It's been nearly a year since I blogged and I had so much to say about this surgery it wouldn't all fit on my facebook. It also seemed weird to put it there? Anyways.
I was all set for this surgery - back when I thought it would be in December, or January ... and then maybe February but it happened March 20th with a surgeon I met for a TOTAL time of less than 15 minutes.
Luckily, I was one of the very first to have surgery that day so despite being there at 615 am, we were in day surgery fairly quickly after that. We chatted with 3 other couples there for surgery. Well two other couples, a man and a baby - dental surgery. I was brought into a room and told to get completely naked, pee in a cup, and put the new things on. Not in that particular order.
#turnsoutimnotpregnant.
When I was done changing behind the very sketchy curtain I answered some questions, showed them my permanent wire on my teeth and then went to sit with the others. After a quick glance around, I realized ... I was the ONLY one who wasn't given pants. Even the BABY had pants. The baby. Not me. Pantsless. And pantyless. #notcoolguys.
When we got to the OR waiting area, we sat - me and another guy in our separate curtained areas with warm blankets. I listened to everyone around me. I met a fellow (who was actually a girl) who would be assisting in the surgery, a nurse, the anesthesiologist, the other dude's anesthesiologist and saw tons of people. Eventually I saw my surgeon and she drew a smily face on my left hip. It's still there. It won't wash off. It'll be there forever. She also told me she might not see me before I left because she had a super important surgery after mine but I could wait and she would find me.
Another lady - super high on dilaudin - was chatting about how she's had so many surgeries to the nurse who was trying to get answers out of her. Quote 'why did you give me these drugs ... if you wanted straight answers from me!?'. True. You tell them lady. She was getting a knee replacement.
Sidenote : one of the nurses in day surgery was on her first day back after knee surgery.
Finally I was brought into my OR room #2. I was terrified but my OR nurses were so great. They talked to me and asked personal questions, teased the others. It really helped. They had something called a pause where they talked about the surgery and then they strapped me down, super scary, then started the IV. The anesthesiologist ended up taking over when the nurse couldn't get it in the first time. It took a few more minutes, they gave me some oxygen and started chatting about who wears the pants in the anesthesiologists house etc ... then I got super sleepy and was out.
When I woke up, I was in total freak out mode. I had no idea where I was, what I was there for and why I was in so much pain. You guys. Completely freaked out and one nurse said 'You just had surgery of course your in pain'. Wow. Thanks for that considerate word of encouragement. Eventually I was able to breathe out that I was in a 9/10 for pain and they gave me morphine.
I remember them saying they were going to move me but I hadn't had 15 minutes of oxygen and they said it would continue in day surgery. It did not continue in day surgery by the way. Once in day surgery recovery area I. was. a. mess. I don't remember a ton of details, just one of the nurses - Jessica and a few others saying I was white as the sheet I was wrapped in. I was cold. I was hot. I was shaky. I could hardly breathe. I was exhausted. I don't know the entire order of things that happened after this. I drank juice/water. I had to pee so bad but absolutely could not get up to walk at all. I kept asking how the surgery went, it was my number one concern. I asked in the surgical recovery room too and no one would answer me. In fact, one nurse in the day surgery gave me a lecture about how she wasn't there, she didn't know how it went, she didn't have the answers and the surgeon wasn't coming to talk to me. I cried. Well, except I couldn't cry so it was the ugliest, gasping, stomach clenching sobbing terrified mess you can imagine.
Super terrified. Corey pat my hand and told me it probably was fine. Guess how I took that. Not well. Everyone got silent treatment once I calmed down, until ... a nurse came in and Corey asked HER and she said oh it went very well, if you wait around long enough the surgeon will come down and chat with you, but they hadn't been told of any complications. Like how fucking hard was that you guys. I did a 180, pain started to subside, I agreed to try walking - which was sketchy but successful. Jessica and another nurse helped me. I peed. I freaked out that my legs were pink - turns out it's the antibacterial stuff they use. Thought I had a blood clot. No biggie. #holycrap
After this, I did a lot of resting/sleeping until I started to get steadier and then my surgeon DID come and tell me it went great. I DO have a tiny divet but not enough of a 3rd hernia to warrant surgery but the other two went well. The mesh fell right into place right where she wanted it etc. She told me to expect bruising watch out for infection and no lifting/strenuous anything for at LEAST 2 weeks but closer to 4-6 weeks. Get walking right away.
#no.
It took me until about 130 ish to decide I was ready to go home. I was given a list of instructions and told to sign a paper to promise I wouldn't sign for anything important. Ironic. the nurse that discharged me was so amazing about all the instructions and was very serious about what to lift what not to do and what was good to do. I went home and was in bed and slept/whined a lot.
4 am we ended up making a call to 811 when I was in so much pain and I couldn't stop shaking. At all. I felt so, so, so sick. The nurse on the phone was pretty good at talking Corey through all my symptoms and telling him what to watch for and what to do and what to give me. A dose of dilaudid, gravol and water later I was finally settling down. Dilaudid was my friend for 12 hours until I could switch to Tylenol.
The next day, ended up in the ER for bleeding from an incision, but that's a whole other story. Phew.
I was all set for this surgery - back when I thought it would be in December, or January ... and then maybe February but it happened March 20th with a surgeon I met for a TOTAL time of less than 15 minutes.
Luckily, I was one of the very first to have surgery that day so despite being there at 615 am, we were in day surgery fairly quickly after that. We chatted with 3 other couples there for surgery. Well two other couples, a man and a baby - dental surgery. I was brought into a room and told to get completely naked, pee in a cup, and put the new things on. Not in that particular order.
#turnsoutimnotpregnant.
When I was done changing behind the very sketchy curtain I answered some questions, showed them my permanent wire on my teeth and then went to sit with the others. After a quick glance around, I realized ... I was the ONLY one who wasn't given pants. Even the BABY had pants. The baby. Not me. Pantsless. And pantyless. #notcoolguys.
When we got to the OR waiting area, we sat - me and another guy in our separate curtained areas with warm blankets. I listened to everyone around me. I met a fellow (who was actually a girl) who would be assisting in the surgery, a nurse, the anesthesiologist, the other dude's anesthesiologist and saw tons of people. Eventually I saw my surgeon and she drew a smily face on my left hip. It's still there. It won't wash off. It'll be there forever. She also told me she might not see me before I left because she had a super important surgery after mine but I could wait and she would find me.
Another lady - super high on dilaudin - was chatting about how she's had so many surgeries to the nurse who was trying to get answers out of her. Quote 'why did you give me these drugs ... if you wanted straight answers from me!?'. True. You tell them lady. She was getting a knee replacement.
Sidenote : one of the nurses in day surgery was on her first day back after knee surgery.
Finally I was brought into my OR room #2. I was terrified but my OR nurses were so great. They talked to me and asked personal questions, teased the others. It really helped. They had something called a pause where they talked about the surgery and then they strapped me down, super scary, then started the IV. The anesthesiologist ended up taking over when the nurse couldn't get it in the first time. It took a few more minutes, they gave me some oxygen and started chatting about who wears the pants in the anesthesiologists house etc ... then I got super sleepy and was out.
When I woke up, I was in total freak out mode. I had no idea where I was, what I was there for and why I was in so much pain. You guys. Completely freaked out and one nurse said 'You just had surgery of course your in pain'. Wow. Thanks for that considerate word of encouragement. Eventually I was able to breathe out that I was in a 9/10 for pain and they gave me morphine.
I remember them saying they were going to move me but I hadn't had 15 minutes of oxygen and they said it would continue in day surgery. It did not continue in day surgery by the way. Once in day surgery recovery area I. was. a. mess. I don't remember a ton of details, just one of the nurses - Jessica and a few others saying I was white as the sheet I was wrapped in. I was cold. I was hot. I was shaky. I could hardly breathe. I was exhausted. I don't know the entire order of things that happened after this. I drank juice/water. I had to pee so bad but absolutely could not get up to walk at all. I kept asking how the surgery went, it was my number one concern. I asked in the surgical recovery room too and no one would answer me. In fact, one nurse in the day surgery gave me a lecture about how she wasn't there, she didn't know how it went, she didn't have the answers and the surgeon wasn't coming to talk to me. I cried. Well, except I couldn't cry so it was the ugliest, gasping, stomach clenching sobbing terrified mess you can imagine.
Super terrified. Corey pat my hand and told me it probably was fine. Guess how I took that. Not well. Everyone got silent treatment once I calmed down, until ... a nurse came in and Corey asked HER and she said oh it went very well, if you wait around long enough the surgeon will come down and chat with you, but they hadn't been told of any complications. Like how fucking hard was that you guys. I did a 180, pain started to subside, I agreed to try walking - which was sketchy but successful. Jessica and another nurse helped me. I peed. I freaked out that my legs were pink - turns out it's the antibacterial stuff they use. Thought I had a blood clot. No biggie. #holycrap
After this, I did a lot of resting/sleeping until I started to get steadier and then my surgeon DID come and tell me it went great. I DO have a tiny divet but not enough of a 3rd hernia to warrant surgery but the other two went well. The mesh fell right into place right where she wanted it etc. She told me to expect bruising watch out for infection and no lifting/strenuous anything for at LEAST 2 weeks but closer to 4-6 weeks. Get walking right away.
#no.
It took me until about 130 ish to decide I was ready to go home. I was given a list of instructions and told to sign a paper to promise I wouldn't sign for anything important. Ironic. the nurse that discharged me was so amazing about all the instructions and was very serious about what to lift what not to do and what was good to do. I went home and was in bed and slept/whined a lot.
4 am we ended up making a call to 811 when I was in so much pain and I couldn't stop shaking. At all. I felt so, so, so sick. The nurse on the phone was pretty good at talking Corey through all my symptoms and telling him what to watch for and what to do and what to give me. A dose of dilaudid, gravol and water later I was finally settling down. Dilaudid was my friend for 12 hours until I could switch to Tylenol.
The next day, ended up in the ER for bleeding from an incision, but that's a whole other story. Phew.
