Surgery day

I'm two days out from surgery now, and it feels like a good time to tell the story. 

My surgery was scheduled for 7:30am, so I had to be there by 6:30am.  Mary and Lori were with me, and we got there a little early, so we had to wait out in the hall until someone realized we were there and unlocked the door.

I did not pass go, nor did I collect $200.  I was immediately let in for prep.  Of course the first thing I had to do was step on the scale.  The nurse, Beth, was awesome.  She said, "Take a good look at that number, because you'll never see anything like it again."

Once I was weighed, I had to put on my hospital gown, hair cover, and booties with tread.  The only thing I was allowed to have on under this was socks.  At first I wasn't sure how the gown went on, but they had cute directions on the wall which said, "Remember, rated G in the front; rated R in the back."  Hee!

After that she had to start an IV for me and take my vitals.  I sat in a very comfortable reclining chair and was covered with warm blankets that felt like they were just taken out of the dryer.  My blood pressure and pulse were surprisingly low for the anxiety I was feeling. 

I was left for a few minutes while fluids, antibiotics, and more anti-nausea stuff was pumped into me.  Soon after, Dr. Landerholm, my surgeon, came to talk to me for a bit, then the anesthesiologist.  He explained a bunch of things to me, letting me know the risks of anesthesia and also some of the things that would happen.  For example, he reminded me that I would have a breathing tube in my throat, but it would be inserted after I was under, and taken out before I woke, so I wouldn't remember it, but I would have a residual sore, scratchy throat.  He also dumped some anti-anxiety something or other in my IV bag for me, so that was nice.

Lori sat with me for a little bit, but I'm really not sure at what point that happened. 

Finally the time came to go to the surgery room.  I remember getting myself onto the surgery table, some nurses tugging my gown off, the anesthesiologist saying he was going to give me a little more of the anti-anxiety stuff, which I'm assuming was the actual anesthesia, because I remember nothing else until I woke up in recovery. 

The surgery was uneventful, which, of course, is the kind of surgery you want.  I rocked the pre-op diet.  I lost 14 pounds on it, plus the surgeon complimented me on my beautiful liver.  Hee!

I was a little sore, but not in any real pain.  When the nurse realized I was awake, she went to get Mary and Lori, so I would have someone there, and so they could see I was OK.  Soon after, Dr. Landerholm showed up and said, "There it is!  They (Mary and Lori) asked how they would know you were OK, and right there (pointing at the big grin on my face) is what I told them to look for."

I can't tell you how long I stayed there in recovery, because I was still groggy from the anesthesia, but it wasn't that long.  Soon, the nurse shipped Mary and Lori out to move the car closer to the door, then helped me to get dressed.  I got a little impatient and ended up pulling out my IV line as I tugged my shirt on.  That wasn't a good thing, because I had to go back in the next day to get more fluids pumped into me.

I rested and walked around my apartment for the rest of the day.  They wanted me to get at least 60 ounces of fluids in, which was laughable for me.  I maybe got 30 ounces in.  I felt full after just a couple of sips.  Sugar free Popsicles were the easiest for me to get down, but I tried to get as much water as I could.

I did take my pain medicine regularly.  What I was feeling was really more discomfort than pain, but the stuff really helped with the discomfort.  Unfortunately, it blurs my vision, so I want to stop taking it, but I was advised to keep taking it for 72 hours.  Still, it's been twelve hours since my last dose, and I'm fine.  Yeah, there's some discomfort and cramping, but I have the feeling this is the dreaded gas I was warned about.

Surgery day was completely uneventful.  I drank as much clear liquids as I could, took my medicine, took my temperature a million times (fever is a sign of a leak), and went to bed early.  I did have a bit of a reflux issue once, but it wasn't bad, and I just have to take some Maalox to deal with it until I get to purees, then I'll be able to take my prescription acid blocker.  It's a big capsule that I won't be able to swallow (can't take pills bigger than a baby aspirin), but I can break it apart and sprinkle the insides in some applesauce. 

I was up every two hours or so during that first night.  Drank what I could, sucked on some popsicles, took my temp, walked around, and eventually went back to sleep for another couple hours.

Oh, I forgot to mention, that I was home by 11:30am.  Every other place I looked into had at least an overnight hospital stay, and some had a two night stay.  I loved that I could spend the day comfortably in my home.  I did have to go back in the next day to get more fluids pumped into me.  No big deal.  It went faster than expected, and now I don't have to go back in until my one-week check-up.

So far, so good, no regrets at all.