Up Too Late, As Usual

OK, here are the details about my surgery (not that anyone has asked). I went to see the doctor Wednesday, and was in the office forever. When I was leaving, the nurse called the hospital to schedule surgery. First, it was going to be Tuesday. Then, she asks if 1:15 the next day was good for me. It was 5:15 in the afternoon, and I knew Darren was about to leave work. I called him to ask if that was all right with him, and he arranged to stay late that night and work from home the next two days.

I flew out of the doctor's office, picked up Zach from after-school care, and went back to the hospital to do my bloodwork and pre-op paperwork. My friend Jennifer was kind enough to meet me at the hospital and watch the kids so I could get everything done. Afterward, we went home and I made arrangements for someone to take over my Cub Scout meeting the next evening, and canceled my eye doctor and chiropractor's appointments for the next couple of days. We arranged for Jen to take a half-day off work the next day, come and get Zoe from the hospital, get Zach off the bus, and take him to Cub Scouts that evening. She was a life-saver!

The next morning, I packed my bag for the hospital, and tried to be brave. I was really upset that my mom wasn't coming in, but didn't feel like I could ask her to. She called, we both cried, and she arranged to come in the next day and fly to South Carolina Tuesday morning to be with my sister. I became really scared around 9:00 that morning, and couldn't stop crying. I hadn't had surgery since I was 18 and had my wisdom teeth out, and didn't like the idea of having yet another IV, along with general anesthesia. I pulled myself together, and we left for the hospital around 10:45 that morning.

When we arrived at the hospital, we had to see the cashier, then go up to the surgery waiting area. I guess I expected to be put in a hospital room, but where they took me was one large room with a nurses' desk in the middle, and some curtained-off rooms around the edge of the room. I got undressed and waited for what seemed like forever. My neighbor, who is a surgical nurse, came by to see me, along with my OB, Dr. Johnson. She stayed with me for a long time, even holding my hand while the anesthesiologist put the IV in. She instructed my surgeon to put me on the second floor after my surgery, which is the Women's Specialty Unit at the hospital.

Darren came to sit with me once I was prepped for surgery, and Jen came to get Zoe. They rolled me back to the operating room, and all of the nurses in there introduced themselves. They moved me to the operating table, and put me to sleep. What seemed like immediately afterward, I was waking up in the recovery room. I was moved to a regular patient room where Darren was waiting for me, but they couldn't find a bed for me for a couple of hours. I ended up with an ICU bed, which is an air bed. I was tethered in bed by my IV, foot pump things, and morphine pump. I didn't feel too bad after surgery; I just wanted to sleep. Darren left around 6:00 to go and pick Zach up from Cub Scouts, and the nurse gave me a dose of Phenergan. I passed out until 7:00, when Jen and Zoe arrived. Darren and Zach followed shortly after, and Zach was bouncing all over the place. I just wanted them all to leave so I could sleep. Dr. Johnson stopped by to see me on her way home, which was really sweet of her. Darren took the kids home sometime after 8:00, and Jen stayed until visiting hours ended at 9:00.

It wasn't a fun night; someone had to come and get me up anytime I went to the bathroom, and it seemed like there was someone in the room constantly, checking my vital signs or checking the IV pump. The next morning, my nurse put a sign on the door instructing everyone to stay out unless they checked with her first. Finally, I got some sleep!

My parents and Zoe arrived sometime around 2:00, and Darren stayed home to work and get Zach off the bus. I started walking around, and the doctor came to see me at almost 4:00. I was discharged around 4:30, and couldn't wait to get home. I walked around some that evening, but was really sore. The gas was uncomfortable, and walking is the cure for it. I slept for 14 hours that night, and woke up feeling better on Saturday.

Mom,Zoe, and I did some Christmas shopping on Saturday, and Darren and Dad took Zach to run errands. We stayed home that night, missing the Lighting of the Doves. A huge storm hit during the night, and I spent a lot of the night on the couch downstairs. Of course, I wasn't tired after all the sleep I got the night before. Dad left early Sunday morning, and we hung out at home. Darren and I went to the grocery store that evening, and my neighbor brought us dinner.

Today, Mom and I were busy. I went to the eye doctor, picked Zach up from school, took Mom to the chiropractor, went to the grocery store twice, cooked dinner, and visited with an old friend this evening. I will be sad to see Mom leave in the morning, but am looking forward to a couple of days of relaxing. Zach is off school Wednesday, so we'll see how much relaxing I get to do. We are going to head to Galveston to Darren's dad's for Thanksglving, and maybe to the Renaissance Festival Friday, since it is the last weekend of it this year.