Tuesday, July 26th ...Surgery Day!

A new beginning? Out with the old and in with the new? Directions given to me to follow pre-surgery; no food after 9 pm and only clear liquids were allowed up until 6:30 am. Due to the fact that my surgery was scheduled for 9:30 am, I needed to be at the hospital at 8:00 am. So on Tuesday, July 25th, in the morning I had some water, brushed my teeth and headed to the hospital with my sister. As soon as I entered the hospital a series of questions started ... what is your name, date of birth and what surgery are you having??? I wanted to make a sign after a while, as a few times I actually stumbled over my own name! So after being checked-in, hooked up to an IV and having answered the same questions several times it was hurry up and wait ...my surgery was delayed over 2 hours ...keep in mind I haven't had anything to drink since 6:30 am, I was getting thirsty.

Well I finally got wheeled into surgery and I don't remember a thing about that, so obviously the anesthesia was working.  I do remember, however, talking with the anesthesiologist, prior to being put out, about the surgery and hoping to become a faster runner and/or triathlete (not the reason for the surgery). He laughed and said as a triathlete I usually just by a faster bike! Maybe I will try that too ... but not right now.

After surgery I woke up in my hospital room still hooked up to the IV and not able to drink anything, I was thirsty. I wasn't hungry or dehydrated, because the IV was taking care of that but my mouth was dry. I wasn't able to take anything in until Wednesday morning when my doctor came in and cleared me for that. The highlight of this time was when a nurses aid came into my room around 10 pm and asked if I wanted to wash up before bed. She told me I could brush my teeth and when I heard that I was so excited. You would have thought I heard "you won the lottery"!. I was able to brush my teeth and rinse my mouth ... it was like being in heaven! I know it is the simple things in life.

After that I headed to bed feeling refreshed knowing that throughout the night, I would be woken up every 2 hours to have my vital signs taken! A hospital is not a great place for rest!

Stay tuned for more stories to come ...