We arrived for my surgery at 9:30am on Tuesday morning, registered and changed into my lovely hospital attire and then sat and waited for almost 2.5 hours before getting called in with the nurse. Dr. Semple saw me first and marked me up for surgery. An announcement came on while he was doing his marking, reminding all staff that there was a Christmas Tea starting at noon. He asked if I wanted to go to the tea before surgery...a joke of course because I wasn't allowed to eat anything since midnight the night before...a cruel joke at that! LOL After meeting with Dr. Semple, I met with the anesthesiologist and my nurse. My anesthesiologist made the joke that my chart was quite large and that I should take up residence at the hospital! I chuckled and said that this would be my final surgery and I would gladly leave my room open for someone else. After meeting my team, I sat for another 1/2 hour before being taken into the surgery room.
It doesn't matter how many times you go in for surgery, you seem to always be a basket of nerves...or at least I am! They laid me on the surgery table and prepared me for the most wonderful sleep...that's about all I look forward to...the sleep is the best sleep EVER!! Before being totally knocked out I made a few jokes about waking up rich and with Dolly Parton Boobies...the entire team laughed and were amazed by my ability to joke while being poked and prepped...my way of calming myself. But like always, I had Dr. Semple hold my hand until the anesthesiologist had my IV in and the drugs started to drip...in fact, I fell asleep holding his hand. He's my hero!
Two and a half hours later I was taken into the recovery room and remembered why I was so nervous before surgery...because I knew what the pain was going to be like. My abdomen burned, my chest ached and my body felt like it was hit by a Mac truck. They gave me several shots of morphine to help manage the pain. After about an hour, they took me to the second recovery room where Jason was able to come in and see me. It's always nice to wake up and see his handsome face and listen to his wise cracks! He told my best friend Cara that I would be up doing the jig in no time!! He praised me for being the trooper that I am and just tried to take my mind off the pain.
Dr. Semple came in to see me and said that the surgery went very well! He said that they sat me up during surgery to make sure that everything was level and in proportion. Both of us cracked a few jokes about going for Christmas Tea...but I was quite content with the good drugs he was giving me. I'm blessed to have such a great doctor! Dr. Semple is so caring and makes me feel like he views me as one of his family. He is always concerned, always holds my hand and pats my head...all things that shows he cares.
So far, from what I can see, I am happy with the results. I am still quite swollen, bruised up and bandaged up so it's hard to see too much. I see Dr. Semple on Tuesday to remove the bandages and see how well I am healing.
Be positive, be strong and continue to pray for all those suffering with this terrible disease. May their journey be a road of reflection, healing and blessings.
No comments:
Post a Comment