The Surgery

Well I did it. I finally had my surgery.

We got to the hospital a little late. We were supposed to arrive at 5:45 but ended up getting there closer to 6. I was weirdly calm. Normally before something big, I am a nervous wreck. I had some nerves, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. I was either in shock or I had finally accepted everything. I am not sure which. The whole ride to the hospital I was expecting the butterflies and feeling sick or anxious. I just.. didn’t get them.

My Mom, Dad, Nate and I were not in the waiting room very long when I was called to go back to my pre-op station. I had a bed behind a curtain. I was only allowed to take one person at a time, so I took Nate first. I got undressed and got into my gown, and then the parade started. I got to see three different nurses, my Anesthesia doctor, my Surgeon, his PA Tyler, and then finally my Anesthesia nurse who would be with me the whole time.

Nate was with me the whole time, the nurses making us laugh, taking whatever nerves we had left away with them. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in a hospital. They had a really hard time getting the IV in, I have really deep set veins. They had to bring a machine that shined a red light on my skin, and it showed my veins to the nurse so she could put in my IV. It was really cool. The Anesthesiologist even started playing around with it on me because she had never seen it before.

They put the IV in my left hand, and it wasn’t very comfortable at all. I am left handed for one, and it really stung feeling the medicine going through it. I had asked them if they could move it after surgery while I was still out, but they forgot I think.

After my IV was in, my parents were able to come back and we all spent a little time together. They got to be there when my Surgeon came in and the Anesthesiologist nurse came to give me meds and take me to the operating room. I remember feeling odd when I was being rolled into the room, everything started to blur and spin. We got into the operating room, I saw the big round lights and all the nurses prepping everything around me. They put me into position and started strapping my arms down off to the side. I think they must have given me the good stuff at this point, because it was hard to keep my eyes open. The nurse finally told me to turn off my brain and have a good nap. So I did.

Surgery lasted a little less then three hours. My boyfriend didn’t want to leave the waiting room. I think he was more anxious about all this then I was. Maybe that is why I was so calm, because he needed me to be.

The next thing I can remember is pain, and not being able to breath. Every breath was agony, and I could hear someone telling me to take a deep breath. I kept telling them I couldn’t, that I hurt. I just continued to take short staggered breaths as this nurse continued to yell at me to breath. I finally told her to stop yelling at me and that I couldn’t. I begged her to give me something for the pain. They told me they had already, twice. I think I vaguely remember her talking to my surgeon, but I don’t really know. Everything seemed like a dream for a while after I woke up.

I am pretty sure I didn’t open my eyes this whole time. Next thing I knew it was quiet and my family was in the room with me. There was a woman in the room too yelling about how the hospital was trying to kill her. This continued for a while. My father, who did not want me to be dealing with that, got me moved to another room, 2208. For those who know me, know what a fanatic I am about numbers. This is probably one of the best room numbers I could ever ask for. I knew it was a sign that everything would be fine, and I would be okay. But I was still in pain, and having a hard time breathing. I was cramping in my stomach and my back and rear were in a lot of pain due to the duration I was laying on them.

While in the first room, basically all I did was ask for pain medication. My parents tracked down a nurse to finally hook up the morphine drip, where I had a button I could give it to myself. Now I thought this was the kind that you could keep pressing and pressing. This one I could only do every 6 minutes. Needless today, I kept my eyes on the clock.

The rest of the day was pretty painful. After only a few hours after my surgery, they wanted me to start walking. Mind you, I am connected to a heart monitor, breathing machine, IV, and a catheter. The tech that was helping me, Stacy, was amazing. As you can imagine, after having surgery on your stomach, it can be painful to do just about anything, but trying to get out of bed is next to impossible. Stacy gave me a bit bear hug and lifted me out of the bed. She helped make sure my gown was covering me, and that I was steady before walking. She basically kept her arm around me the whole time. My Dad was so thankful that she was there, he gave her a hug too.

I didn’t walk very far, I got down to half way down the hallway. I kept getting cramps in my stomach, it felt like charlie-horses. My back was also in a lot of pain, trying to hold the rest of my body up because my core couldn’t. The pain medicine still wasn’t working very well, and I hadn’t had anything to drink since midnight the night before, just enough to wet my mouth. I was weak, tired, in pain, and starting to feel a little nauseous. They made me walk a few more times that night, each time getting easier and easier.

My parents stayed for the whole day, I basically had to kick them out. They were so helpful, tracking down nurses or anyone to help me with anything. They encouraged me to walk, as that was the best way to heal. Through all the confusion and headache, they were there to make sure I was being cared for properly, and I couldn’t have done this without them.

The second tech of the night was not as good as Stacy. He was a little asian boy who didn’t help me out of bed, and barely knew what he was doing. Thank God Nate stayed the night with me that night, or I wouldn’t have been able to walk at all. Actually, if he didn’t stay the night, I don’t think I would have been comfortable, and may have fallen several times. My boyfriend, all 6’5 of him, slept in a tiny sleep chair all curled up, so uncomfortable. He woke up every time I moved, and got up just to help me.

Through this day, I learned a lot. I learned I do not have a high tolerance for pain, that I never want to do this surgery ever again, and that I couldn’t have done this without my parents and Nate.

I will tell everyone more about my experience, but this is it for now.