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August 16, 2008
sliced and diced
So, I survived the surgery, and the only pain I'm having now appears to be residual from said surgery. If I am not counting my chicks before they're hatched, this could very well mean the surgery was a success!
I was pretty nervous pre-surgery, but everyone was really nice. The nurse who was doing most of my check-in stuff was a TALKER, holy shit. The first time she came in while Mike was back with me, he did not breathe until she left the room. There was this warm air machine they hooked my gown up to so I'd stay warm till it was time for them to wheel me back for the slicing. The anesthesiologist was way more awesome than the colonoscopy one, although not quite as awesome as the exploratory surgery one (that one won me over for good with his little tiny pre-IV numbing needle).
Post surgery was, eh. I was pretty sore and VERY itchy. My body does not like meds, apparently. I stayed in Recovery for a little bit, then they wheeled me up to my hospital room, which was arguably the most painful part of the whole experience. It felt they merrily pushed my bed over every possible bump, and when I pointed out (nicely at first, then in tears) that it hurt like mad, their only solution was to tell me to put an alcohol wipe right by my nose and tell me to breath deep over the bumps. What the hell is an alcohol wipe supposed to do? Reek the pain away? It was better once I was settled into my room and could go to sleep. The pain medicine button was a big help, too. Mike's mom sent me a lovely flower arrangement with a balloon and a teddy bear, and my mom stopped by after work to check in and bring Mike some Real Food since he'd been there all day with only bagels to subsist on.
The highlights of my overnight hospital stay: spilling my ice water on myself twice in one night, pressing the call button for the nurse when I was trying to turn on the light, and having to have help to turn off the tv. I'm pretty sure the nurse who on duty for all of that was beyond happy to go home at the end of her shift.
It was kind of iffy as to whether or not I'd get to go home on Wednesday as planned, because I had a slight fever and felt like death. In the end, the doctor decided to go ahead and send me home, which turned out to be the best solution. Once I got home, got settled into bed with a glass of ice water, and snuggled with my puppies for a bit, I started feeling better. I think part of the problem was the pain meds they switched me to after taking away the pain med button. My tummy gets really, really upset on this stuff, and I get a killer headache, which both combine to make me miserable.
Bill and Steph came over for a quick visit on Thursday and brought me some deelishus get-well-soon chocolate-dipped strawberries, which are possibly the best sick food evar.
Now that I've been home for a couple of days, I'm getting better at navigating around. Most of the time I don't even need help sitting up, although there are times when it's a bit more painful than I'd like. I'm already tired of being an invalid, though. I'm ready to do more around the house, or at least pick up my damn puppies. It's not like they're Rottweilers, you know.
Posted by oracle at August 16, 2008 3:36 PM in health / the fifth year
Comments
Glad everything went okay and you are home recovering. Take it slow and easy (I know - easier said than done), but it will help you recover faster. When necessary, hug a puppy. It really helps!
and PS: I love the rune tat! Awesome!
Posted by: gayle at August 19, 2008 8:35 AM