Day of Surgery

I'm having to back track and post because I've been out of it for a few days.

The day before surgery was terrible. The hospital support staff staged an illegal strike and a lot of surgeries were cancelled. Fortunately, they all decided to go back to work on the Friday. Guys like my OS got to keep their scheduled surgeries. It was literally down to the wire though. I was told that I might not get in until March 5.Thanks for adding to the stress. I kept thinking, "But I can't go then, I've got to get back to work". As if that is the most important thing.

I got to the hospital at 8:15. I checked in and was given my own little cubicle #22. I had a tearful goodbye with my husband. He couldn't stay because someone had to be with the kids. A nurse came and did some paperwork with me. Someone came to take some blood. The nurse came back and tried to start the IV but she failed. I have a nice bruise to remember her by. I read and read. It was pretty boring which isn't a great thing when one is contemplating one's mortality. I played a bit on my phone too. Boooring! I got to wear my little hospital gown (PS. they really haven't improved the design since I delivered my son).

My "ride" showed up at 10:30. I told him to drive fast and take all the corners on two wheels. I'm sure he was thinking "Oh boy, already gave this one the good drugs". He took me to pre-surgery and I waited some more. Answered some more questions. Couldn't read or play on my phone because they had already taken my belongings away. The young guy next to me was out of it and the older lady to my right didn't fully speak English. We tried to talk anyway. It's funny how important talking becomes when you realize you won't do it for a while. I was babbling to everyone!

At 11:00, the anethetist came and put my IV line in. My OS said hello briefly and I was happy to see he was sober and apparently well-rested. The nurse gave me a surgical cap to wear (not a good look for me). At 11:15, they took me to the OR and got me to slide over onto the table. Yep, it looked like an OR just like when I had my twins. Why do they make that table so darn narrow? It was hard too. I glanced at the clock one more time and it was almost 11:30. The anethetist said she was now adding something to my IV line. Immediately, I lost the vertical hold on my vision. I couldn't even open my eyes because I was seeing triples of everything. She then told me I would sleep. I did.

I remember waking up and thinking, "WHAT?!? Already? Oh, yay! I'm alive!" I didn't have a tube in but I could feel the splint in my mouth. Someone noticed I was awake and began talking to me. I think I gave someone the thumbs up. I remember being pushed to my room and asked to move over to my bed. At that point, I was sick.

WARNING!!! NASTY CONTENT!!!

I had been really afraid of throwing up after surgery. The nurse said it was normal and helped to get rid of blood in the stomach. The pressure was awful and I sprayed blood everywhere. I really do mean sprayed. Imagine a high pressured faucet with a clogged head - the spray is forced out every which way. The nurse was right though. I did feel way better afterwards. I was lucky. I didn't have any more nausea after that.
.
The next part is blurry. I was in and out of sleep. I know I came back to the room about 2:30. At one point, I thought, "I should text my husband". I fell asleep. I finally got my phone back....and fell asleep with the phone in my hand. I woke up long enough for supper...homo milk and beef broth. It was so good even though I had not mastered the syringe. (It's amazing how fast you learn when you are hungry!). After I ate, I fell asleep. I finally got a text through at 8 pm....and then fell asleep.

All night I woke up off and on. I had these compression leggings on that inflated and deflated every 30 sec or so. I also found the bed to be very uncomfortable even with all the controls. My back and legs started to spasm. It was a very long night. The girl next to me had something similar done (not that we chatted or anything!). She threw up a lot.

I had my IV in and I had to ask for help every time I wanted to use the washroom. I had a button to push in order to get morphine. Honestly, I pushed it a few times and I couldn't even tell I if it did anything or not. For all I know, I got the placebo button. On the other hand, the call button really worked. I pushed it and a nurse came running right away. They were very nice there and very supportive. To add to my happy moments, my orthodontist sent me a basket of recovery goodies.