It's Done

The surgery that is. The healing however has just begun.

Mom and I arrived at the hospital a little before 9:00am to get registered. The woman signing me in was getting all my info and then started asking about payment. I told her that we were supposed to be meeting with someone from the financial office, but had not heard from anyone. She got on the phone and spoke with someone that told her we needed to pay $400.00. WHAT?! What happened to the almost $2,000.00 they wanted a few days before? I was confused, but didn't argue. We will meet with the financial office later.

So onto the surgery...

I put on my super fabulous gown and way too sexy blue socks and climbed onto the bed. I was there a few minutes before the nurse came out to get my IV ready. I warned her that my veins were not that great and I usually have to get stuck multiple times before they get a good one. She decided that in order to give herself more of an advantage that she would warm me up. She put this funky plastic blanket on me and then turned it on. I looked like the marshmallow man and just couldn't resist having Mom take a picture. After being under this lovely warmer for several minutes she came back to check on me. She started slapping the back of my hand trying to find a vein. It felt like she was bruising me. RUDE! She was actually very nice and polite, just doing her job. She got it the first time, but then informed me that my vein got scared and she had to try again. Fantastic!! Second time was a success!

My OB came in a few minutes later and took a quick look at the baby on an ultrasound machine. Sorry, no way to see the sex. The monitor was way too small. I think she was just checking the heart. When she was done the anesthesiologist and her intern came in. They explained all the risks and such and asked several questions. I was totally fine until the bed actually started to roll and I saw Mom starting to fade. The tears started rolling and both the anesthesiologists were very concerned and kept asking if I was alright. After they got me moved to the surgical table I took a few deep breaths and off to sleep I went. No more tears!

I woke up in a labor and delivery room where Mom, Glenn and Zoe were waiting with me. I did start contracting during the surgery, but the medicine they gave me got that under control enough that they were able to finish. I was still contracting slightly and my uterus was agitated so they wanted to keep me over night. I was hoping to be able to go home and save us a bit of money, but the way I was feeling I knew I needed to stay. I was hooked up to several monitors through out the night to make sure all was well. By morning all contractions had stopped and the babies heart rate was great. Everything was good and I was released.

As expected I am quite sore, but I am able to do quite a bit. I was anticipating the pain to be as bad as it was after my other two laparoscopies, but have been pleasantly surprised that I can stand and walk with minimal pain. Sleeping has been difficult because of the air they pumped into me during the surgery is now hanging out in my shoulder. It hurts to breath, but it doesn't last too long. A little stroll through the apartment helps a lot.

Zoe has been a big helper. She gets very concerned when she sees me trying to get out of my chair. She has to hurry over and hold my hand and walk me to the bathroom. So sweet! In the hospital both girls had to help me push my IV cart around. Zoe thought it was a jungle gym and got pretty upset when we told her not to hang on it or stand on it. It was difficult to see everyone leave, but I was grateful that they all got to go home to nice comfortable beds.

I am so glad that Mom got to come up and be with us for a few days. Thanks for doing the laundry and the dishes. Thanks for taking Maggie to school and to her primary activity. Thank you for helping Glenn make dinner. Thank you for playing with Zoe. Thank you for letting me rest. Thank you for being a good kind mother and someone that I can look up to. Thanks Dad for letting her come visit for a while.