upset you and be a kill joy but if you thinking its going to happen sooner than you realize. It's not good to keep putting it off in your mind. It's only gonna make things worse when the time comes. I know you don't want this to happen but it's gonna make you better.
I know you hate the idea if being in therapy over the summer but just think by the time school starts in the fall, you won't have deal with your crutches unless you have to. Plus you can be able to work out in dance if you get it again and you have an excuse about not being able to run." He was trying to cheer me up but it wasn't working. "I know. I'm sorry for my mood. I'm just tired and want to get some sleep. It's been a long day." He sighed and dropped the subject.
"It's okay. Don't forget I how you're feeling and so does Joe. We understand how you must have felt up there watching everyone perform and you not being able to be with them. Just know that in a few months we'll be done with therapy and being able to do what we love to do." I sighed and moved closer to him.
I hated snapping at him for trying to cheer me up but I hated thinking about my up coming surgery but I just had a good day and by him mentioning it kinda ruined my happy mood. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up but I just don't want to talk about it anymore tonight. I just want to get some sleep." "Okay that's fine. We'll talk about it when you're ready. I'm sorry for being a buzz kill." He kissed my head and turned the lights off and turned the tv on to help me sleep.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~*~*~*Andi's POV 3 days later *~*~*~*
Today was the day of my appointment to go over everything for my surgery which was coming up in a week. I sighed and slowly got dressed after I ate breakfast. I was having an off day yesterday which made going to my appointment even worse since I was really tired and wanted to sleep. I slipped on Nick's Beatles Abbey Road shirt , a pair of loose yoga pants and my grey UGGs. I slipped my hair into a loose ballet bun and changed my phone case.
By the time I was done Nick came in with Bella. "Hey, you about ready babe?" He asked me, coming over and helped me with my shoes since it was hard to bend down and put them on. "As ready as I'll ever be." I sighed and leaned back on the bed. "Come on, you can sleep when we get home. I know you had a rough night with your levels, but we still have to go to your pre-op appointment for your knee." I sighed and put my hands out to signal him to pull me up.
Once I sat back up, he handed me my crutches. I reluctantly took them and we walked out to the living room. "Ready to go sweetie?" Mom asked when we walked in. "No, but I know I have to." She smiled and came and hugged me. "Come on, let's get going. Don't want to be late. I already put the stroller and car seat in my car and got the diaper bag along with your kit refilled." I sighed and went out to the car. Mom and Nick followed behind me with Bella.
I sat in the back seat next to Bella in case she needed to be feed, while Nick drove and his mom sat in the front seat. I decided to text Demi and Maya on the way there to help pass the time. I had my headphones in and my Zune playing my worship music to help put me in a better mood. I need a distraction and my music and talking to Demi and Maya were the things i decided to use as my distraction.
Conversation: Andi- bold italics Demi-Bold Maya-italics
From: AJMJ To: Demi 💜; Maya a.k.a. Jersey girl
Hey. I'm on my way to my pre-op appointment for my knee and I need something to help cheer me up and try to distract me. HELP ME PLZ?????!!!!!!!!!
From: Demi 💜
What's wrong??? Tell me plz!!!!
From: Maya a.k.a. Jersey girl
What's wrong???? Are you nervous about what they're gonna say?? We can't help if you don"t tell us whats wrong.
I sighed and leaned back against my seat and looked over at Bella. She was sound asleep and looked really peaceful. She was taking my mind off my knee for a bit until I was hit with a sharp pain shooting down my leg. I tried not to scream so i wouldn't wake her or distract Nick. I grabbed my purse and pulled out my medicine and took a couple hoping they would take away the pain and a prevention for any more pain I may have when I get to the orthopedist. I waited for the pain to subside before I replied to the girls.
From: AJMJ
Maya, you're right. I am a bit scared of they're going to do and say. I know i need this but at the same time i don't because it means it be even long before I'm able to hold Bella standing and not sitting. I don't want to go back on my anti-depressants but if I tell Nick or Mom they'll make me. I needed them then but I don't need them now. Bella is my anti-depressant. Looking at her makes me happy.
I looked over at Bella who was still sleeping. I was envious of her at the moment wish I was still asleep in bed like she was. Soon i felt the car stop and i looked up and saw were had arrived at the doctor's office. I sighed and reluctantly got out of the car with help from Mom. Nick came over and pulled me into a hug. I sighed and relax in his embrace. "Come on, let's get this over with. The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can go home and go back to bed or do what ever you want to do." I nodded and let go of the hug and went inside.
When we got there, Mom signed me in and we sat and waited for my name to be called. As we were waiting my knee flared up again, but stronger than it was in the car. Nick sensed my pain and started messing with my knee until the pain stopped. After about 4 minutes my leg was still hurting but the pain wasn't as strong as it was. "Better babe?" he asked when I started to relax a bit. "Yeah. That was a strong one. Worse than it was in the car." "What do you mean in the car?" he asked me a bit concerned. I sighed and told him. " I had an attack in the car but took my meds as soon as it happened. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to distract you while you were driving."
He gently put my leg down and came and sat next to me pulling me into a hug. "You don't have to be afraid to tell me if you're hurting when we're in the car. Next time that happens let me know as soon as you feel an attack coming on. Okay?" I nodded and cried. He sighed and pulled me into a tighter hug. He started rubbing my back and whispering soothing things in my ear trying to calm me down.
As soon as I was done crying we heard my name being called. I slowly stood up and followed the nurse to the exam room. When we got inside Nick carefully helped me up onto the table. The nurse asked me how my pain level was that day. "I've had two attacks this morning, the second one worse than the first."
"Did you take anything for the pain?" she asked me nicely. "Yeah, I did." Nick got my bottle out of my purse and showed her. She wrote down the name of medication and how much it was. When she was done writing everything down, she said she was going to get the doctor.
I asked Nick to pass me my phone. He gave it to me and kissed my forehead sensing my mood. I unlocked it and saw i had new messages from the girls. I read Demi's first.
From: Demi 💜
I understand how you feel but you should still talk to them about it and tell them how you feel and then see what they say and go from there. It'll make you feel a bit better and less anxious. i know it helps me when I talk to my parents about it.
Then when I was about to open Maya's and read her's, the doctor came in. I sighed and leaned my head back against the wall. "So I take it you don't feel well?" "No, I'm super scared, nervous and anxious all at the same time." I felt like crying. Nick sensed it and came and sat next to me. He started rubbing my back with his good hand, trying to calm me down. "Well that's normal for someone who's first surgery this is." "Actually i had heart surgery when i was a baby. This is the first one I'll remember, besides my c-section with my daughter a few months ago."
"Oh well, either way, its still normal to have all those mixed feelings and emotions. Everyone who has had this surgery has felt the same way as you." That made me feel a bit better but still didn't help my anxiety. Soon he started evaluating my knee and going over what he was going to do during the surgery.
I was trying my best not to scream or cry because I didn't want to wake Bella up since she was still asleep. Nick was kind enough to hold my hand the entire time since he could sense my pain. When the doctor was done going over the plans for the surgery we discussed where i would have it. "OK, so we to figure out where this is going to take place, since there are a lot of hospitals near where you live. We could do it down the street over at Hoag, we can do it over at Garden Grove, we can do it at Fountain Valley, we can do it at CHOC, we can do it at St. Joseph's or we can do it at UCI Medical Center. I can do it at all of them but since its going to be a short stay I would recommend doing it close to where you're staying, making it easier when you're released so its a short car ride and you can get home sooner and relax. So we can cross off Hoag from the list. So which one do you prefer?" I sat there for a bit going through the list. Since I was living with the Jonas' still, Fountain Valley seemed like the best option, it was close to their house and close to my house so my mom was still able to be with me the day it happens.
"Fountain Valley. It's close to where I'm living and still close enough for my mom to come and be with me." "Okay, so its settled then. I'll make the arrangements for it to happen at Fountain Valley Hospital. I'll let you know the day and time when I make sure everything is cleared." So we thanked him and went to make the arrangements for my surgery. Once we were done, we went home since my knee was throbbing.
When we got home I went straight to bed, I was tired and my knee was making my whole leg hurt. Dani came in as soon as I was laying down. She brought me some lunch and an ice pack for my knee since she figured I would be hurting after my appointment and she was right. She gently propped my knee up and slowly moved my pant leg and slowly placed the ice pack on my leg.
I winced from the cold. "Sorry. So how did it go? No one's told me yet." "Okay, I guess. He went over how the surgery was going to go, how long it would take, where it would be and how long I'll have to stay. He also said I have to have a post-op appointment a week after I have it, to see how well I'm heeling and check for any infections."
She came and laid down next to me and pulled me into a hug. I sighed and leaned into the hug. When we let go she handed me a meter, my pain meds and my phone. "Here, test, take your meds and let Demi and Maya know whats going on. They keep blowing up your phone." I smiled and took the meter first and tested. I was at a good level so I took a small shot and took my pain meds. Once I took both I started eating, slowly since I wasn't very hungry since I was in a lot of pain.
"So do you know when you're gonna have it?" "Not yet. We decided to do it at Fountain Valley since it's close and a short ride to and from there." "Well that's good. At least you're mom doesn't have to go very far." "Yeah that's one of the main reasons I chose to do it there." So we sat around and talked the rest of the afternoon and I was able to fill Demi and Maya in on what happened.
*~*~* 2 weeks later, day of surgery *~*~*
So today is the day of my surgery and I'm super scared and nervous. And a bit hungry, since I haven't eaten much since dinner since it could affect my surgery. My mom, Nick and Denise were with me. Kevin, Joe and Dani stayed home to watch Bella for me. I was super nervous and scared still. Nick stood next me and held my hand trying to keep me calm and relaxed. Soon a nurse came in and started an IV. After she left the doctor came in to refresh me on what he was going to do. He started marking my knee so I knew where he was going to be.
Once he was done the nurse returned and gave me an anesthetic. I started getting tired, so everyone quickly said goodbye to me, my mom first then Denise and Nick last. "I love you babe. I'll see you when you get out." I kissed him before they started taking me away. "I love you too. You better be there when I wake up." I yawned and he laughed before giving me one last kiss before I fell asleep.
*~*~*~*~* 2 hours later *~*~*~*~*
When I woke up, my knee was numb and slightly sore. "Nick?" I asked wondering if he was around. "I'm here baby, so are our moms. Doctor said everything went well. They were able to fix everything. How are you feeling?" he asked me as he came over and held my hand. "Numb and a bit sore." "Just relax. Don't try to move." I nodded and slowly opened my eyes. I blinked a couple of times to let my eyes adjust to the light.
I looked over and saw my mom and Denise on my left and Nick was on my right. "Hey sweetheart, how are you?" my mom asked. "My legs feel heavy." "It's the numbing medicine, its to help with the pain. They said it should be wearing off soon." I nodded and closed my eyes. "Tired still babe?" Nick asked. I nodded and leaned back against my pillows. I was tempted to tell Nick to come lay with me, but before I could say anything, my doctor came in.
"Hey, glad to see someone's awake. How's you're knee feeling? Any pain yet?" "Just a little bit on my left." "Well that's normal. You're gonna be in a bit of pain once the meds wear off. Once it does let a nurse know so we can give you something." I nodded and notice I was starting to get hungry and felt a bit shaky. Nick must have noticed too when he asked the doctor for me.
"When can she eat? Her hands are shaking, which means she needs to check her levels." "Once the anaesthesia wears off some more, we'll get her something light to eat for now." Nick thanked him and soon he left probably to find me something to eat. Once I knew it was safe, i got up the strength to ask Nick to lay with me. I squeezed his hand to get his attention.
"What's up baby?" "Can you lay with me please?" He laughed. "Not yet baby, maybe later. You just got out of surgery. Maybe after you eat and try walking a bit then I'll try and lay with you. I promise." He leaned over and kissed my head. I sighed, defeated. All i wanted was to have him lay down in this stupid bed with me, but he wouldn't. Probably because he didn't want to move my knee and cause it to hurt but when I had the twins he came and laid in bed with me. I just didn't understand why he didn't want to this time.
A few hours later, I was more awake and the pain started to come but it was manageable, that was until the physical therapist came in with a walker. "Hi there, I'm James. I'm the physical therapist here at the hospital. I was told you had surgery this morning?" "Yeah. Tore muscles, tendons and ligaments." "Well I was told by your doctor that he wanted to get you up and moving a bit so you don't get stiff laying down all day. So I brought in this walker to help you get up and moving and get your body used to being able to use your right leg again." I was scared.
Nick could tell, like always, and spoke up for me. "She's a bit scared right now. She hasn't been walking with out crutches for a few weeks now and she's worried about the pain. We have a 3 month old at home, which she had a c-section with and didn't handle the pain very well."
"Well don't worry. We'll go at your pace. Everyone who I've worked with who had similar knee surgeries felt the same way. We'll go slow today, and if you feel like you've had enough let me know and we'll stop." I took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, but could I change please?" "Sure, no problem." Nick got me some clothes out of my bag and handed them to me and i quickly changed to best of my abilities. I had on a grey t-shirt with blue "LOVE PINK" on it with black shorts with a blue band on them, also PINK.
Once I was dressed, James came back in with a wheelchair. "I brought this in just in case you get tired and need to sit." I nodded and Nick came over and helped me into the wheelchair. Our mom's decided to go out and get something to eat and talk for a while, while I was in therapy. When we got to the therapy room I was set up on a table and James came over and started undoing my brace and ace bandage. I was shocked to see a couple of scars on both sides of my knee. It was the first time seeing it since before the surgery.
"Looks like you were lucky." "What do you mean by that?" I asked him. "Most people have a scar running from above the knee to just below the knee, while you just have a couple of small scars on the sides, which means they went with a minimally invasive surgery." "What does that mean?" He laughed. "It means a faster recovery time and less pain than if you had the standard surgery done."
I nodded, glad for a shorter recovery time. "Okay so let's get you up and moving a bit. Let me know when it gets to much and we'll stop." I nodded and Nick slowly helped me stand up. It felt weird putting pressure on my right knee but it wasn't hurting, for now. James came over with the walker.
"Okay, let's get you walking a bit. This is Jesse, he's one of the therapist here. He's going to be behind you with the wheelchair while Nick and I help you keep your balance." I nodded and slowly started walking with Nick on my left and James on my right. I was doing good at first but when I got halfway across the room, the pain started to kick in and was hurting alot worse than it was when I was eating.
I kept going a bit further before I had to stop. "Ok, I need to stop. I'm starting to hurt alot. More than I was earlier." James nodded and slowly helped me sit down in the wheelchair. I started breathing slowly, fighting back tears that threatened to escape my eyes. "You did for being 4 hours post-op. I think if we do this again in two days you might be able to go even further." I just nodded not trusting my voice at the moment. Nick could read my face and gave me a look saying 'you wanna go back?' I simply nodded and he spoke for me. "I think she's had enough for today. I think I should take her back so she can lay down. Our moms are probably back by now."
"That's fine. Just let me re-wrap her leg and hook her up with an ice pump to help with the swelling." So Jesse took me back over to the tables and gently laid me down while James grabbed a couple of slanted pillows. "I'm just gonna elevate your knee to make it easier to re-wrap it and attach the ice pack. I'll show you how to use it so that way you can use it at home." We nodded and watched what he was doing. Nick was smart and recorded it on his phone incase we forgot.
~*~*~*2 days later, being released and going home. ~*~*~*
The past two days have been miserable. First night after therapy I kept waking up every 2 hours when my medicine wore off, then the second night I had a night high on top of the pain. And last night was better, I wasn't very sore and was able to sleep through the night. Today I get to go home and I couldn't be happier. I missed my bed and Bella way to much for my liking. I was in my room geting my drains taken out while Nick was in the bathroom taking a shower.
By the time the nurse was done taking my drains out and was re-dressing my knee, Nick came out in his clean clothes and hair stil damp. "Feel better honey?" I asked him. "Much, hows the pain today?" "Better, more manageable." He came over and kissed me then started packing up all of our clothes. When the nurse left to get the release papers I asked Nick who was picking us up. "Hey babe?" "Yeah?" "Who's picking us up?" "Not sure, let me ask." "That's fine."
So he grabbed his phone and call the house asking who was coming to pick us up. While Nick was on the phone, James came in with a pair of purple crutches. "Are those for me?" I asked. "Yup. I got these for you. Nick told me how much you love purple so I was able to get you a purple pair." I smiled and looked over at Nick who was standing against the wall outside my room still on his phone. "Now I know you already have a pair at home but you can keep those as an extra pair for when you dont feel like using these." I smiled even bigger.
"I also brought you an extra ice pack as well." "Wow, thanks." "You're welcome. Hope to see you around." "Maybe. Who knows where I'm going to have my therapy." "Well either way I home to see you around here." I smiled and he came and hugged me. "Hope your recovery goes well." "Thanks." So he left and Nick came in at the same time. "So my dad's coming to get us with the small van so you can lay down in the back and put your leg up." "Sound's good. I'm starting to get tired again." "Well take a nap and I'll wake you when it's time to go." I nodded and leaned the bed back and got comfortable and started falling asleep.
I slept for about 30 minutes when I heard voices in the room. "How's she doing today?" "Better, not as sore as she has been. She was able to sleep through the night when they gave her an extra dose of meds last night." "Good. Well do we have everything packed and ready." "Yeah, all our clothes are packed. I got both ice packs and pump, as well as the new crutches." "You have all her bandages for her knee as well."
"Yup got all of those packed while she was sleeping." "Good, looks like we have everything ready then. I'll go sign the release papers while you wake her up and help her get ready to leave." "Sure thing dad. Make sure you bring a wheelchair since she's still sore from therapy yesterday." I didn't hear anything after that, so that means Dad must have nodded his response to Nick and left.
"Hey babe, time to get up. Dad's here." I groaned and snuggled deeper into the pillows. "Come on babe. You can sleep at home, that is if everyone lets you." I sighed and slowly woke up. "Hey sweetie. ready to go?" Dad asked when he came back in. "Yeah. I just want to go home and sleep." He laughed. "Well, let's get going then. Mom's been making lunch ever since I left." I smiled a bit and Nick slowly helped me into the wheelchair, then covered me with my zebra blanket.
Then I looked up at him and saw him holding his wrist. "Babe is your arm hurting?" "Just a bit. Think i over did it trying to help you." "Well do you have you wrap and sling or your brace?" "I have my wrap and brace."
"Do you have your cream as well?" "Yeah. Could you wrap me please?" "Of course baby. Get your stuff out and I'll wrap you up." He nodded and got his stuff out of his satchel and sat on the edge of the bed so we were at the same height. I rolled over and start working on his arm. Once I was done with the cream, making sure he was relaxed, I started to wrap his hand carefully. Then I put his brace on and made sure it was tight enough.
"That better babe?" "Yeah. Its starting to feel better." "Good now take some pain meds now so it doesnt get worse." He nodded and got his meds out and took some. "Okay, now we can go home." Dad said. "Yup. I can feel the meds starting to wear off." "Well lets get going then." So with a help from a couple of nurses we got everything out to the car. Nick helped his dad put the bags in while a nurse helped me get in. I sat down and put a couple of pillows behind my back and the rest under my leg.
"All settled?" She asked me when I was done. "Yup. Thanks so much." "You're welcome. You've been one of the easiest patients I've had with this type of injury." i smiled. "Well get better soon." "I will thanks." Nick came in and gave me my blanket and cover me up. "All set baby girl?" "Yeah. I want to see my baby so badly. i missed her. You know how much I hate being away from her." " I know. We're gonna leave here in a minute. Dad's just about done loading everything into the car." He kissed me and climbed out and closed the door.
He sat in the front and turned so he could still look at me. "Okay everyone ready to go?" Dad asked when he got in. "More than ever." I said. They both laughed. Soon we were on our way home and I was so happy to be going home and see my baby girl. I missed her so much. I hated being away from her for so long, even if it was only a few days, I still missed her. I started to get tired so I started falling asleep.
Soon I was being woken up by Nick. "Hey baby girl, we're home. Let's get you inside and in bed so you're more comfortable." I sighed and woke up. "Hey, come on let's get you inside and in bed. And maybe get you something to eat. Mom's almost done with lunch." So I slowly got out of the car and saw Joe standing next to the car waiting to help me inside. "Hey Joey." "Hey sis, how are you feeling? Any pain?" "No just tired." I saw he had a walker. "When did we get a walker?" "Mom got a rolling one from the pharmacy the day after your surgery. She got the one with the folding seat."
"Okay. That works." So he slowly helped me inside. When we made it past the door, Frankie came running up to me, but Joe stopped him. "Dude be careful. She's still really sore."
"Okay." he looked so sad. "Come here bud. Help me to the couch please, then we can hug when I'm laying down." That's seemed to cheer him up. So he helped me over to the couch and got my pillows from my room and helped me get comfortable. "Need anything else?" "Nope. Just a hug from you though." He smiled and hugged me. When we let go of the hug Kevin was standing there with Bella.
He came over and gave her to me. "Hey lovebug. Mommy missed you so so so much." I hugged her and kissed all over her face, making her squeal and laugh. "Best sound ever." I said when she calmed down. Nick came over after he put all of our stuff in the room. "Hey princess, Daddy missed you." He took her from me and kissed her, which she laughed again, happy to have her parents home. "How's your knee doing?"
"Okay for the moment. Just as long as Elvis doesn't come up and try to lay with me I should be fine." "Do you want your ice pack?" "I'm fine. Just want to get some sleep." "You wanna eat something? Mom made some soup. It's pozole. I know how its you're favorite." "Sure that sounds good. Something light and easy." He smiled, kissed me and handed Bella back to me and went to go get me some of the soup. I just loved having her back in my arms again.