Here it is April 5, 2013....Surgery Day!!!! Thursday afernoon the secretary from Boone Hospital calls me to let me know that I have to be at the hospital by 6am and that my surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. I'm grateful for being able to get in there early because it means I will be able to go home sooner than what I expected. I got home Thursday night and I truly don't remember what I did but I know I did something to keep me distracted so I wasn't getting to terribly anxious.
I woke up Friday morning about 5:30 am and got some things packed and ready to go. Mom came and picked me up and we headed over to the hospital. I finally get checked in and back to a room. Get my gown on and the nurse asks me for a urine sample. So, I go to the restroom and come out...I ever so politely explained to the nurse that Mother Nature had other plans for me today and I had started my period. The nurse in a very non chalent way turned to me and said it's no big deal. This in turn baffled me. My thought is OMG it's a huge deal! You are going to be operating on me and I'm going to be bleeding on the operating table and then in my bed..GROSS! Anyhow, she assured me everything would be fine.
I finally get settled in to the not so comfortable hospital bed and turn the TV on again to distract me. Mom comes back and joins me. Next thing I know I have another nurse coming in to start an IV. She first tries to start one in the side near my wrist. That didn't work well. Then she tries to get it started in my arm but on the side again. This again doesn't work. The third time she tries she just sticks me in the arm and gets it. Finally! Meanwhile, the anesthesiologist comes in to talk to me about the anesthesia. While, I have the nurse trying to get an IV started I also have the anesthesiologist going tilt your head back and go ahhhhhhh. So, I'm doing this a few times for him. He then explains that I'm going to be difficult to put a breathing tube in due to my "God given anatomy." Great that's what I want to hear I'm now a nervous wreck thinking about how painful this breathing tube thing is going to be. Next thing I know, Dr. Pitt (my surgeon) comes walzting in to check and see if I'm ready and making sure everything else is going fine. What is this with everyone coming in at the same time. Anyhow, the anesthesiologist reassures me that the breathing tube will be put in after I'm asleep and taken out before I'm awake. That made me feel much better about the whole thing!
Next thing I know Mom is giving me hugs and kisses and wishing me good luck. The nurses come in and whisk me away down the hall to the operating room. The last thing I remember is getting into the operating room. Moving myself on to the operating table and the anestheologist putting this oxygen mask type thing over my mouth and nose and asking me to take a few deep breaths. You know how in movies when people are about to have surgery and they show them like in this half hazy state. That's exactly how it was.
I'm trying to wake up and sit up and I keep hearing the nurses to tell me to lay back down. However, I want to sit up and I don't know why they won't let me sit up. This becomes very frustrating to me. I eventually stop fighting with them and lay back down and fall back asleep. The next thing I remember is waking up and sitting up (which the nurses were okay with at this point) and wanting something to drink because my mouth was dry. The nurse brings me a cup of ice chips that is only filled enough to cover the bottom of the cup and tells me this has to last me a couple of hours. I was about ready to scream. I had no concept of how that little bitty cup of ice was supposed to last me a few hours when my mouth was as dry as the Sahara Desert at this point. Anyhow, as I'm sitting there sucking on little pieces of ice I'm also falling asleep in between bites. This again is very frustrating to me because I feel like I'm ready to be awake already.I finally give up and just lay back down to take another nap. The nurses eventually come and whisk me away down the hall to this hallway that has been divided into like little bays. All I remember is getting there and the nurse that was transporting me telling the nurse who was going to take care of me that I was a little sleepy, by the way a little sleepy was an understatement. This is the point where mom came back to see me again. I was happy to see her even though she probably doesn't know it because I was so sleepy. I took another nap and woke up and asked for something to drink. At this point I had ate all the ice chips. The nurse was sweet and brought me back a seven up. I had to let it sit and go flat but it was good to have something with some flavor to it. About an hour after that they said I could go home. So around 1:30 I left the hospital and went home to rest for a bit. I took a little nap and then woke up around 3:30. That day was the day of the memorial for a close family friend who had been murdered in Colorado. I thought it was important that I be there. So, I asked for my dad to come pick me up so that I could go with him to the memorial. After that it was a whole weekend of me dozing in and out of sleep trying to shake off the anesthesia.
All things considered I think it all went really well. I'm excited and anxious to see the progress! :)
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