After only getting 3 hours of sleep, I woke up around 4 am right when my alarm went off. I was so worried that I wouldn't hear it, but thankfully I did. I wasn't nervous, but I was a little anxious that I wouldn't be done in time. I made sure that all my packing was complete, which included making sure all my food I needed for the weekend was in a bag for my friend's house. I took a shower, washing in my antibacterial soap again, and I made sure I washed my hair good and shaved good [since I knew I wouldn't be allowed to for at least a week]. I had decided to wear makeup because my doctor said that would be fine. No lotion or deodorant though, which was weird because I always have dry skin and the soap made it worse. I made sure I had a coat and a pillow and a bucket for the ride home and then got myself together and waited for my ride.
My friend picked me up a few minutes early [thank goodness my usually late ass was early today!], and we headed down to the hospital. I still wasn't nervous, and we kept ourselves talking so I couldn't focus on it too much. She always drives fast so we arrived closer to 6am than the 630am I was told. We ended up getting there at the same time as the receptionist, which I think threw her off guard because she was a little disheveled. We sat in the waiting room with another couple until she was ready and then I said goodbye to my friend and was walked into another part of the hospital.
She brought me into a low lit room that reminded me of a hotel room, minus the bed. I was instructed to undress completely and put on a hospital gown and robe along with some warm green socks. Even though I hadn't had anything to drink for over 12 hours and had already gone to the bathroom that morning, she told me to give her a urine sample in the attached bathroom. Somehow my body obliged!
While in the bathroom I looked at my naked body for the last time. It was weird, I didn't feel as ugly as I had the other night when I was taking my before shots. I still wasn't nervous, but I did feel a little sad knowing I'd never see that again. But I put on my extremely attractive surgery attire and sat in the chair waiting to see what was next.
A nurse came in, one I'd never met before, and she was a little grumpy. She started asking me questions and then had me sit next to her on the couch. I started signing paperwork and noticed that my DOB was wrong so once I pointed it out suddenly it put them in a tizy and we had to do all the paperwork from the beginning over again. The first lady came in and took the old paperwork and then was in and out getting it straightened out.
Nurse #1 hooked me up to a bunch of machines, taking my blood pressure, monitoring my heart rate, etc. She couldn't find the oral health interview I had done earlier that week so she did it again. Then she took my temperature. BIG UH OH. She used a tool that read from my ear, and it said my temp was 99.9 and 100.1. That's a definite fever. I was so confused because I had taken my temp the day before and it was normal. The nurse started getting nervous and was giving me looks like suddenly I was going home and it was over. NOW I WAS NERVOUS. I was NOT going to go home after all of this without my surgery being done. She ran out to confer with other people in the hospital. She came back in and took it again. Same thing. My friend who is going to be my nurse in the room with me came in and checked on me. What's going on? I told her that I had felt a slight sore throat earlier in the week but it went away as soon as it came and I was taking my vitamins so I didn't know what was up. She left and came back in with a different thermometer that measured from under the armpit. That came back normal. She told me she'd give the info to my doctor and in the end her and my anesthesiologist would make the final call. Not gonna lie, I started praying and praying and praying at that point.
I was able to text my sister and a few friends for a few minutes, finally acknowledging that I was nervous as all hell. My emotions were a mix of excitement, calm and pure nerves. I'm not sure how, but I was a roller-coaster.
Another nurse came in. Asked me a million more questions. Tried to be cute and funny. I wasn't in the mood. Did I care that she fought with her husband before coming to work? No. Did I care that she wanted me to be as comfortable as possible and feel safe and secure. Nope. At this point I was ready to get in and get out.
Then the anesthesiologist came in. She had a russian-like accent and was really sweet. I was told that I shouldn't have worn eye makeup because of the "goop" she uses to keep my eyes shut during the procedure. [p.s. that goop stayed on my eyes for days fyi]. Had I known, I wouldn't have but of course, I was given two different stories. She went over my health questions AGAIN [I swear I was asked everything almost 7 times] and said I looked perfect on paper and asked how I felt. I told her I was feeling fine and couldn't understand why I had a fever. She made sure all my piercings were out and then left.
Finally my doctor came in. She had me undress and started marking me with a permanent marker. Then I got dressed again, was given a warm blanket and lead to my locker to put away my phone. Then right into the operating room I went.
Suddenly my slow morning felt a little rushed. I was immediately put on the table, and the anesthesiologist went right to work on putting in my IV. They were all in good moods, joking around with me. She told me she was giving me a cocktail, and it was a good one so she'd be charging me $10 "which is a good deal because if you're in the city a good one costs $15". I told her she'd have to wait because it was in my other pants pocket. My friend was joking with me as well, and I was in a mood that had me giggling nonstop. I couldn't believe it was finally happening.
I remember feeling the IV working and it felt great. There aren't many memories between that initial feeling of "high" and the oxygen mask going on my face. I was out.
When I woke up, I remember seeing my friend again. She told me I did well and that they went big, putting 375 cc in. Did they get a lot out of my stomach? "As much as they could". They told me they put in a call to my friend to come get me. I think I fell asleep again.
The afternoon is blurry. Somehow I got from the operating room to a recovery suite. My friend was there and she took a picture of me. I remember passing out for a while and she sat reading a book. I woke up because the pain was suddenly very intense even though I had taken pain rx. I started freaking out and we called in the nurses to get an idea of what to do. They ended up giving me a more powerful medication through my IV, that suddenly made me sick to my stomach so then I was given a anti-nausea medication as well. Finally I was feeling somewhat ok and they handed my friend my aftercare instructions and I was wheeled out to the car.
The ride home was very painful, but I was in and out of consciousness so somehow I made it. I barely remember getting out or getting into her spare bedroom. The rest of the day all I did was sleep until she would wake me up to eat and take more medication. I thought I wouldn't have an appetite but I was STARVING. I think I ate more in the last week than I have all month.
That's pretty much all I can remember...the rest is, what they say, history (:
No comments:
Post a Comment