I had surgery on Friday, 9/10/10 at around 12 noon. The two days prior and the past four days following the surgery have all been a whirl-wind...and kind of a blur (post-op narcotics will do that to you). :)
I want to record everything in detail...for future me...for future readers (I don't really have any right now, but maybe someday).
Well, my last few posts were about my pre-op appointments and tests, so I've got that covered. However, I didn't mention much about the emotional side of preparing for surgery.
Amazingly, I wasn't too nervous, but I was planning for the worst...you just never know. I had prayed A LOT about this surgery and I had spent the last five years researching and preparing for it, so my nervousness was at a controllable level. I prepared some documents so that my husband would know what to do in case anything went wrong. I made a binder with all of important stuff (birth certificates, passports, marriage license, social security cards, and typed up log in information, how to pay bills, made a list of important contacts, and my health care power of attorney). I wrote letters to my family (husband, parents, grandmother, sister & brother)...as if it may be the last thing I have to say to them while on this earth. I got a little emotional during that...it was like I was saying goodbye. My husband was to give the letters to my family if I didn't make it out of surgery. Some may find this extreme, but it gave me a feeling of preparedness, closure and peace.
The only members of my family that actually knew about the surgery was my husband and grandmother. In fact, they are the only ones who know...I didn't tell any friends either. That was a personal choice. I wasn't sure how my family would react and if they would honor my wishes to keep it private, so I decided not to tell them...that was one less stress for me. I don't have any friends that I feel close enough with to trust with all of this. So, I suppose in doing so I put a lot of pressure on my husband and grandma, because they had nobody to share the burden with.
My husband was a nervous wreck. He was VERY quiet the week of surgery, and when we got down to the day before surgery he just broke down. My husband is this 6ft polynesian...tough guy...man's man, so it takes a lot to bring him to tears. But, he just felt so lost. He was very upset and crying, because he was worried something would happen to me and he didn't even want to think about life without me. He said he didn't even know how he and my son would live if I didn't make it out of surgery. Of course that brought tears from me, because I didn't like to see him so upset, and the thought of leaving my two boys behind was heartbreaking. But, we talked about it. We reviewed the positives and negatives again. We talked about the risks and that while there is always a risk of complications with surgery, the statistics were in our favor. We talked about our faith and our belief in life after death, we fasted and prayed, which brought us both great comfort. We worked through it, and he felt a little better after that. I think he needed to get it out there and work through his feelings to help him cope. It made me realize how much he really loves me...and me him.
I heard from my Grandma often who was very nervous, but more composed than my husband. She knew it would go well.
And surgery did go well. I was in recovery for about three hours, which is always kind of the worst part...coming out of anesthesia. That is also when I was in the most pain, and I had an I.V. with my own pain med pump, but it wasn't working, so they give me something stronger. That is why I was in recovery for so long, because they couldn't move me to my room until my pain was under control. Then they transported me to my own room (thankfully didn't have to share), and that is where I stayed for the next three days. I was in a little more pain than I anticipated, but they kept it pretty much under control with some Oxycontin, which meant I was sometimes a little out of it. The first day in my room I couldn't even keep myself awake. I remember talking to nurses, but having no idea what I said to them. :)
So, the only problem with pain meds and anesthesia was that it made me vomit. Well, not really vomit...because there isn't a single bit of stomach acid or anything in that new stomach, but I really heaved, and that was SOOOO painful. It felt like all my guts were splitting open and getting ready to come out of mouth. They gave me something for the nausea, but it didn't always work. So, my nausea and heaving lasted for about a day. Then things settled down. The Oxycontin didn't make me nauseous and was pretty good at controlling the pain.
By the second day I was thinking a little more clearly and I was relieved to have the surgery done and didn't have any regrets like some have mentioned immediately following surgery. I was pretty excited, because I had waited so long to have it done.It was also time to take the catheter out and start walking around. I really wanted to get up and get going, but the first time was a lot harder than I thought it would be. My abdomen was so sore, and as soon as I stood up gravity was just pulling on it...VERY sore. I felt pretty weak as well, but I went and did a few laps in the hallway, which got my blood going and I felt a little better.
By my fourth day in the hospital I was feeling a lot better and could get up and move around a little easier. I was ready and anxious to go home. They discharged me and sent me home with some pain-meds.
I thought I would only be another week before getting back to routine, but boy was I wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment