The After Surgery Report

a little belated, but at least i think my head is clear of anesthesia-related effects.

for some reason i didn't think i'd have a hard time waking up for something so big, but i did...
my mom came into the room with abi, and it was really abi's presence that helped me get myself out of bed, even though it still took like 20 minutes.
i somehow made the mistaken judgement not to shower right before the operation, as we were running late, and i figured i showered in the afternoon the day before, so it should be ok...
when we got to the medical building, we sat in their waiting room for almost an hour before we were told that my surery would need to be delayed, and i had another hour before there was a chance of them calling me in.
and the options were rather miserable as we were about 20 minutes away from home, going to a restaurant/deli type place was way out of the question as i couldn't eat anything, and there really wasn't much to do.
like the true new-jersey-ite, my mom decided it would be best to go shopping.
it actually wasn't so bad, as i got 2 skirts (though i may not keep one of them) and a top.
we got back to the medical center just in time, but had to wait like abother half hour anyways. it was almost 2 when i was called in, and i hadn't had anything to eat since 10pm the night before.
my mom went in with me to the changing room, where i put took off all my jewelry, put on the gown & the nifty sock thingies (that i got to keep!) and the hair net thingie.
then i was all on my own.
laying there in the recovery room i felt so alone and so scared. the nurse-people kept coming and going, aksing me questions, and joking from without my curtain-wall among themselves.... luckily they had me knocked out in under a half an hour, so it wasn't that long. and they put the IV needle in the side of my wrist rather then the top of my hand this time. i kinda liked that better.
the anasthesiologist was pretty cool... when he saw on my chart that i have stomach issues he asked me more details on what they are, and then put pepcid & somehting else to prevent nausua into my iv.
now for the not so positive stuff...
the surgeon himself hadn't been giving me that good a vibes this time around, and the fact that he couldn't find the lump right away kind of scared me. overall, he'd spent less then 15 minutes with me before the operation (and thats counting the visit to him before, too!) and i was just a bit weary. in the end, he didn't make the incision where we agreed upon, either, and i think my scar is going to be in a somewhat awkward place. i am just really hoping it heals well.
also, the anasthesiologist told me about the tube that would go down my throat, and also said that it'd be out by the time i came to... which is status quo. only i have this memory of being conscious, and feeling the tube in my motuh; then remembering his words, and feeling like i need to alert someone... and then realizing that i can't open my eyes, doing the emergency body check and realizing that i can only move my wrists, and flailing them about a couple of times.
it must have been less then 5 seconds all together, but it was one of those moments where each second seems to last a lifetime.
next memory is coming to. slowly opening my eyes, having the mask on me, and feeling all sorts of out of whack. i definately had a much better time coming to last time.
it took them nearly 5 minutes of me being awake to take the mask off, and the thing was starting to make me feel clausterphobic... my mouth was beyond dry, but they also took some time before offering me water.
after i had my cup of water, they suggested i have juice or something. remembering overhearing that they have iced tea from before being knocked out, i asked for that. it turned out to be a big mistake. after one sip i got cotton-mouth wicked bad, i think it was the amount of sugar int here that did it. and i've never even had that before. and ironically, the iced tea they had was diet snapple, but the crackers were regular saltines. i think if they had the low sodium ones, i would have been able to eat some, but those were way too salty for what i could take.
so leaving the recovery room i was barely walking, had an irritatingly dry mouth and felt dizzy and nausious.
and another difference between the medical center and the hospital is that in the hosptial, my mom was called into the recovery room as soon as i came to, and was allowed to sit there while i regained my senses (which didn't take nearly the half hour it took this time).
by the time i was taken out, it was 5pm, so my grandfather (who was the one waiting for me as my mom had to eave for work by then) and i hit rush hour traffic on the way home; it took more then another half hour before we got home and i could get some water. i spent most of the ride with my head resting on my hands and my eyes half-closed, as trying to remain fully conscious was really taxing and made me irritated at the situation.
after drinking the first cup, i made a quick call to bill to tell him i'm okay, and went to bed.
my mom woke me up around 9:30ish to make me eat.
at first i just wanted to go back to bed, but again, abi's presence roused me. she made me mashed potatoes, which were good, but had me feeling dizzy and nauseus again for a bit.
during that time i came downstairs & started catching up on stuff online.
probably not the best thing for me, but odd as when i got to bed i had a really hard time falling asleep and staying asleep.
i decided to get up once i saw it was light out, but it was only around 6:30am. it somewhat of a realization that while recovering i should probably just do what my body wants rather worry too much about imposing a decent sleep schedule.
i think i got back to bed in a bit under an hour, and slept well till near noonish. when i woke up then, though, my mouth was incredibly dry (to the point where the middle of my tongue felt like a dried up sponge), and my face was all swollen (it still is a bit).
overall i am doing okay, and haven't been dizzy or nauseous today, but my throat is really hurting me, and making me cough a lot. and i still feel a bit weaker.
my boob is all bandaged up, and i'm not even supposed to take the bra off yet. after that (later tonight) i still need to wait another day before taking the bandages off, so i think by the time i actually can take a shower, i will be really needing one. it doesn't really hurt, but it definately feels sore & vulnerable...

and now i think its time to go eat; i will probably write more later...