August 19, 2010

Ok, so I am home. Actually I got home yesterday evening. My plan was to come home on Tuesday but I had to stay another day. In all honesty, I am greatful I didn't have to stay longer... which was considered.

When I started this diary I never thought I would get so honest. I have to say that I am greatful for my honesty. This diary has been cheaper than therapy but just as effective.

So, if you are squimish, you might want to stop reading. Yes, I did have complications and yes I will write them down but first let me tell you about my surgery preperation.

Sunday afternoon.
My mother picked me up at my house on Sunday and we drove to my brother & sister-in-law's house. We decided that we would spend the night with them because they are only 20-30 minutes away from Baylor Dallas.
That night at M&M's house thier pug Luigi was non-stop kissing me. When he wasn't kissing me, he was right next to me (he even tried to follow me to the shower!) Somehow I think that cute little dog knew that something was going to happen. That night Luigi climbed into the bed with me. He slept so close to me, I could barely move.

The next morning that cute dog started barking, whining and running in circles as we were leaving.

Monday morning.
My mom drove us to the hospital. We parked via "valet" and walked the couple of blocks to the entrance of the Roberts tower. We went up to the 2nd floor and checked in. They checked my temp, blood pressure, oxygen and heart rate. The time 7:30 am!
They handed me a gown in a bag and told me to hang onto it until they called me back. At 8:40 or so, they finally called us back. I was told to strip and put the gown on. I sat there waiting and waiting and waiting. I got my stuff checked again, bp, o2, temp and heart rate. Then I got a shot of lidocane so they could try to start an iv. FAILED ATTEMPT #1, 2 and 3! Another man came over to start the iv. Yup another shot of lidocane. FAILED ATTEMPT #4, 5 and 6 (blew my vein). Another man came over with another shot of lidocane. He got it on his first try! Then a nurse came over and told me to drink some water with the 3 magic pills in the cup. Then she put on some industrial strenght knee highs (compressions socks) and some slipper socks. She then covered me with 3 warm blankets as I waited again. Finally they told my mom to go to the waiting room with instuctions on how to see how I was doing.
They wheeled me away in that nice little rolling bed. When I got into the OR they asked me to roll off the bed and onto the ICE COLD table. I heard the nurse anethistist talking with the anesthisiologist about different places to eat as I was staring up at the big lights above my head. (Up until this point I was NEVER nervous!) The anesthisiologist said that I was going to be getting sleepy soon. I looked to the left at the clock and it said 10:15.
I woke up in recovery and immediately looked at the clock... 4:40!!
I noticed there were 4 nurses and 2 doctors by my bed so I said the following.. "Hey I thought the surgery only lasted 45 min and then I would be in recovery for 2 hours. Why the heck am I still in here?" They all smiled and one particular grabbed my hand to hold.
At 5:15 or so I was in my own room, which happened to be a suite!

If you are wondering what happened during those "lost" hours then I will explain them now. Apparently they didn't even tell my mom. Dr. Takemyfatawaynow explained it to me when I asked him about the blister on the inside of my lip.

Apparently when I was in surgery I developed shallow breathing and a low heart rate. My heart rate got worse while in recovery. The blood bliser in my mouth was caused when they had to "re-tube" me in recovery. My lip got caught under my tooth and stayed like that for a while. The reason they had to re-tube me was because my heart rate dropped to 25 at one point and they couldn't get it to go higher than 35. During those lost hours they kept pushing some sort of medicine in my iv to "jump start" my rate. When I woke up to see everyone standing around me, I was looking at all the people fighting to keep my heart rate normal.

So that is what happened. I also woke up to find a "medicine ball" attached to me. Dr. Barnes had to attach it because he had to cut the left muscle in my adominal wall. That little ball was pumping medicine directly into that location.
I also saw a drainage tube attached to the middle of my chest. That was a surprise. My mom said he told me that he might have to attach one but I don't remember that conversation at all. So it was a combination of all these things that made me stay an extra day in the hospital.

I could not have asked for a more knowledgeable doctor than Dr. Barnes. He is truely the best. The nurses, techs and even the housekeeping staff at Baylor Dallas were some of the nicest people I have ever met! They were so nice all the time. When my iv blew on Tuesday, they called in an iv expert to re insert one.

I am so greatful to all my friends and family that called me. Your support means more to me than I can say. I love each and everyone of you.

I am confident that I will feel better soon. Until then, I kinda feel like I have been hit by a truck.