Surgery Day Experience

So, at this point, surgery day has come and gone (thankfully!) and I have still not updated. I was planning to update while in the hospital and document my progress, but the surgery kicked my butt a little more than I was expecting. So, here is what I remember about my surgery and my hospital stay:

Surgery Morning:

My mom and sister drove me to the hospital after my mom read a very sweet prayer that one of her work friends wrote for me. We all had a little breakdown (my only one in front of other people!) but were able to be pretty calm the rest of the day. We stopped to get breakfast for my mom and sister, which was a little torturous for me, but I guess necessary for them.

We arrived at the hospital, checked in, and waited only a little bit to be taken to my pre-op room. Here, I changed into my hospital gown and sweet socks (with "grippies" on both sides, just in ) and settled in for some good old-fashioned "hurry-up and wait". We chatted with nurses, got my IV, and I had to go use the restroom in my gown... a very interesting experience for sure. I was very concerned about people being able to see my butt in the gown, which I later realized was only an exercise in futility.

They finally wheeled me back to a holding room to administer my epidural. Instead of having a typical PCA pain pump, I had a spinal "block" to deliver numbing and pain medication directly to my spine. The theory is that since you require less morphine, you recover much faster and have fewer side effects. The nurse was very nice and gave me a few "margaritas" and had me sit on the side of the bed leaning on her while the anesthesiologist did his work. I only felt a small stick from the skin numbing medication and then the actual epidural needle only felt like pressure and a small pinch. They taped the line from the puncture in my spine all the way up to my left shoulder. This is where they would eventually connect the medication. At this point, I was ready for surgery!

A few more nurses came in to ask me questions and do more prep. I'm not sure how long I was in this holding room, but it didn't feel like long before I was rolled back into the operating room. There were a TON of people that the nurses promptly introduced me to (seems like a strange courtesy considering they were all about to slice me open) and it was a very crowded and tight space (from what I could tell). They offered me warm blankets which I turned down because I was actually a little hot. Then, they helped me slide over onto the operating table where I then changed my mind and asked for blankets. The last thing I remember was them draping the warm blankets over my arms and I was OUT. Im pretty sure I wasn't totally unconscious at that immediate point, but the anesthesiologist must have put something in my IV to make me forget completely.

After what seemed like only seconds or minutes, I was awake in the PACU (Post Anesthesia Care Unit) or recovery room. My throat hurt from the tube, and I was in some pretty intense pain. They brought my mom and my sister back very briefly, though I don't remember what they said or how long they were there. I think there was talk that my epidural had not been turned on yet, so my pain was pretty high. Finally, someone connected the epidural and the pain subsided enough for them to take me to my room. My semi... private... room...