When I notified everyone that needed to know about the surgery, the big question kept coming up: "Are you nervous?" I wasn't nervous for the 3 weeks leading up to it. I don't know why, it didn't seem to make sense, since being nervous wouldn't solve anything. Besides, R was worked up enough.
The night before my sugery, I could barely sleep. It wasn't nerves, it just seemed like a laundry list of to-do items. My surgery was scheduled for 8am in the morning and I arrived at 6:30 for registration. I changed my clothes, got connected to an IV, and just talked to R to kill the time. The nurse wheeled me into the operating wait area and we waited for my surgeon to arrive. Most of the nurses I was passed off to found it strange that I was removing gallbladder. Apparently, most patients are female, overweight, and over the age of forty. I only fit into one of those categories.
My anesthesiologist was nice, he was happy to describe what his role was and how my body would react to the anesthesia. My surgeon was 10 minutes late, but who was really counting? After I maneuvered myself onto the table, the anesthesiologist gave me a mask and I was knocked out less than a minute later.
When I woke up, I was very drowsy and could barely answer the nurse's questions. After a quick wound check, I was wheeled up to my room. A group of nurses assembled in my room to transfer me from gurney to bed. It was so awkward. I'm glad I was so drowsy, I'm sure my butt was exposed through my untied gown as I shuffled.
R came just as I was settling in. I fell asleep after the nurse injected painkillers into my IV stream. I was tethered to that wretched IV, trips to the restroom were extremely difficult. In between naps and family visits, I was quite uncomfortable. I just wanted to go home. When R left, I could barely sleep. The room was really close to the nurses' station and it was noisy all night. It was a very rough night.
When R came back the next morning, I could not wait to leave. I had a liquid breakfast and waited for my surgeon to come and change my dressings. Unfortunately, the hospital did not give me solids as my doctor requested, so I had to stay for lunch. I had to prove that I could eat solid foods and keep it down. After I signed the discharge papers, I still had to wait an eternity for my meds prescription and my father-in-law. The trip home seemed to take a lot longer than the actual 5 minute drive.
When R opened the door, I was glad to be home. It also helped that I cleaned like a furious madwoman before the surgery.
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