Surgery Day

The big day finally arrived. I was genuinely relieved when they changed my check-in time from 5:30am to 11am. Instead of stumbling around in the dark and racing out the door half awake, I was able to move through my morning calmly. I showered, got dressed in soft, easy clothes, and packed a little tote bag with a few comfort items. Aaron drove us to the hospital in the Tesla, which helped keep things feeling normal and routine instead of stressful.

Check-in was quick, and I was called back to a room not long after. The room itself was fine, but it was right next to an exit door and a bathroom door, so it felt like busy. Every time footsteps approached, I would perk up thinking, is that my nurse, is that the doctor, is it time for me. But it never was. My official check-in was at 11am, but no one came for me until about 2pm. Thankfully, I had woken up that morning at 4am and chugged a protein shake, because if I had waited all the way until afternoon without anything in my stomach, I would have been miserable.

Eventually they came to wheel me up. Once they started the medications, things moved fast. One moment I was talking, and the next I was waking up in the recovery room. My nurse there was very kind. I think his name was Travis. We chatted a bit, even though I could tell my brain was still sloshed around from the anesthesia. I always worry I’m saying ridiculous things and don’t realize it. But I’m sure those nurses hear a lot of wild things in that recovery area!

After surgery and spending some time in recover, they brought me back to my room where I could rest some more. Aaron handed me a red apple he bought from the cafeteria and I felt so happy to eat something fresh right away. The doctor came in with the surgical update. Everything looked good, the procedure went smoothly, and he told me I could go home whenever I felt ready. Hearing that lifted a weight off my shoulders.

Once I was able to get up, go to the bathroom, and prove that I was reasonably functional, they discharged me. We went home, and I settled into my spot on the recliner sofa with an ice pack over my abdomen. It did not take long before I felt fairly normal again. Sore and uncomfortable, yes, but not what I would consider true pain. I am always amazed at how my body can go through something so major and not leave me in agony afterwards. I took a couple of Tylenols and was eventually able to eat a little more.

Just like the last time I had surgery, sleep refused to cooperate that first night. I was not panicked about it, I just tried to rest and hoped my body would drift off eventually. I even took one of the strong pain pills mostly in hopes it would knock me out, but it barely made a difference. I think I finally started getting patches of sleep around 5am. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Now it is the next day and I actually feel pretty good. I am up and walking around because the nurse reminded me that moving helps dissipate the gas they use to inflate the abdomen during laparoscopic surgery. The soreness is manageable and I can already tell that each hour feels a little easier than the last.

I had to be careful with the cats, though. They love to jump on me or try to sleep directly on top of me, which is adorable on any other day but definitely not ideal when you have fresh incisions. If I shut the bedroom door, they would just stand outside and meow like tiny, determined alarms. So I had to be a little more aware about them, and I’m sure that didn’t help with sleep.

And one funny thing. I brought my mice with me to the hospital, and while I was back in the OR, Aaron did a full photo shoot with them in my room. When he showed me the pictures later, I laughed - Leave it to him to turn a stressful medical day into something sweet and ridiculous.

All in all, surgery day went as well as I could have hoped. Now I just focus on healing, moving, and giving my body the gentle care it needs so it can recover fully.