I couldn’t sleep in. I just couldn’t sleep. So up I got and dressed and ready to go so early. My husband and dad came with me to the little surgery center. It was filled with so many waiting people and an inconceivable number of babies. There was barely room for us all.
They had me go back to the starting room alone at first. The nurse I saw the week before at my PASS appointment was there to ask me questions. I answered them all, changed into a gown (with my sports bra and PJ shorts underneath, put on the socks they provided me and went back to the starting room to get my IV. That was actually the hardest part of the pre-surgery day. My hands have terribly knobby veins and it was quite pinchy feeling in my hand. They let my husband come hang out with me at this point. Just my husband; they said I couldn’t have my dad, too, due to space issues, but the patient in the cubby behind me had two people and the kid next to me had three. It was weird.
Anyway, soon enough they wheeled me down to the surgery room, which was full of people and light on bed space. Seriously, I felt like I was precariously balanced on a skinny board with a head rest. They put a mask over my face and talked to me a bit, then realized I wasn’t losing consciousness, and pressed the mask tighter to my face, telling me to breathe….
…and then I woke up and they were telling me that I needed to breathe deeper and slower. I had stuff covering my nose, so I knew they were done. I was freezing cold and burning up all at once. They kept trying to tuck me in and I kept trying to kick free. I could already breathe through both sides of my nose. I was stuffy, but I could breathe. Finally they uncovered me, helped me to a wheelchair, and let me go to the recovery room, where I was helped to yet a different chair.
In the recovery room, they brought me my husband, who said I looked better than he expected. They explained a few things and sent him off for the car while I sat in my wheelchair near the door.
I only remember one part of coming home: we hit a bump in the road and oh, did that hurt. Once home, I started to mentally perk up. I was starving and I wanted lunch. Nick had to go pick up my prescriptions, so my dad stayed with me. He fell asleep in the chair next to mine and I sat there and pondered the fact that I was more starving than in pain (the medicine from the hospital hadn’t worn off yet at this point). Nick came home, gave me drugs and soup and my mom came to pick up my dad. Then Nick fell asleep for a while, too. Having a loved one have surgery is very exhausting.
I sat on the couch the rest of the day. I took my Tylenol-3, which I really needed by then, and the antibiotic they prescribed me. The kids came home at some point and were put to bed by Nick. I was mostly in a fog. Eventually, I took my last, much-loved dose of Tylenol-3 for the night and was put to bed, too.
Lisa Holcomb 