There were so many things that had to be done before surgery. With constant pain, it makes it easy to put them off, but some had to be dealt with, like taxes, farm maintenance, etc. They couldn't wait and I didn't know how long it would be before I was back to at least "chemo normal".
My "party in a box" friend, Kay, had offered to come stay with me and I was so looking forward to having her here. She arrived the day before surgery. On her way in, she stopped and picked up our friend, Harold, Mayor of N. Walstonburg, and we all went out for my last meal before surgery. It was wonderful to spend time together and have a great meal at Ribeyes in Snow Hill. After dinner, Kay and I took Harold home, then back to get everything in place for the next day.
I was scheduled to be at the Surgicenter at 6:15 Friday morning. We were there with time to spare, but it was April Fools Day...so I wore one of my fun hats as we walked into the building. It was still dark outside when we arrived, but through the windows of the building, people already inside could see us coming. As they noticed my hat, they poked the person next to them and pointed. They were all smiling and that was what I wanted.
After signing in, agreeing to let them do whatever they wanted to do to me, and giving them some money, we were issued a buzzer and we had a seat. Paula, Joan, and Annie would join Kay in the "fun" and that made all of this procedure much more festive and tolerable.
Soon, the nurse came out to get me. The minute she saw my hat, she smiled too. It was hard. Again, I was in one of the rooms John was in for one of his many procedures. The flashback to that day, the concern I had for him. I started crying and my nurse scurried over to see what was wrong. She thought I was afraid because of the surgery. But that wasn't why I was crying. I told her about John and she leaned over, hugged me, and said, "Oh darling, I am so sorry."
Before long, I was undressed, gown on, IV in, had talked with the anesthesiologist, and was ready for surgery. Paula and Kay came back to be with me and the surgeon came in to talk. My surgeon is tall, handsome, very articulate and best of all, wears cowboy boots. He went over what we were getting ready to do, but in the process, he really emphasized his concerns. "I want you all to know we are taking out a perfectly good operating port that may or may not be causing pain, to put in another perfectly good operating port. I want to make sure we are all on the same page...do you understand?" He continued to go over this same subject with them. It wasn't new to me, he had given me the same spiel when I went in to request the surgery, but I learned later, it really upset Kay and Paula.
I was whisked away to the operating room and the last thing I remember was telling the nurse I was cold and they put warm blankets on me and a mask over my face and told to breathe deep. I hate to say it, but after all the pain I had endured, I embraced the chance for deep sleep and hopefully closure for all of this.
Next thing I remember, the nurse was with me in my room asking me to wake up. As soon as I woke up, I knew my shoulder was better. I know that sounds crazy, I was still under the effects of the anesthesia, but I knew! A few minutes later, the surgeon stuck his head in and said, "You were right, it was leaking!"
Below is a photo taken by my friend Annie, as I was leaving. Remember it was April Fools Day, so I put my hat on and my bubba teeth in. As I was being rolled out, I said, "Be careful if you go back there, I was fine when I came in!"
Soon we were home resting. And all was well! What a relief.
PCQ
My "party in a box" friend, Kay, had offered to come stay with me and I was so looking forward to having her here. She arrived the day before surgery. On her way in, she stopped and picked up our friend, Harold, Mayor of N. Walstonburg, and we all went out for my last meal before surgery. It was wonderful to spend time together and have a great meal at Ribeyes in Snow Hill. After dinner, Kay and I took Harold home, then back to get everything in place for the next day.
I was scheduled to be at the Surgicenter at 6:15 Friday morning. We were there with time to spare, but it was April Fools Day...so I wore one of my fun hats as we walked into the building. It was still dark outside when we arrived, but through the windows of the building, people already inside could see us coming. As they noticed my hat, they poked the person next to them and pointed. They were all smiling and that was what I wanted.
After signing in, agreeing to let them do whatever they wanted to do to me, and giving them some money, we were issued a buzzer and we had a seat. Paula, Joan, and Annie would join Kay in the "fun" and that made all of this procedure much more festive and tolerable.
Soon, the nurse came out to get me. The minute she saw my hat, she smiled too. It was hard. Again, I was in one of the rooms John was in for one of his many procedures. The flashback to that day, the concern I had for him. I started crying and my nurse scurried over to see what was wrong. She thought I was afraid because of the surgery. But that wasn't why I was crying. I told her about John and she leaned over, hugged me, and said, "Oh darling, I am so sorry."
Before long, I was undressed, gown on, IV in, had talked with the anesthesiologist, and was ready for surgery. Paula and Kay came back to be with me and the surgeon came in to talk. My surgeon is tall, handsome, very articulate and best of all, wears cowboy boots. He went over what we were getting ready to do, but in the process, he really emphasized his concerns. "I want you all to know we are taking out a perfectly good operating port that may or may not be causing pain, to put in another perfectly good operating port. I want to make sure we are all on the same page...do you understand?" He continued to go over this same subject with them. It wasn't new to me, he had given me the same spiel when I went in to request the surgery, but I learned later, it really upset Kay and Paula.
I was whisked away to the operating room and the last thing I remember was telling the nurse I was cold and they put warm blankets on me and a mask over my face and told to breathe deep. I hate to say it, but after all the pain I had endured, I embraced the chance for deep sleep and hopefully closure for all of this.
Next thing I remember, the nurse was with me in my room asking me to wake up. As soon as I woke up, I knew my shoulder was better. I know that sounds crazy, I was still under the effects of the anesthesia, but I knew! A few minutes later, the surgeon stuck his head in and said, "You were right, it was leaking!"
Below is a photo taken by my friend Annie, as I was leaving. Remember it was April Fools Day, so I put my hat on and my bubba teeth in. As I was being rolled out, I said, "Be careful if you go back there, I was fine when I came in!"
Soon we were home resting. And all was well! What a relief.
PCQ
6 comments:
Too funny. I know you were the talk of the day. My favorite is your bubba teeth. Richard gave me some pink piggy bedroom shoes that I wore to chemo but you've got me beat with this.
Willamina
You are just the best!! Always thinking of others!! Love you!
So relieved to read this Pat! And Love your April Fools day merriment. Leave it to you!!!
-Jan Archer
When I saw the picture I thought you were one of my relatives.
So thankful the problem has been resolved. No one knows your body like yourself and your case proves my theory! Susan Hardison
This just proves, always trust your intuition. So glad you're feeling better...hope you're having a wonderful trip!
Love it! Dr's don't know everything. Glad you are better. Constant pain in the pits.
Julie Sugg Honeycutt
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