The First Day of the Rest of My Life

Up at 4:30, so tired my eyes burned.  The cats thought they were getting fed, and cried constantly.  I went to bed at 9 the previous night, but didn’t get to sleep until close to 10.  Kitten Bear snuggled with me until Sam came to put him up for the night.

 

I put the dishes away and went to take a shower with that awful Hibiclens soap.  It doesn’t foam, and it’s pink because they put red 40 in it.  It also reeks of alcohol.  Sam had to wash my back.  I rinsed it all off, dried off and got dressed in yoga pants and a loose t-shirt.  I was supposed to wear only clean clothes, and forgot to wash my jacket, so I wore a house sweater instead.  I’m sure I looked rather somber trudging into the hospital this morning in black pants, gray shirt and gray sweater.  Even my socks are gray.

 

On the drive to the hospital, the road had a fog blanket and we listened to Evanescence’s “Origin” cd.  Sam commented how well the cd went with the drive.  I started to get really hungry and my head began to hurt from dehydration.  We arrived at about 6:10, 20 minutes before we were scheduled.

 

We wandered through the halls for a few minutes before we were able to find someone who could tell us where to go.  Went back to Registration to wait for the receptionist to get there.  I think he came at about 6:20, took my name and had me sign a release form, and told me to go wait out front.  Sam browsed the forums on his phone while we waited.  Such an addict.

 

A nurse came in and led us back to the prep area, where I had to give them a urine sample for a pregnancy test (after not drinking anything since 8 the night before), answer a bunch of questions, strip and don a hospital gown, and have an IV put in my hand.  They did use a bunch of adhesive tape to keep the IV in place, so hopefully I don’t break out in a rash tomorrow.  If I do, I guess it’s better than the IV moving around.

 

The anesthesiologist came and talked to me, and we decided to do light sedation.  He explained that the pre-anesthetic (Valium) is what people normally have a reaction to.  The only advantage of Valium is it calms you before going into the OR, but I tend to not have anxiety about surgeries/procedures.  I hate surgery, but it doesn’t really scare me.  I just hate waking up and not knowing where I am, and the weeks of recovery.  I chose to not have the Valium, and talked to them about Virginia Beach and going herping this weekend if I’m up to it and the weather cooperates.  They gave me oxygen and the anesthetic, and I was out.

 

I woke up back in the prep/recovery area, and because I didn’t have Valium, I was much more alert and didn’t have that panicky feeling of not knowing where I was.  A nurse brought Sam in, and I finally got some water and breakfast.  They gave me cantaloupe and banana bread.  Last time I had surgery, all I got was four crackers!  The banana bread wasn’t as good as what I am used to, but it was still pretty good.

 

I had some uterine cramping, so the nurses gave me Fentanyl (an opiate).  They showed me pictures of the inside of my uterus.  I’ll have to get a copy of those; they were really cool.  Dr. Shipman was able to put the Essure implants in with no problem, so I didn’t have to have surgery.  I have to carry a card in my wallet now so that medical personnel know that I have them.

 

The nurses took out my IV line and took me to the bathroom.  They wanted me to pee before they would release me.  Then I got to get dressed and leave.  We stopped for donuts and water on the way home, and got back a little after 10.  Still drowsy from the anesthetic, I stayed awake long enough to help Sam give the kids breakfast, then I passed out–with a Kitten Bear to snuggle me again.