I Have Abs!

Jul 08, 2011

The last week has definitely been one of the most challenging of my life. I never imagined that the past seven days would go as they have...   Tuesday: Brittany drove me to the hospital. I was supposed to be there at 6, but the directions to where I was supposed to go weren't clear, so we didn't get where we needed to be until about a quarter after. They took me back after five or so minutes; I was hooked up to an IV, given a really awesome (ahem) gown, and asked the same questions five times by the same nurse. I was wheeled to get the filter put into my leg at seven. To my delight, that didn't hurt AT ALL. Thank goodness.    I arrived  back in my "holding cell" at 745, and the original nurse came in with more of the same questions. She was followed by a parade of others: anesthesiologist nurses, my surgeon, the nurses who would be in the surgery with me, and of course, Brittany was there with me. Then, everything went dark...   What I assumed was three hours later, because that's how long the operation is supposed to take, I woke up in a really white room with beeping and people rushing around the room - and an Asian nurse approximately four inches from my face. She told me I was in recovery and that my doctor would be over to talk to me in a few minutes. I closed my eyes, and ten minutes later, my surgeon woke me up. Here's how the conversation went:    Dr.: Hi, Amber, how are ya feeling? Me: [grrrrooooaaaaannnnn] Dr.: I wanted to let you know that your surgery took a little longer than expected (6 hours instead of 3) Me: 'm I okay? Dr. You're okay, but I had to open you up to do the surgery. (it was supposed to be done laproscopically) Me: Whyyyyyyy? Dr. I tried to do it laproscopically, but your abdominal wall was too think for me to see everything comfortably. I wanted to make sure everything was done right. It went well, but you're going to be sore.  Me: Did you see cancer? (a fear of mine was having the same shit go down with my open belly as my mom's) Dr.: Everything looked beautiful. I didn't see even one cell that wasn't perfect. Me: Okay. What time is it? Dr. It's about 3:30.  Me: Whoooaaaa. So long. Dr.: I just need you to lay here a little while, then we'll get you to your room. Me: Can I see my sisters? Dr.: They will be waiting for you in your room. Me: Okay. ----------- short sleeping intermission I waved my left arm around to get the attention of the nurse. Me: I have one more question for my doctor. Nurse: She's dictating your surgery; I'll send her over when she's done. ----- Dr.: Are you okay? Me: Do I have staples? Dr.: Yes. Me: Are they going to rust? Dr.: They are titanium, so they won't rust.  Me: Okay. ------- back to sleep   Moments later, I woke up as we rolled past the nurses' station. I was backed into my room, and Brittany was there waiting for me. I was hooked up to morphine, heart monitors, a catheter (greatest invention ever), and these awful leg squeezers to keep my circulation going.    My dad showed up shortly after (he was in flight during my surgery) with Catie. They hung out for a little while, then Catie and Britt went home because they'd been sitting in the hospital all day. Dad stayed with me all night. I made some phone calls and had a visit from my bestie.    I do not remember much from the first day after this. I do remember falling asleep and then waking up with pain because the morphine wasn't flowing freely. Dad and I were awake most of the night. Morphine makes me itchy. -------- Weds: More visitors. Morphine was turned off, catheter removed, heart monitors removed, but the stupid leg squeezers were left on. I walked a few times... first from the bed to the door, then to the neighbor's door, eventually to the nurses station, and from there further down the hall. Catie stayed with me all day, and she was a very good helper. I remember much pain on Wednesday. The new pain killer they gave me, Loretab, made me more nauseous than I've ever been in my life. I drank an ounce of water an hour for the first several hours. On Wednesday night, I was given a shot of Benedryl to help me sleep... that worked for about 3 hours. I did get more rest than the night before, but not much. ---------- Thursday: Somebody kill me. I couldn't believe how much pain I had. I took my final dose of Loretab at 545. Of course, they offered me more, but the pain was not nearly as bad as the nausea. They brought me the grossest looking scrambled eggs for breakfast (in a medicine cup, which is my new bowl). I did NOT eat that. I then informed them that I do not eat cottage cheese, and they said they'd hook me up with turkey. Guess what I got for lunch? Cottage-freaking-cheese. I covered my nose with the sheet and refused to even look at it. My dad asked them if I could get turkey and the nurse asked me: "Oh, don't you like cottage cheese?" I told her that I wouldn't eat cottage cheese if I was healthy, I'm definitely not eating it now. My mini-tantrum landed me a medicine cup of turkey. :-)   At 545 pm, I was discharged from the hospital. My surgeon said there was no medical reason to keep me in the hospital. My dad drove me home from the hospital, and the ride was much better than I expected. There were a couple spots that hurt (like turning onto the interstate), but overall, not bad. I got home and slept in the recliner.  -------- Friday, Saturday, Sunday: These days consisted of a LOT of sleeping, water, and sitting. Each day, I felt a little better, walked a little further, and ate a little more. ------- Monday: There wasn't much excitement during the day, until Monday night. I'd showered a couple times in the downstairs bathroom since I'd been home, but I decided Monday I could shower upstairs. If you've been in our upstairs during the summer, you know that the AC doesn't fully cool the area, so it's always warm. When I'm up there often, I run the window unit in my room, but I'd been sleeping downstairs, so my room was warm.    I got in the shower, and as I was shampooing my hair, I got a little light-headed. I yelled for Brittany, and I asked her to open the door to the bathroom so the air could come in. A moment later, I sat down on the shower bench (hair half-full of shampoo). I remember yelling for Brittany, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up, seated on the floor of the shower. Brittany had the door open, the water off, and her hand behind my head... screaming for my dad. "WTF?" I thought. I've never fainted before in my life... but evidently the heat and the trauma to my body was enough to do me in. Monday night I had the best sleep since my surgery. ---------- Tuesday: No real excitement, except my back and leg hurt so badly. My stomach pain was minimal compared to the pain shooting through my leg. I had a nap in the evening, and I slept SO well.  ---------- Today: So here we are, a week and a day out from surgery. I have NOT weighed myself. My goal is to wait until next Wednesday to get my staples out and check in with the doctor. It should be a lovely surprise.  ----------- So, that's my excitement. I give myself a shot in the belly each day, take two flintstone vitamins, drink two protein shakes, take four calcium supplements, and drink SO much water. I eat yogurt and lunch meat out of medicine cups (1 oz at a time). I haven't decided yet if this is worth it, but I do know that I'm not hungry (hardly ever).  

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