Going Under The Knife

November 2, 2009

Today's the day! My morning started way too early. James and I were up by 5:00, showered and out the door by 5:30. Speaking of showering - I'm not sure how many people have to do this, but a little advice: Kaiser gave me 2 little packets of anti-bacterial soap to shower with the night before and the morning of my surgery. To save you all a little bit of panic, I'm warning you now: The soap is the consistency of water. Be careful, because as I showered last night, I practically dumped the entire packet on the shower floor, because I was expecting the consistency to be more like shampoo. I stood there considering whether or not I should call Kaiser's emergency line to ask them where I could get some more. I compromised and James brought me some gasoline...just kidding - I had enough yet to wash my belly, and was much much more careful with the second packet this morning.

We arrived at the hospital and checked in. While waiting for the nurse to call me back, I began to feel nervous for the first time. Throughout the entire process so far, my only feelings had been varying ranges of excitement. Now all of the "What ifs?" cluttered my mind. What if I developed a raging infection? What if this turned out to be a HUGE mistake?? What if I left my sweetheart a widower and my children motherless? While I talked myself into a panic attack, James quietly and calmly played my son's PSP next to me. Looking up from his game he noticed the fear that was overtaking me and leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. After 16 years of marriage he knew me enough to know that panic was setting in. In soft, loving words, he comforted me and the panic melted away. Peace filled my heart, and once again, I knew everything would be okay.

The nurse called us back, and things started happening very quickly. IVs, meeting with doctors, and soon I was whisked off to the operating room. One hour & 45 minutes later, I was in the recovery room. My first thought was "Leave me alone, I want to keep sleeping." My second thought was "Where the bleep just happened?" Waves of pain slammed me, and greater feelings of nausea quickly woke me from the effects of the anaesthesia. Don't panic - unfortunately I'm allergic to several types of anti-nausea medicine - so the chances are you will be luckier than I was. Soon, the great nurses and my awesome surgeon, Dr. Metz, had everything under control. After about 2 hours in the recovery room, I was taken up to a room where my husband is helping me write tonight's blog entry.

I feel amazingly well. The surgical sites aren't very sore. My only real pain is more of a pressure from the CO2 gas they used to inflate my belly during surgery. I've received great care and support, and have already been up walking twice. My main complaint, is that my mouth is horribly dry, and I'm not allowed to drink anything until tomorrow morning. Thankfully they are allowing me to suck on ice chips, as long as I don't swallow anything (I have to spit all the melted water out into a cup). It is rather annoying, but SOOO much better than it was before.

I am resting comfortably, and after 3 days of fasting, have no hunger pains or cravings. As I look at my belly, it is amazing to realize that although everything looks the same on the outside, on the inside, my "plumbing" has been completely re-arranged. Overall, the experience was not as bad as I thought it would be. Much less painful than I expected, and I am super excited for my new life to begin.

I especially would like to thank all of the wonderful people who called, e-mailed, and texted me last night and today, wishing me the best of luck and kept me in their prayers. I'm truly blessed to have such amazing friends and family who love me unconditionally. My sweet supportive husband has sat at my bedside referreeing our children's squabbles from home, holding my hand, rubbing lotion on my feet, keeping my gown closed has he helped me walk, and emptying my spit cup, and has never once complained. I am such a lucky girl.

So, this is day one. It is getting late (6:05 pm) - the fentanyl is working great, and my sweet friend Lindsay should be here any minute. Until tomorrow - Bye.