Surgery number 1 is over and done - nice an accidental rhyme. I can't say how pleased I am to have it behind me. If you'd rather not hear about the details just stop reading now and wait for my next post.
If you are still reading this I guess you are up for at least a few gory details. The short story is ~ it all went well and I went home on Saturday around noon.
Here's the longer more detailed version for those of you who are up for a play-by-play. My sources tell me that my memory of these details will fade because that's the way anesthesia and some pain medications work. So I guess I better jot it all down before it some of it slips away.
We arrived at Portland Providence Hospital at about 5:15 am. The place is a huge maze so it took a few minutes to find the purple elevator and the surgery check-in desk. But we found it in time for my 5:30 checking and didn't wait very long before they took me into a pre-op room. At this point I started to get a little bit nervous but honestly I really wasn't as nervous as I expected to be.
The pre-op nurse, Patty, was very friendly and sweet. I went potty and then put all my clothes into a plastic bag, put on the lovely gown and socks that were provided and jumped in bed like a good girl. Denny was right with me the whole time. The anesthesiologist, Edmund Yuan, (whose name I only remember because it's on my caller ID from when he called the night before) stopped by to ask a few questions and said he'd be back in awhile to get me. Then Patty put in two IV's which is required with the robot surgeries just in case one stops working during the surgery. She also asked a lot of questions and had me sign stuff (I think). At about 7:25 or so I put on a cafeteria-lady cap and I kissed Denny good-bye.
Edmund Yuan wheeled me to the operating room. The hospital is very nice and the operating room is in the new part of the hospital which is pretty swanky and looks brand new. Once I got into the operating room I caught a glimpse of what I think was the Da Vinci Robot (it looked like pictures I've seen on the web) there were several people there. Edmund and the others put some extra tape on my IV's and then Dr. Winter came in. Somebody said, this is Julie Wehling and he lifted my cafeteria-lady cap up a bit and made a joke about how it looked like that was right. I said I hoped they could do this laparoscopically and Dr. Winter or one of the others said "we will do our very best to do it laparoscopically if we can". They asked me to move to the operating table from the gurney which I did. Things get fuzzy at this point but I think Dr. Winter looked me in the eyes and said something about taking good care of me but I wouldn't swear to that.
Next thing I remember Dr. Winter was looking me in the eyes and saying that there were no signs of cancer. Then it seemed like within a minute or two I was in my room and Dennis (Denny) was there waiting for me. I think I used to remember the face of the nurse in the recovery room and the person who wheeled me to my room on the 7th floor but that has faded already. I'm pretty sure the recovery room nurse was a woman and the person who brought me to my room was a man but I can't swear to that either. Somebody in the recovery room told me I had to spend the night but I don't remember who told me that they did the surgery laparoscopically ~ maybe in recovery ~ maybe Denny ~ I'm not sure.
So the best news is that they did it laparoscopically which means I can probably go back to work next week! Denny says the surgery took a bit less than two hours. I think I was in my room by around 11 am but it might be good to verify that will Denny. I got my information about the surgery from Denny. He talked to Dr. Winter who said that my ovary was imbedded in my bowel so it wasn't easy to get to but they were able to do it laparoscopically (Yippy). Denny said that they also took out some adhesions but I will have to ask Dr. Winter about that when I see him.
My memory of Friday is pretty fuzzy. They had me on Morphine. I do remember being in pain and feeling very nauseated. I posted stuff on facebook. I do remember talking to people on the phone and texting. Also, I remember reading that my uncle had passed away. I still haven't reacted to that emotionally (I need to go to the funeral). I felt a bit better by evening and was able to eat some dinner (Salmon & green beans). By Friday evening I was taking only Oxycodone as I needed it and took only 5mg a few times during the night and then one for the road when I went home on Saturday around noon.
I was able to shower on Saturday before I left the hospital which surprised me. There are 6 holes in my tummy that look a bit bruised but not too bad really. They glued them closed so that must be why the shower isn't a problem. I took 5mg of Oxycodone three times overnight on Saturday. My last dose was at about 2:45am on Sunday morning. I was pretty tired and queasy in the morning both Sunday and today but by noon I'm feeling better and up for taking a shower. Last night (Sunday) I was able to sleep by just taking Aleve, Motrin, and Tylenol. I'm relived to not be taking the Oxycodone. I struggle with constipation anyway so I'm thrilled to be off of any pain meds (I know, TMI but you asked for it by reading on after the first paragraph).
Considering what I've been through in the past three days I feel excellent. My sweet husband has been taking very good care of me. I'm eager to hear about the pathology report of course and I have to say that all of this has made me a bit more nervous about surgery number 2 but I'll deal with that later.
My short-term goal is to get strong enough to travel to my uncle's funeral next Saturday. If I keep feeling better at this rate I think I'll be up for it.
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