Surgery Day 1

Now that I've got a bit more stamina, I wanted to put in writing my surgical experience. Here's the first day.

I woke up at around 4am, partly because of nerves, and partly because of hunger. I had been on a bowel prep where I couldn't eat for about 36 hours. So I was pretty hungry. We arrived at St. Elizabeth's around 5am, and the first thing I noticed was the smell of bacon wafting up from the cafeteria. Torture!

I had gone through pre-admission already, so there wasn't much paperwork to do. Next we were ushered into a room where an RN ran through 100 questions, and generally prepped me for surgery. Things started to happen fast. First they wheeled me into a room to give me an epidural. After that I was rolled into the surgical suite (the cleanest room I've ever seen), and I tried to crack jokes with the nurses and anesthesiologist. I probably came across as extremely nervous, but I wasn't.

In a way, I was really excited about the surgery. Some of it scared me, but I was still excited. Looking back, that was just silly. Between 5-8% of the patients who go through similar procedures don't make it off the table alive. So, I don't think I'd like to go back again.

I woke up in the recovery room, and despite being ready to go, I had to wait til my room was ready. That took about an extra hour, but I was so drugged up, I didn't really notice. I remember talking to Dr. Pitsch, but what he said was quickly absorbed by all the drugs in my system. Why doctors try to tell you stuff when you're under the influence is silly.

Eventually I was taken to my room, and had a short rest before everyone started checking in on me. The room wasn't fancy, but it seemed ok. The nurses all seemed very nice, and helpful. I had an oxygen tube and a foley catheter, plus several IVs, and monitoring leads. There was also a drain tube (ironically named Jackson-Pratt) that drained fluid out of my buttocks. I vaguely noticed my colostomy bag, but didn't really worry about things too much. I was pretty much drugged out. I had three small incisions closed by metal staples, and one monster incision (7" or so) also closed with metal staples. The small ones had been used for the laparascope.

After a few hours of rest, the nurses told me that I needed to get out of bed. As in stand up. The thought was horrifying, even through the veil of all the narcotics coursing through me. Somehow I managed to get my feet over the side of the bed, then two nurses helped me stand. I have never felt such pain. It felt as if someone had stabbed a fistful of knives into my stomach. The nurses let me sit back down, then stand again. I think I fell asleep as soon as I was back in the bed.

Eventually everyone was allowed into the room to visit me, and I had a parade of family and friends come in to wish me well. I don't remember much about that, except that I was very thirsty and just got ice chips to drink after a fashion. I think I slept pretty well that night, despite the periodic intrusions by the nurses.

love,

Cj