And I'm Back

Surgery went A-OK on Thursday morning, and I came home from the hospital on Saturday morning. For anyone considering major abdominal surgery as a form of entertainment, well I really cannot recommend it. For the gruesome play-by-play, keep reading.

I checked in for surgery Thursday morning, got blood taken, and got hooked up to my first IV line. My surgeon and anesthesiologist both came in to talk to me. Because my parents showed up 40 min early to pick me up, we were doing a lot of thumb-twiddling. I was inspecting my IV line and asking the anesthesia guy if bubbles in the line are normal (apparently they are). I got wheeled over to anesthesia guy (AG) and he puts a sedative in my IV before administering what I think was some kind of spinal block which I would later find out is totally totally awesome. AG tells me I don't have to look as he injects the IV but of course that made me look anyway.

Next thing I know I wake up and think - freaking-A, I hope I'm not still waiting for surgery. I feel faint pressure and hear a kid screaming on the gurney next to me, so I ask "Am I done?" and a nurse chirps "You're done, sweetie!" Then I get wheeled to a room. Yay! No roomies. All for me.

Thanks to Totally Awesome Spinal Stuff, I feel no pain. Thanks to General Anesthesia, I am feeling hella nauseous. Thankfully the nurses got right on putting an anti-nausea thing in my IV. Phew. I cannot imagine that puking at this point would be a Happy Fun Time. My parents come in, and after hanging up clothes for me, putting my bag within reach, and fumbling with the controls on my bed and tv, they figure they can do much less damage elsewhere, so they leave.

I discover that Totally Awesome Spinal Stuff has the unfortunate side effect of making my nose, face, and chest itch like an evil dirty disease. Between this and getting my vitals taken every hour or two by one of a procession of kindly care techs, I'm only able to nap on and off for the next 40 hours or so. Luckily the Pope cancelled our weekend meeting so I had nowhere I had to be.

I get some jello down but am still feeling a bit queasy so I don't risk anymore. Totally Awesome Spinal Stuff is still working, so the rest of the night is spent napping and getting vitals taken. Also, instead of the old-school surgical stockings you used to have to wear to prevent blood clots, I had this contraption wrapped around each of my legs. The best way I can describe it is a shiatsu massager for my legs...a really annoying shiatsu massager that would have made sleep impossible all by itself.

Friday morning comes along, and the nurse takes away all the annoying stuff that is keeping me in bed except for the IV, which she temporarily disconnected so I could try and get out of bed and test my sea legs. I successfully use the bathroom which was one of my criteria for getting my release ok'ed, so that's a plus. And then around 24 hrs after the surgery, that rotten bitch Totally Awesome Spinal Stuff takes off forever, and in her place she has left Indisputable Pain.

I have never been one to complain much about pain - I don't see much point in complaining about it. But after walking around my room a bit, moving stuff in my bag, and my bed tray and lunch tray, my incision informs me that I have tried to do too much. Thankfully the nurses came to the rescue with liquid ibuprofen in my IV, so I never had to be on narcotics at all. I know some people were looking forward to the kinds of crazy I would be able to come up with under the influence of morphine, but alas you will have to settle for my ibuprofen musings.

Saturday morning I get a new nurse, and it turns out she went to my high school and graduated the same year as I did. Crazy small world. I get discharged Saturday and my parents took me to breakfast and then home, where Mom commenced her orgy of cleaning as her way of helping me out. I ended up sending her home on Sunday afternoon, as there wasn't much she could do to make my incision comfortable, and I was getting by ok on my own otherwise.

So far it's been mostly bearable, and a test of my creativity as I figure out new ways to do the basics like getting in and out of bed without using my abdomen. Taking it easy on my midsection means it's been a lot harder on my back, arms, and legs, so they're starting to get sore. I've been using my toes to pick up a lot of things. I was given a scrip for Vicodin which I did fill, but so far have been powering through on copious amounts of OTC ibuprofen. I'm also getting tired pretty easily - I've had one nap today and am thinking about taking another. But from what I hear everywhere this first week is the toughest. I'll be back on hopefully soon if the enforced inactivity starts to bring out the blogging genius in me.

Toodles,
D