I just want to say that I don't think anyone really doubts they will wake up after surgery (this day and age) and I have no doubt at all that everything will go completely as planned. But the statistics are there and I do occasionally buy a lottery ticket, after all. So I must believe in the long shot.
And then I was awake and in a different room. I looked at the clock on the wall and it was 1:15 PM. The surgery had taken five hours. GOOD. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Good, because the long surgery meant I most probably had been given a Neo-bladder. A short surgery would mean there were problems with my internal plumbing that wouldn't allow the neo-bladder to work and I would be left with the 'simple' option of an Ostomy and an external bag for the rest of my life. So 5 hours was very good news.
I was awake and I don't remember waking up or anything else other than being awake and answering questions about this or that. The nurse was discribing all the new tubing I had been given while I was asleep. They described the morphine drip and showed me how to use the button. I really don't remember much else. I kept looking at the clock. They said I'd be here for about an hour and then move to my room. I was anxious to see Debi. I knew she'd be worried.
It was two hours and then three hours and they were telling me that they had to wait for a room to be made ready. Debi would be frantic. Finally around 4:00 they wheeled me to the recovery wing. I got to the room and Debi, Mary and Jackie were cheering me home. Mary and Jackie - Debi's sisters - had driven 5 hours on Thursday to be here and what a great feeling to be greeted so.
I'm a little silly still from the anesthesia (and maybe the button) but I don't remember much except being silly. I remember wanting to get up and walk a little. The bed was uncomfortable on my back and I was already bored with laying down. The nursesaid it was alright to get up if I could so she took off my leg pumps, eased my legs onto the floor, and helped me stand. Debi helped me navigate to the door and out into the hallway. A few steps up the hall were all I wanted to tackle so we headed back to the bed.
I was on a no food no drink restriction but I wasn't thirsty or hungry so that didn't bother me. I was getting all the water I needed from the I-V along with sucrose for energy. They didn't replace the oxygen after the walk since my levels tested fine.
As Mary and Jackie were getting ready to head out for our house I asked Debi to stay with me for the night. It was selfish, I know, but she didn't seem to mind and I was a lot more comfortable knowing she was there. They moved a fold away bed into the room and that pretty much filled the space (everyone has private rooms nowadays.)
About 11PM, Debi helped me get out of bed again and we walked almost all the way down to the nurses station (my room was at the end of the hall). It felt good to be moving around and especially good to get off my back.
I think I slept well that first night. The nurse woke me for vitals a couple times but it didn't bother me at all. I remember thinking how slowly time was moving. It seemed like every time I looked at the clock only a few minutes had passed. Maybe I wasn't sleeping as well as I thought - or it was the effect of the Morphine.
Then there was the shift change. It's funny how quickly you become attached to your nurses. I think; "How can anyone be as good as Karen?" but pretty soon I realize that Lori is pretty great, too. We start asking each nurse and CNA how far they drove to work and were amazed at the commute they made each day. Just one more indication of the dedication of these women and men. More about this later.
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