Health

As I wrote about here, I’ve been having some issues with my gallbladder. I had been scouring the internet to find out what to expect from gallbladder surgery, and I didn’t find a whole lot. Guess people don’t really like to blog about what they went through and how it felt. But just because other people may not want to write about it, that won’t stop me. I had every intention of taking pictures of the entire process, but I didn’t end up keeping my phone with me once I was admitted, so the above photo of the hospital is all you get. (Feel free to stop reading now if you get grossed out by such things).

3 days before surgery, I was told to go pick up some paperwork at the doctor’s office and then go preregister at the hospital. Since I really hate missing work, I had Luis go pick up the paperwork for me. Once I got to the hospital to preregister, I did the whole paperwork thing (which was really not a whole lot because they already had me in their system), and then it was time to get blood drawn, urine sample (to make sure I wasn’t pregnant), and then chest x-rays.

The night before surgery, I was told not to eat anything past midnight. I had to shower the night before and then they had these special wipes that I had to use under my armpits and all over my stomach. Then they told me no lotion, perfume, or deodorant after the wipes. No deodorant??? Seriously? Yes. So I followed the procedure.

On surgery day (Friday), I didn’t need to be at the hospital until noon. Since I wasn’t allowed to eat anything, I decided to go into work for a couple of hours just to keep my mind off of the fact that I wasn’t allowed to eat. Funny how I normally don’t eat in the morning, but if I know I am not supposed to eat (like on fast Sundays), I am suddenly ravenous all day long.

So I worked until 10:30 a.m. then returned home to cuddle with Graciela for a little bit and get ready to go to the hospital. I had Luis drop Graciela off at our friends’ house (I didn’t go because I was scared that I would cry having to say goodbye to her), and then we were off to the hospital. I was a little nervous/anxious but it wasn’t too bad. The waiting to be called back is probably the worst part for me because once I got there, I just wanted it to be over with.

Finally, my name was called and off I went. We didn’t know if Luis was supposed to come back with me or not so he stayed in the waiting room for a little while before leaving. Turns out, he could have stayed with me all the way up until they actually took me back for the surgery. Oh well.

Once I was in my sort-of room (there were only 3 walls and a curtain), I got into my hospital gown, my uber-sexy compression thigh-highs, and the standard hospital grippy socks. The nurses were all really nice, but every single one asks the same exact questions. What are we doing today? What is your name and birth date? Is your name spelled correctly on your bracelet? When was the last time you had anything to eat or drink? Are you allergic to any medications? Any other medical problems we should know about (etc., etc., etc.)

After all of the regular procedure, all that was left was to wait for my doctor to finish the other surgery he was performing before mine. While I waited I got to watch…. any guesses? TLC, or course! As I’ve mentioned before, TLC is the only thing I miss about not having cable, so any time I have access to a TV, that is what I flip to. I watched an episode of Say Yes to the Dress, Bridesmaids. I had never even heard of that show, but let me tell you, it is bizarre. Who do those bridesmaids think they are? It is the brides’ day, and you wear what she wants. If you don’t like it, then plan your own wedding and make everyone wear what you like.

When my doctor was finished, he came in and asked me the same things the nurses had asked. He told me he would try to have me back in court in no time, and asked if I had any questions. My only question was how soon after surgery I would be able to eat (it was about 2:00 by then and I was staaarving). He said only liquids until the following day.

So then I got wheeled back into the operating room. My first thought was, man this room has bright lights, too bad I don’t have my camera to take some pictures for my blog. The room was also very cold and I was surprised by how narrow the operating table was. At first I worried I might be a little too wide for it, but I was fine. The anesthesiologist came in, and I expected that once he started the anesthesia that I would get drowsy and fall asleep. Oddly, I didn’t. One minute I was laying there thinking about blogging and that narrow operating table and what they would do if someone was too fat for it, and the next minute I was opening my eyes in a different room and a nurse was asking me about my level of pain. Strange.

I really didn’t feel any pain at all. I couldn’t tell if we had finished the surgery or what was going on, so I just asked what time it was. 4:30. So the surgery must have already happened and that was why I felt like I couldn’t really move. As the feeling in my body started coming back, I agreed to take some medicine. She asked if I wanted morphine (I think) or something a little less strong. Less strong for me. Percocet to be exact.

Of course, Percocet shouldn’t be taken on an empty stomach and the nurse offered me a variety of things to eat: graham crackers, saltine crackers, animal crackers, jello, or pudding. I chose pudding. Vanilla or Chocolate? Chocolate, please. So she brought me my chocolate pudding with a spoon. I tried to eat the darn thing, but it felt way too thick… kind of like I was trying to eat frosting. I apologized and asked if I could have jello. She was super nice and accommodating and brought me my jello.

As I attempted to eat a couple of bites of the jello, the nurse asked me what I did for a living. Divorce, child custody, you know the fun things in life. I then took my Percocet and was taken to another 3-walled “room.” By then Luis had been called already and was on his way to pick me up. I started feeling really nauseous (apparently I didn’t eat enough before taking the percocet) and had to be given some zofran (oh zofran, my old friend, you and I go way back… back to those nauseous pregnancy days I wish I never had to see again). I found that as long as I didn’t try to move a whole lot, I felt ok. But they told me I had to pee before I was able to be discharged so off to the bathroom my nurse and I went. She stood there watching me. I would expect to feel awkward in such a circumstance, but I really didn’t. Maybe it was the drugs. Idk. I was supposed to pee into a little bucket. I missed it completely, but she said she heard enough coming out that I was fine to go home.

And that was exactly what we did. Got dressed, got wheeled out to the car. I was told I was not competent to make any major decisions for the next day or two, and Luis would have to sign my discharge form. I had refused to be wheel chaired out to the car after I delivered Graciela. This time I knew I should just follow directions because walking to the bathroom around the corner from my “room” was enough of a challenge for one day. And then we went home.

Since then, I really haven’t been feeling very much pain, though that is probably because of the medication. I do feel sore and it is difficult to stand up or sit down. Moving around makes me get kind of dizzy, but there is really not a whole lot of actual pain. I took a shower this morning like the doctor had recommended (fortunately my shower has a little stool built into it so I was able to sit for the most part… showering is hard work). I really want to eat a big ol’ slice of pizza, but I know I can’t. For the next week or so, I’m only supposed to eat fairly bland foods. No greasy, fried, or spicy foods.

Luis and my brother, Felipe, have been taking good care of me and Graciela. Graciela is a little bummed that I won’t pick her up, but she has been able to sit on the bed next to me so she has been ok for the most part. And that, my friends, concludes my extremely lengthy surgery post. I am hoping to be back to work by Monday (at least for a few hours), but we’ll see how things go. The doctor told me that the recovery itself should be approximately 48 hours, and that I might still feel sore after that so to just wait and see what happens.

This morning, I had to get my blood drawn. One of the tests they were running was a glucose screening so I had to wait for a full hour before they took my blood. As I waited, I noticed a cute little family walk in. A mom, a dad, and a sickly looking child who couldn’t have been more than 4 years old. I hoped the child was just having a bad day, but as I tuned in to their conversation (yes, I was eavesdropping) I realized that it was the little girl who was getting her blood taken. She was excited for it.

So we continue waiting and waiting, and then a nurse calls, “Natalie!” I was about to gather my things (thinking she had mistakenly called me Natalie), when I saw the family stand up and go to the back. My name (which they pronounced “Natalie-ah”) was called next. So off I went to the back.

The nurse sat me in a little room, cleaned off my arm, and right as she was about to put the needle in, we heard it. The bloodcurdling scream of a little girl. It made me want to cry too. She must have been in the room right next to mine, because I could hear her parents and the nurse trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, she had to be pricked again. And the screaming continued. It made me want to cry too.

Note to self: Luis is going to have to handle all doctor visits with our baby.