Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Surgery Went Swimmingly...

...and I didn't say anything embarrassing on drugs or off. A first for me, I'm pretty sure.

The trip to the hospital was a bit ominous in that we followed a hearse nearly all the way there. I didn't say anything about it, but when we turned into the parking lot and the hearse went straight Todd said, "Whew!" For some reason that totally cracked me up.

Everything leading up to surgery was totally unblogworthy so I won't bore you with the details. The operation went well, everything came out as it was supposed to, nothing looked suspicious. I spent more time in recovery than I did in surgery simply because the hospital was crowded and there wasn't an available bed. Seems like poor planning to me, but what do I know?

I did appreciate their narcotic protocol. A steady stream through my IV AND a pump for a little extra dose when I felt the need.

It's funny what you notice when you're medicated. Before being taken into the operating room I had a great view of the pre-op nurse's office. There were medical books upon medical books and in the midst of those was an InStyle Weddings coffee table book. When I was settled in my room after surgery I kept thinking of Sunsilk (hair products) commercials. That baffled me because I don't use Sunsilk and I couldn't imagine why those ads should be stuck in my head. It finally hit me. The white board on the wall in front of my bed had a list of care providers: Nurse, Tech, Assistant, etc. After these the name of the person on shift would be written in so we would always know who was who. There was a frame around the white board and covered the "T" in the word "Therapy", leaving only "Herapy". So yeah. That's where the Sunsilk commercial came in.

Because the hospital was so crowded I ended up sharing a room with another patient. As I mentioned in the previous post, I've had several surgeries. I think this is the first time I ever had a roommate.

Very sadly, she was an elderly lady who suffered from vertigo, delusions, disorientation and pain in her legs and arm. She cried and moaned and called out and wept. It was very agitating and very sad. I felt so helpless. She finally fell asleep at night and I very soon followed suit, only to be shocked awake by her hollering for her mommy to help her. She was falling. "Please help me, mommy! I'm going to fall!" I hit the call button so they could come wake her up. It was so sad. She did that a couple times and then one time she woke up, crying, clearly distressed and wanting to know where she was. "You're in the hospital, Honey. You're okay. The nurse is coming," I told her as I was pushing the button again.

I was totally conflicted. I felt so bad for her and wished I could do something for her, but there was nothing I could do. I did spend a lot of time praying for her. I was also a bit angry that they put me in with her. I was a surgical patient and should not have been in with such a distressing patient. On the other hand, I think there were a couple times when my voice calmed her until the nurses could get there. They told her countless times how to press the button if she needed them. I could hear her on the other side of the curtain clicking something, but the nurse light never would come on. So I spent half my time hitting my button for her. The nurses would come in and ask me what I needed and I'd just point to the curtain.

It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. I suppose one benefit to it was that it forced me to take a lot more walks yesterday than I would have otherwise. Since I did so well - getting up so much and with a minimum of pain - I was given the option of staying one more night or being released after only one night. Seeing as how my one night was less than restful I opted to come home.

One of the more pleasing aspects of the stay was in the middle of the night - when things were quiet next door - I heard Brahms' Lullaby. I was a little, um, what's the word... oh yeah. Drugged. But I remember hearing it, smiling and thinking, Isn't it nice that they play such sweet music so we'll be lulled to sleep? After it stopped it started up again. So nice...

Yesterday I found out I was on the same floor as the maternity ward and every time a baby is born they play Lullaby and Goodnight. Twins had been born in the middle of the night - delivered by my very own doctor. Labor and Delivery was pretty busy yesterday as Todd and I counted at least three lullabies. And everyone would stop, smile and say, "Awwww."

Because of the busy business of babies, I wasn't discharged until a little after 6:00. We got home around 7:00 and I ensconced myself in Todd's chair. Though he's now saying it's no longer his chair. I spilt coffee on the arm the other day and he thinks that was me christening it like a yacht. In fact, at some point in the near future you all may be treated to a guest blog - no doubt about the injustice of how I've weaseled my way into his chair and taken over.

I'm amazed at the little amount of pain I've had. As much as I like to talk about my admiration and esteem of controlled substances, I haven't had to take a pill since this morning. I'm really stunned. Pleased, but stunned.

I am having some skin issues, however. I blistered from the tape - something I'd never done before until these past six months. The seams from my gown and now underwear seem to be causing some hefty irritations as well. Though they seem to be a little better even today so I wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the anesthesia. I see the dermatology specialist in two weeks so if I'm still dealing with this stuff we'll see what he recommends.

I do want to thank you all for the overwhelming comments on my last post. I should clarify that right now I'm okay with not jumping. At this moment I'm perfectly happy sitting on the side and watching. Not so much the other day, obviously.

Most of the time I'm okay with my lot. I still know all this is temporary. It's just taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm pretty laid back and it usually takes a lot to ruffle my feathers. But sometimes I find myself full of frustration and sadness and all kinds of emotions. I let them out (as in the case of Sunday's post) and then I'm good to go for a while.

I know what you're thinking. It's the Percocet talking. Not so. Maybe I'll write my next post under the influence. That might be kind of fun!

Labels: cancer, medical

Mused by Jenster :: 10:18 AM :: 22 People musing:

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