Quote of the Day: “When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” Franklin D. Roosevelt
No exercise today. When I awoke this morning at the hospital, not that I slept much last night, I looked at Mount Olympus from my window. I had this great view of the whole mountain and wished I could have been out walking with Jen and all my friends. The surgery went well, both the surgeon and plastic surgeon gave Joe great reports and likelihood for strong healing. The surgery was an hour shorter than they had anticipated and because my skin was healthy, the chance of infection should be less. They will test the breast tissue for any cancer, and most likely the lab report will come back on Monday. We started the day at the plastic surgeon’s office getting marked and they really do just write all over your breasts- exactly where they will make the incisions etc. Then we arrived at IMC @ noon. By the time we got into a room, they were trying to hurry because the surgeons were ready. They put an IV on the underside of my left arm which was great because I didn’t have to see it. Hooray for the anesthesiologist who was bored waiting for us, so he came down to consult. With my past history of being very sick with nausea and vomiting after surgery, he said he had just transfered from the University Hospital and had some medicines and techniques they used up there, he thought would work. He was right, when I came out of surgery, I was groggy of course but didn’t feel nauseas! He gets an A+. He started the medicines while I was still in the hallway, asked me if I drank alcohol, because if not, this would work fast and that’s all I remember.
Post surgery a nurse was trying to wake me up. I slowly was coming to my senses, well partially, the time was 4:50 P.M. and after that the nurse was not to be seen. When she would talk to me, which wasn’t often, she stood to the side and behind my head a little. I had to crane my head to even hear what she was saying. She never came to the side of my bed, looked at me and asked if I needed anything. I could hear people typing and working on the computer behind me. Finally, since I had been there for a while, I started to feel so neglected. I couldn’t get her attention, when she walked by and then back again, she wouldn’t make eye contact. I asked a question, nothing. After what seemed like a long time, I finally motioned another nurse and she came over ready to assist. I told her that I couldn’t communicate with my nurse and that she wouldn’t make eye contact with me. It made me start to cry so she got me some kleenex and tried to comfort me. I asked for my nurse’s name and she wrote it on a piece of paper. Then all I could hear was my nurse trying to get someone to take me to my room. It was as if there was only one person who could wheel a bed to a room and every time they called him, he said he was busy. I asked for a drink of water, since I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for many hours, they said “No, wait until you get to your room”. Finally, around 6:30 P.M., they found someone to take me and my bed up to my room. I will be talking to whoever is in charge of the recovery room, Monday. Really odd and unacceptable behavior from that nurse-especially when you’re all alone and vulnerable.
I got to my room and my family was all waiting for me. I was so happy to see them but in a lot of pain. Mary brought Maggie and Kate. Kate was babbling the cutest sounds and Maggie saw crackers on my bedside and said “Grandma Mix (Mary’s grandmother) always shares her crackers.” So share I did! Alex, Mike and Elle came by and stayed for a while. We decided that this was Elle’s baptism by fire into our family.
Pre-surgery
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