April 12, 2012

Surgery = donezo!!!!

I wanted to blog Friday night and then also this morning, but I have not had enough energy to do so until now. It's 1:30 pm the day after surgery.

When I arrived yesterday morning, I was a little nervous. There is a call my dad received when I was in high school that I couldn't get out of my head. One of the students dads had died while having a gastric bypass. My surgery is significantly less dangerous, but still carries a level of risk. And since it was my choice to do it, I was having a hard time thinking "What if something happened to me?" Right before I was wheeled away I looked at Clay and his eyes were a little red and he said "You come back to me, okay?" That immediately gave me the urge to cry and I was having a hard time holding it in. The anesthesiology nurse noticed, because she wiped away a tear that had escape and told me not to worry - they were going to take good care of me.

When people are kind to me, it usually makes me cry more, which is exactly what happened. She was holding the oxygen mask on my face with one hand, and her other hand was on my cheek. She kept rubbing my temple (and the tears away) with her thumb and telling me they would take care of me. That's what I feel asleep to. I thank God for her.

Out of all 7 of my previous surgeries, I woke up to the same thing. I would be in the recovery room with a little pain, they would give me something, and then I would wake up again hours later in my hospital room feeling just slightly uncomfortable. Not so this time. I woke up in recovery in tremendous pain. The nurse said he gave me something but it didn't feel like it. I had to deal with it for about 30 minutes until I got up to my room and the nurse up here was able to get some meds from the hospital pharmacy. It really felt unbearable at the time. But once she gave me something I was out for about 4-5 hours. I woke up around 7:30-8:30 pm. I got more pain meds and then fell asleep again. When I woke up a little after 9, I got up and walked around for the 1st time. I called my parents and gave them an update and checked on Lily. Apparently she had gotten into some mischief that evening. She was on the patio trying to water plants and ended up pouring water all over herself. Then she apparently emptied all of her dresser drawers. Ahhhh, that's my girl :) I wish I could have been there. I am told she was very well behaved and ate very well, so mommy and daddy had nothing to worry about.

Clay was my amazing knight in shining armor the whole time, being there for every little thing I needed or wanted. He got in my bed next to me at about 10 pm and we snuggled while we watched an episode of Friends. After that it was time for bed. I did not sleep well - probably woke up every hour. I walked 3 different times in the night. The good thing is that the rooms are amazing here - it's actually a suite, so double doors from my room open into an entire extra room with a bathroom for family to hang out in. Clay was very comfortable and was able to sleep very well, so I was happy for that.

The only thing I had to wake him up for was one time when I woke up my IV was hurting more that normal. When I felt my arm I realized there was a large swollen spot under it. That scared me a little so I woke him up for whatever was to happen. My IV had slipped and fluids were being pumped directly into my arm. He held my hand while they switched out my IV into my other arm, and then they got me a warm compress for my arm. It is a little bruised and tender this morning, but mostly better.

This morning I called my dad around 6am and got to talk to Lily. That really lifted my spirits because I got to hear her say "hi mommy" and "miss you" and "wuv you." Last night she woke up at 1:30 am and my dad put her back to sleep. About 10 minutes later she came out and asked "where mommy go?", so he told her I was at the doctor. She went down another hallway to look for me, and he told her to come back and she asked the same question again. He ended up putting her in their bed, so she slept through the rest of the night comforted by Nana and Papa. I will be so happy to see her in a few hours.

I had to have an upper GI test this morning to make sure there was no leak in my new stomach. The liquid they made me drink was the worst thing I have ever tasted. It wasn't the normal white chalky fluid - it was like dish soap or something - something that wouldn't cause problems in my body were there to be a leak. They finally let me stop drinking it when I actually whimpered a little. Test results were good, though - no leak, just a little reflux from the swelling from surgery.

I had not eaten anything yesterday before surgery of course, and then after I was only allowed to have ice chips up until I got my upper GI results back. So, I recently drank 2 ounces of beef broth. It actually tasted really good to me. I am on 1-4 ounces of clear liquids an hour until next Wednesday, when I will be able to add a few more fluids into my diet.

All of the nurses here have been really fantastic - they are so kind. But, I get to be released in the next 2-3 hours. The last step is removing the drain from my stomach, which I am told is painful. It has not bothered me while it has been there, other than mentally. For some reason I feel like I have a little less dignity with it there. Oh, well, it will be out soon. Clay ran to the pharmacy to get all my scripts filled, and once my support is back, the nurse will shoot me up with a pain killer and remove it.

I wish I had a scale so I could weigh myself - I am really curious since I haven't been able to the last 2 mornings. I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow morning at home. Hopefully I will have a good number!