Surgery Day!
I had a rough night. The cleanse made me feel super nauseous. Having an empty stomach, starving, and only being able to drink made me feel icky. Plus having to poop every 5 minutes was not fun. I finished my cleanse around 6 PM. Everything that was coming out was just clear liquid. The nurse told me when that starts to happen, and if I have more of the gatorade / miralax mixture left, I don't need to finish it. So I left about 1/4 unused. I went to bed at 7:30 PM because I was so exhausted. At midnight I woke up with my tummy rumbling so I rushed to the bathroom. I was confused because that time it wasn't clear liquid, it was green with fecal matter. I thought I had screwed up the cleanse and I had surgery in a few hours. What if my bowels aren't all the way cleaned out and he's not able to work on my bowels like needed?! I had a few more "stools" like this. I called the after hours number and Dr. Arrington called me right away. I felt so bad waking him at 1 AM on surgery day. He told me that this is his job and it was no big deal. Anyways... he told me to drink some more of the miralax mixture and to not worry about the color, it will all be fine. Phew! So from 1-2:30 I had some more every 5 minutes bathroom runs. Then went back to sleep until 5 AM. When I woke up I drank a few tiny sips of water even though I don't think I was supposed to... :/ After doing the enema they told me to use 1 hour before coming, I was back to almost clear liquid stools. Phew.
The night before, we scheduled an uber to pick us up at 6:15 AM. The app said if the driver isn't there by 6:15 we would get a $10 credit. Lucky us, the driver never showed. So then we used Lyft and they came right away. At 6:30, when we were at the hospital, the Uber driver called us saying he was on his way.... "Um sorry dude, you're too late we used Lyft."
Because we checked out of the hotel and hadn't scheduled another one, we had to bring our luggage and everything to the hospital. We didn't book a hotel for after surgery because we didn't know how long we'd be in the hospital (if I needed a bowel resection it would be longer). The hospital was fancy. It looked like a fancy hotel lobby and had elevator music playing. lol. All of the staff had matching blazers. We went to registration and then up to the 3rd floor to wait for my time to prep for surgery. They gave Adam a cool pager thing that would send him updates on where I was and what stage of surgery I was in. We sat in the waiting area thinking it would be awhile before I'd go back since it was only 7 AM and my surgery wasn't scheduled until 10:30. But they called me right back. Dr. Arrington wanted to get me settled because he knew I didn't have the best night's rest. I was a little freaked out having to go back by myself.
The surgery prep room had tons of tiny rooms with curtains for the doors. It was so busy. I've never seen anything like it. I remember getting surgery for my knee 10 years ago but it wasn't anything like this. They told me they'd bring Adam back in a little while. That gave me some relief. The nurses were so kind. They all have that sweet southern accent. They kept telling me their primary goal is to keep me comfortable. I put on my gown and crawled under this heated, inflated, silver blanket. I met lots of different nurses and anesthesiologists. It was a little overwhelming, especially without Adam there.
After about 45 minutes or so Adam was brought back. The nurse gave me some anti-nausea and pain meds and then an anti-nausea patch behind my ear. She also put a relaxer in my IV to help me rest. I fell asleep right away and got a good 1 hour nap before they started getting me ready to go to surgery. They wheeled me back for surgery. It was a maze! There were surgery rooms everywhere. I had about 5 nurses with me. It was freezing. That's why they had me in a moon blanket thing. The freezing temperature reduces bacteria. Anyway, when I got to my surgery room and up me on the table, I asked, "Is there weird music playing?" I couldn't tell because it was so loud with machines running, etc. The nurse laughed, "Yeah... Dr. Arrington likes to listen to music while he operates." It was definitely 80's rock music. lol. Dr. Arrington came and held my hand and told me that he's going to take good care of me. He talked to me while they put me under. He's such a compassionate doctor, you can tell he really wants to help people. I feel like he didn't go into this field for the money, but because he really cares about women getting the care they need.
When I woke up in recovery, Adam wasn't there. They told me he'd meet me in our room. That was kind of different. I remember my dad being there when I woke up from my knee surgery, or at least that's what I thought. The nurses were really nice. Again, it was really busy. There were tons of other people in recovery. I think the girl who Dr. Arrington operated on first was across and kitty corner from me. There were two nurses named Erica which was very confusing. I was so tired and just wanted to go back to sleep but people kept saying my name and I didn't know what to do. haha. Finally my nurse told me that they're talking to the nurses named Erica, not me. I feel like I was awake in recovery for awhile before they moved me to my room. I remember being in and out, looking around at everyone wondering why I was still there. I wanted to see Adam.
Eventually I got to my room. They had told on the phone months ago that Adam could stay with me in the hospital. I thought that there would be a couch that folds down like they have in the mom and baby rooms after labor. Nope, just a chair that reclines and went all the way flat. So poor Adam had to sleep on this tiny chair all night. But he was OK. He can really sleep anywhere. I was so glad I didn't need a bowel resection because I couldn't imagine my mom having to sleep on that tiny chair for several nights.
Dr. Arrington had Adam record their conversation on his phone so that he could show it to me. That was a very good idea. The nurses said it's the best thing they've ever done for marriages. lol. There was a hole the endo had created in my left bowel wall. So he removed the endo and fixed that. Then there was small amounts of endo in other places. He removed all of the endo from my body. There wasn't anything in my diaphragm. I didn't need appendectomy or my gall bladder removed. He said it was pretty routine, not very serious, and my recovery shouldn't be too bad. He said if we want to fly home Sunday we can. :) YAY! He said I'll be in a lot of pain and it won't be comfortable, but there's no difference between being on the plane, at home, or in my hotel recovering.
We get to stay at the hospital until 1 PM on Saturday. I'm definitely in pain. It's bearable. The nurses keep asking what my pain level is and I respond "like a 2, maybe 3-4." lol. I'm very sore. My torso has a hard time moving from side to side, getting up, learning forward, all of that. But I also have a pretty high pain tolerance. This is not as uncomfortable as it's been for years. I'd rather have this than feeling like my insides are imploding. ;)
I have 4 small incisions across my lower belly. I'm wearing a girdle thing that's supposed to help support everything. I don't love it. It's really tight around my sore torso. It's hard to find a way to sit or lay where it doesn't hurt. I have these cool things velcro-ed around my legs and thigh. They fill up with air and squeeze my legs and then deflate. I guess it helps with circulation so that I don't get blood clots.
I've walked two loops around this floor. It's not too difficult, but not comfortable either. Walking is supposed to help with the trapped gas. That gas floats up to your shoulders and really hurts. I used lots of heat packs and my rice bag to relieve the pain. I'm feeling better this morning. I'm surprised that I slept pretty well here. I don't usually sleep well in hospitals. But I've really only stayed over night after having a baby, and that's a whole different experience.
Yesterday I mostly had liquids: chicken broth, a little bit of condensed chicken noodle soup, apple sauce, etc. They brought me a chicken dinner which was confusing because I thought I was supposed to gradually progress to my regular diet... The nurse came in and said "Yes ma'am that's right, you can't eat that." Then she gave it to Adam and brought me some soup. lol. This morning they brought me eggs, hashbrowns, and a blueberry muffin. This time it had a ticket showing the different kinds of acceptable meals I can eat and that was on it.... so I ate it.
We'll stay here for a few more hours, eat lunch, then pack up to leave. We're staying in a hotel tonight and then flying home tomorrow afternoon. Adam was able to cancel my mom's flight and move our flights from 6 AM to to 1 PM.
Overall, flying across the country for surgery wasn't as big of a deal as it sounds. But I guess we'll have to wait and see how the flight home goes. :)
I had a rough night. The cleanse made me feel super nauseous. Having an empty stomach, starving, and only being able to drink made me feel icky. Plus having to poop every 5 minutes was not fun. I finished my cleanse around 6 PM. Everything that was coming out was just clear liquid. The nurse told me when that starts to happen, and if I have more of the gatorade / miralax mixture left, I don't need to finish it. So I left about 1/4 unused. I went to bed at 7:30 PM because I was so exhausted. At midnight I woke up with my tummy rumbling so I rushed to the bathroom. I was confused because that time it wasn't clear liquid, it was green with fecal matter. I thought I had screwed up the cleanse and I had surgery in a few hours. What if my bowels aren't all the way cleaned out and he's not able to work on my bowels like needed?! I had a few more "stools" like this. I called the after hours number and Dr. Arrington called me right away. I felt so bad waking him at 1 AM on surgery day. He told me that this is his job and it was no big deal. Anyways... he told me to drink some more of the miralax mixture and to not worry about the color, it will all be fine. Phew! So from 1-2:30 I had some more every 5 minutes bathroom runs. Then went back to sleep until 5 AM. When I woke up I drank a few tiny sips of water even though I don't think I was supposed to... :/ After doing the enema they told me to use 1 hour before coming, I was back to almost clear liquid stools. Phew.
The night before, we scheduled an uber to pick us up at 6:15 AM. The app said if the driver isn't there by 6:15 we would get a $10 credit. Lucky us, the driver never showed. So then we used Lyft and they came right away. At 6:30, when we were at the hospital, the Uber driver called us saying he was on his way.... "Um sorry dude, you're too late we used Lyft."
Because we checked out of the hotel and hadn't scheduled another one, we had to bring our luggage and everything to the hospital. We didn't book a hotel for after surgery because we didn't know how long we'd be in the hospital (if I needed a bowel resection it would be longer). The hospital was fancy. It looked like a fancy hotel lobby and had elevator music playing. lol. All of the staff had matching blazers. We went to registration and then up to the 3rd floor to wait for my time to prep for surgery. They gave Adam a cool pager thing that would send him updates on where I was and what stage of surgery I was in. We sat in the waiting area thinking it would be awhile before I'd go back since it was only 7 AM and my surgery wasn't scheduled until 10:30. But they called me right back. Dr. Arrington wanted to get me settled because he knew I didn't have the best night's rest. I was a little freaked out having to go back by myself.
The surgery prep room had tons of tiny rooms with curtains for the doors. It was so busy. I've never seen anything like it. I remember getting surgery for my knee 10 years ago but it wasn't anything like this. They told me they'd bring Adam back in a little while. That gave me some relief. The nurses were so kind. They all have that sweet southern accent. They kept telling me their primary goal is to keep me comfortable. I put on my gown and crawled under this heated, inflated, silver blanket. I met lots of different nurses and anesthesiologists. It was a little overwhelming, especially without Adam there.
After about 45 minutes or so Adam was brought back. The nurse gave me some anti-nausea and pain meds and then an anti-nausea patch behind my ear. She also put a relaxer in my IV to help me rest. I fell asleep right away and got a good 1 hour nap before they started getting me ready to go to surgery. They wheeled me back for surgery. It was a maze! There were surgery rooms everywhere. I had about 5 nurses with me. It was freezing. That's why they had me in a moon blanket thing. The freezing temperature reduces bacteria. Anyway, when I got to my surgery room and up me on the table, I asked, "Is there weird music playing?" I couldn't tell because it was so loud with machines running, etc. The nurse laughed, "Yeah... Dr. Arrington likes to listen to music while he operates." It was definitely 80's rock music. lol. Dr. Arrington came and held my hand and told me that he's going to take good care of me. He talked to me while they put me under. He's such a compassionate doctor, you can tell he really wants to help people. I feel like he didn't go into this field for the money, but because he really cares about women getting the care they need.
When I woke up in recovery, Adam wasn't there. They told me he'd meet me in our room. That was kind of different. I remember my dad being there when I woke up from my knee surgery, or at least that's what I thought. The nurses were really nice. Again, it was really busy. There were tons of other people in recovery. I think the girl who Dr. Arrington operated on first was across and kitty corner from me. There were two nurses named Erica which was very confusing. I was so tired and just wanted to go back to sleep but people kept saying my name and I didn't know what to do. haha. Finally my nurse told me that they're talking to the nurses named Erica, not me. I feel like I was awake in recovery for awhile before they moved me to my room. I remember being in and out, looking around at everyone wondering why I was still there. I wanted to see Adam.
Eventually I got to my room. They had told on the phone months ago that Adam could stay with me in the hospital. I thought that there would be a couch that folds down like they have in the mom and baby rooms after labor. Nope, just a chair that reclines and went all the way flat. So poor Adam had to sleep on this tiny chair all night. But he was OK. He can really sleep anywhere. I was so glad I didn't need a bowel resection because I couldn't imagine my mom having to sleep on that tiny chair for several nights.
Dr. Arrington had Adam record their conversation on his phone so that he could show it to me. That was a very good idea. The nurses said it's the best thing they've ever done for marriages. lol. There was a hole the endo had created in my left bowel wall. So he removed the endo and fixed that. Then there was small amounts of endo in other places. He removed all of the endo from my body. There wasn't anything in my diaphragm. I didn't need appendectomy or my gall bladder removed. He said it was pretty routine, not very serious, and my recovery shouldn't be too bad. He said if we want to fly home Sunday we can. :) YAY! He said I'll be in a lot of pain and it won't be comfortable, but there's no difference between being on the plane, at home, or in my hotel recovering.
We get to stay at the hospital until 1 PM on Saturday. I'm definitely in pain. It's bearable. The nurses keep asking what my pain level is and I respond "like a 2, maybe 3-4." lol. I'm very sore. My torso has a hard time moving from side to side, getting up, learning forward, all of that. But I also have a pretty high pain tolerance. This is not as uncomfortable as it's been for years. I'd rather have this than feeling like my insides are imploding. ;)
I have 4 small incisions across my lower belly. I'm wearing a girdle thing that's supposed to help support everything. I don't love it. It's really tight around my sore torso. It's hard to find a way to sit or lay where it doesn't hurt. I have these cool things velcro-ed around my legs and thigh. They fill up with air and squeeze my legs and then deflate. I guess it helps with circulation so that I don't get blood clots.
I've walked two loops around this floor. It's not too difficult, but not comfortable either. Walking is supposed to help with the trapped gas. That gas floats up to your shoulders and really hurts. I used lots of heat packs and my rice bag to relieve the pain. I'm feeling better this morning. I'm surprised that I slept pretty well here. I don't usually sleep well in hospitals. But I've really only stayed over night after having a baby, and that's a whole different experience.
Yesterday I mostly had liquids: chicken broth, a little bit of condensed chicken noodle soup, apple sauce, etc. They brought me a chicken dinner which was confusing because I thought I was supposed to gradually progress to my regular diet... The nurse came in and said "Yes ma'am that's right, you can't eat that." Then she gave it to Adam and brought me some soup. lol. This morning they brought me eggs, hashbrowns, and a blueberry muffin. This time it had a ticket showing the different kinds of acceptable meals I can eat and that was on it.... so I ate it.
We'll stay here for a few more hours, eat lunch, then pack up to leave. We're staying in a hotel tonight and then flying home tomorrow afternoon. Adam was able to cancel my mom's flight and move our flights from 6 AM to to 1 PM.
Overall, flying across the country for surgery wasn't as big of a deal as it sounds. But I guess we'll have to wait and see how the flight home goes. :)
Comments
Post a Comment