I remember seeing my anaesthesiologist standing over me telling me it was all over. I don’t know if I dreamt that because she told me it would happen, or if it really did happen – but the next thing I really remember was being in the recovery room.
My nurse Debbie and my anaesthesiologist were looking after me. I was in a lot of pain when I woke up and was really uncomfortable. In pre-surgery, they tell you of the “pain scale” and that the nurses will ask you what your pain is like from 0-10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you’ve ever felt. Debbie asked me what my pain was and I said 8.
Why 8? I have no idea. It was definitely painful and I was really uncomfortable, but maybe I was thinking I had been in worse pain before? I have no idea when that time would have been. Maybe I was just trying to be a bit tough – 8 sounds not as bad as 10? I have no idea, but they gave me some morphine to help and started to get me ready to head up to the ward.
I was assigned to a semi-private room and hooked up to a machine that would allow me to administer my own morphine on a timed basis. Every 6 minutes I could give myself another shot if I needed it. I was still in a lot of pain when I got up to the ward, so I hit the button a few times in a row – it just beeped at me signalling me “too early!” The nurse who set up the machine told me it was timed so I wouldn’t become a drug addict. Okay, I guess I can handle a bit of pain for a few more minutes.
Cayley and my Dad came in right away to see me. It felt like forever since I had seen them, but really, it was only 4 hours.
My nurse was named Florence and she was from Nigeria. I couldn’t help but think of Florence Nightingale, so I knew I was in good hands.
My drain was pinned to my gown so I could see what I would have to deal with when I got home. Florence and the team of nurses emptied it for me while I was in the hospital, but I was on my own once I got home.
I also had these things wrapped around my lower legs that squeezed different air patterns through them at different intervals. This was to keep the blood circulating in my lower legs and prevent any complications.
I was given a few exercises to do to move my legs and help expand my chest. There was a big bandage around my chest so it felt really tight. Also I was told from the anesthesia and other drugs that I would need to take deep breaths to stretch out my chest.
My stay in the hospital was pretty routine. I had lots of people come visit me on Tuesday night. I slept on and off throughout the night. (it is hard to stay asleep when you need to take meds or get checked on every few hours – plus every time the pain medication wears off you wake up).
Wednesday morning came around and Cayley was there at 7am to make sure he didn’t miss seeing the surgeons check on me. Both surgeons said everything went smoothly and that we would see what things looked like when the bandages came off.
A physiotherapist and someone from Community Nursing came in to see me as well. I dozed on and off throughout the day. Honestly, I felt like I could have stayed another night and just slept – but then I’d look over at my Dad and Cayley and knew that if I didn’t get out of there, the two of them would likely keel over from boredom. They had read all the magazines, talked about every piece of equipment in my room, every bit of flooring or paint was discussed, and then they just sat there watching me. At least at home they could maybe find something else to do! Haha
I was discharged Wednesday afternoon and headed back to my Uncle’s place to start my recovery.
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