So I figured I would recount my surgery day, for my own memory and for anyone who is just starting this process who may stumble across this blog.
First off, I had my surgery at the U of M Fairview University Campus with Dr. Sayeed Ikrmuddin. The hospital was amazing. The surgeon was amazing. The nurses were AMAZING!!! I cannot recommend this hospital or surgeon strongly enough.
Okay, since I live two and a half hours from the hospital (my insurance wouldn't cover it closer, but I had great care up there so I can't really complain) we stayed the night in a hotel the night before surgery. My surgery time was set for 10:40am so we were supposed to be there at 8:40am. We got up showered and got ready and headed to the hospital. We didn't know how much time to plan in for traffic so we actually got there a good 30 minutes early...but I'd rather be there early than late. We waited a bit and then they called me back to get admitted and whatnot. They had me put on a rather huge gown that had these ports in that they could hook up to an air hose. That way, if you get hot or cold they can pump air into it that is either warm or cold to keep you comfortable. They asked me about a million questions and did vitals and took blood. They put an IV in and got it on the first try in my hand (though this isn't the end of that drama, haha). The surgeon came in to talk to me, wrote on my stomach in marker saying "LAP BAND", just to make sure they do the right surgery, and made me feel really comfortable. I expected to be really nervous, but it wasn't bad at all. After all this, they let my mom come back and it was just a waiting game until the surgeon was ready.
Once they called me up to the operating room things really got rolling. When I got to the OR they realized, however, that they had pulled my IV out. So, IV #2 went in my wrist. They started oxygen and the gas to put me out and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room. I wasn't in much pain but my throat felt hoarse from the breathing tube they inserted during surgery. The first things I remember upon waking up was hearing the nurses talking about a 2-year-old in Indonesia who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day and being ridiculously thirsty. When the nurse noticed I was awake and came over (she was a really cute girl and super friendly and bubbly) I asked "Is there really a baby who smokes? And can I have some water?" She felt horrible that I had overheard that but laughed and said I should look it up on Google when I got home (which I did and, depressingly, it is true). She looked up on the computer and found out I was allowed to have ice chips. I much have eaten three cups of ice chips in the recovery room. I was so thirsty. I was still thirsty when they brought me up to my room.
Once I was in my room the nurse introduced himself to me. His name was Emmanuel and he was really pretty awesome. The nurse's assistant was a chick named Toby who I absolutely adored. She was so friendly and nice and she really made me feel comfortable and was very accommodating. If we had met in different circumstances I can almost swear to the fact that we would be good friends. She was just that type of person. The hospital had room service style dining (and I use the term dining loosely as I was on all liquids). I called and ordered a sugar free Popsicle, jello, and some iced tea. The Popsicle was awesome and really helped with the hoarse throat feeling that I was having. I saved the jello for later but enjoyed the tea, a little at a time, right away because I was still so thirsty. The IV machine kept beeping at me because the IV being in my wrist kept getting kinked every time I moved. So, IV #3 went into my lower arm about 1/2 way between my wrist and elbow. I lazed around in bed most of the night, reading a little bit and talking to my mom. The nurses kept me extremely comfortable and even brought me a fan when I was too hot. I tried to get some sleep around 9:30pm but the lady that shared my room had other ideas...
The woman who shared my room was a Hmong woman who spoke little to no English. She was nice enough but she was impossible to communicate with as she spoke little English and I speak no Hmong (?). When her daughter was there I could communicate through her but when she went home all hope was lost. At about 9pm (the time when visiting hours end) she had a guest show up. The commenced talking loudly, in Hmong, until well after 10:30pm. I was irritated because I wanted to sleep but, because of the language barrier, couldn't really say anything. Then, when he finally left, she started talking on her cell phone. I don't think she finally stopped being loud until maybe 11:45pm. I was so tired I just fell right asleep.
Fifteen minutes later Toby came in to tell me goodbye because her shift was over and she didn't know if she would see me the following day. She gave me a big hug and wished me all the best. She really was awesome. I was given some liquid codeine to help with the pain and about an hour later I vomited it up. It just didn't sit right with me so they gave me an injection in my IV instead. I slept through most of the night with little interruption from the nurses and other staff.
When I woke up the next morning they gave me another dose of liquid pain med and this time I knew right away that it wasn't going to sit well. I threw it all up almost instantly. We waited around a while and then the nurse (Emmanuel again) told me that I was being discharged. I was excited to be going home. I signed all the discharge papers and got dressed and got all my stuff together. We went down to the pharmacy to get my prescription and low and behold they prescribed the same medicine that was making me sick. I told the pharmacist that I wasn't paying for medicine that was going to make me sick so he needed to get the doctor on the phone to get a different prescription. We ended up waiting in the pharmacy for about an hour until they could reach someone to prescribe something different but it paid off because that night when I took the vicodine they gave me I didn't throw up. I didn't get sick at all. It was really quite great.
Since being home I haven't taken too much for the pain. Mostly just at night so it's easier to sleep. The biggest pain is really in my shoulder and neck, which is from the gas they put in your stomach to blow it up so they can see around in there. This should go away soon, I hope. Overall, six days out from surgery, I'm doing really well. I get to start a "full liquid" diet tomorrow, which includes milk, carnation instant breakfast, oatmeal (not sure how that's a liquid but I'll take it), yogurt, and strained cream soups. I'm really looking forward to something besides Popsicles and jello.
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