Elementally Speaking

Whew — I’m Back

Posted on February 27, 2009. Filed under: Mommy Moments |

Sorry for the lengthier than expected absence.  The surgery was a bit more involved than what I originally understood.  I won’t disgust you with any of the details here!  I do, of course, have to share a couple of tidbits from the entire experience.

I had asked the nurse scheduling the surgery for something early in the am, since this was a “no eating or drinking after midnight” and lord knows I can’t go without eating for very long.  Plus, you don’t really want a lot of time to sit and think about the fact that someone is going to be cutting your head open today.  She obliged, and we had to check-in at the hospital (about 35 minutes away) at 6:00 am.  Thank God for our babysitter B.  She was willing to drag herself out of bed early and take the kids so they wouldn’t get out of their routine of starting out at her house.   That definitely made for one less thing to worry about.

On the way to the hospital, I did try to convince the BigD to just skip it all together.  He drove right to the hospital.  I swear, as soon as we pulled into the parking garage, you could smell that hospital smell.  That’s when your stomach does a flop. 

The hospital has gone way high tech.  Your family member gets a restaurant-style beeper with an assigned number.  The number corresponds to the same number on a flat screen tv (one of many in the waiting room) that tells the “stages” you’ve been through, like checked in, hooked up, ready to be cut, etc. 

We sit and wait for a while, BigD trying to make small chat.  Doesn’t work.  I have to go to the bathroom like three times in 15 minutes.  I see techs coming out getting the people that checked in before me.  Then a bitchy looking tech comes sluffing out.  I say to BigD “I hope she’s not mine – she looks like a bitch.”  Of course she was mine. 

As we’re walking back she says I’ll need to give a urine sample.  Hmmm, maybe they should have told me that before the last three times I peed.  I explain I just went.  Tech- “sigh.  That’s what everybody says.”  My response, “well, give me a minute and I can probably squeeze out a nervous pee.”  Miracle — she laughs!  After that, everything was a-ok with her. 

Then I knew things were heating up because a nurse comes in, followed by BigD’s Mom, L.  We all chat for a couple of minutes….until the needles come out.  BigD knows — I hate needles…..like really hate needles.  I still almost cry when I have to get a shot.  Yes, I’m a wimp about it and I’ll admit it.  BigD suggests that he and L should step out.  The nurse asks if I want the little shot of Lidocaine before the IV goes in.  Um…..two shots?  NOOOOOOO thank you.  Not only do I hate shots, I really hate feeling the medicine go in, and from my experience during the first surgery I know Lidocaine pools when it goes it.  It just feels wrong.  I tell her to just stick the IV in.

The nurse is going over the paperwork, and amusingly BigD discovers they have the orders written for the right side of my head, when it’s actually the left side of my head that will be worked on.  When the dr comes, new orders have to be written.  OOPS.  At least they weren’t taking off a limb or something. 

Then the or nurse and nurse anesthesiologist come in….L departs.  The anesth says its time and they start to wheel me away.  Meanwhile, he’s given a little push of something in the IV.  “Whoa.”  It took like three seconds to initially ‘feel it.’  Five feet later I’m saying goodbye to BigD.  Then it’s lights out.  Seriously.   A little tiny vial of medicine put me out in 10-15 seconds.

Then, I woke up during the surgery.  No, just kidding!  I woke up just fine in the recovery room with a very nice nurse looking after me.  As I was waking up, I started moving my non-IV arm around and realized I was touching my own skin on my leg.  I ask “why am I naked?”  I’m quite sure she surpressed a laugh and then she explained that I wasn’t naked, they just had to undo the gown a bit.  Oh.

Then off to post-recovery where I meet back up with BigD, have an Otis Spunkmeyer apple cinnamon muffin (quite good), and then get dressed to be released. 

The next few days are a blur, and I discover I hate pain medication.  I’ll share that story tomorrow!

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