Pre-Op Appointment - "X" Marks the Spot

I had my pre-op appointment last Thursday and overall it was fairly uneventful. I did get VERY nervous and almost had a breakdown moment when the stoma nurse was showing me the ileostomy bag and said, "This is the bag you'll have when you wake up from surgery". That made everything seem way too real for me. I almost started crying right there in the office, but luckily was able to control myself and move on.

For the appointment, I had been told it would take about 2 hours. I arrived at the hospital where they have a special parking deck just for the surgery center (for pre-testing too). I only waited a few minutes after filling out some paperwork before they called me back. I was weighed (156 lbs with clothes on) and had my blood pressure and temperature checked. Then, I waited for the stoma nurse to come.

When the nurse arrived, she talked through the ileostomy with me, showed me diagrams, and showed me one of the bags. I was very distracted while she was talking, but luckily I had already learned a lot about having the ileostomy from the internet and some materials I had gotten from my first visit with "the bag lady". Then, it was time to mark my stoma site. She had me sit in a chair, cough to locate a certain muscle in my abdomen. She made me twist certain ways, lift my legs up, and bend over to select to the prime location for my stoma. It is important that the site is very flat and does not have any natural folds in the skin so that there is a good seal for the ostomy bag. She marked the spot with a sharpie and then placed a "tegaderm" over it (think saran wrap that sticks to your skin) so that the X will not wipe off before surgery. I felt a little awkward since my stomach is a little hairy. I wish she had shaved the hair before placing the tape... I can't wait to see how that feels coming off on surgery day!

I was done with the whole process in about an hour. There was no blood work, no EKG, and no X-rays of any kind. I was a little surprised that they didn't do any of this, but I'm assuming they will do any other tests they need on Wednesday morning when I get to the hospital. The only other thing I was expecting was having a chance to speak with an anesthesiologist. My surgeon had recommended that I have an epidural for my pain control after surgery and I wanted to ask about it and consider this as an option. I didn't meet anyone at pre-op, but got a call the next day from one of the admissions coordinators asking me to come an hour earlier on surgery day because I am having a "block" before surgery. Still not totally sure what this is, but I think it is the epidural, so I guess my questions will have to wait for Wednesday morning.

This weekend, I spent lots of time with my family before surgery happens. I got a chance to hold and play with my two year old twin nieces for the last time for several weeks (won't be able to pick them up for about 6 weeks). Also, my dad helped me move a couch from my sisters' house to mine on the other side of town. For a few months, I've only had a love seat and chair and decided that I really should have a full sized couch while I recover from surgery :)

Tomorrow is my last day at school for a while, and Tuesday is prep day and election day. Then, it's gameday....