I sit before you as a 95% man today. Maybe even a 97% man. Of course, that number feels as whole lot lower, but that’s to be expected when you have a doctor go in and carve out your gall bladder. God really didn’t make the human body to be easily user serviceable, you know.
I have to say that the whole operational experience wasn’t that bad. I checked in at Palisades Medical Center around 1pm on Friday, was ready to be sliced and diced around 3:30 and was on the operating table by 4, half-joking with the nursing staff that I’d like a video of the operation from the arthroscopic equipment they’d be using.
After that all I remember was blacking out and waking up in the recovery room, wondering if I had even had the surgery. A quick look down at the four newly stitched incisions in my abdomen reassured me that this was all quite real. The time was 6pm — damn time moves fast when you’re being used as a pin cushion!
I was admitted overnight for observation and repeated stabbing in my leg with pain killers. Demerol certainly became a friend of mine that night! Anything to take away the pain if two billion sit-ups that was residing in my abs. Sleep was sound, yet frequently disrupted. I would find myself waking every two to four hours, calling for the nurse with that blessed call box. And that heavens for the TV as well — I could have gone quite mad without its mind-numbing abilities on call.
Early Saturday afternoon I was finally allowed to have visitors and my sister Shannon and cousin Erin made a planned appearance to spring me from the facility. A quick stop at the pharmacy for the mandatory pain killer prescription and I was back home recovering in my own bed. When I’m finally back up to walking around enough to venture into the city and the office is still up in the air, thought I’m keeping my fingers crossed I can pull it off on Tuesday or Wednesday. I’m just thankful that this is the last step in the recovery process. Well, at least until the next problem shows up, that is.
Any wagers on when or what that will be? Just remember that the house gets a cut of all bets made. ^_^
Tags: Personal
wow. Is this your first surgical experience? I’ve had five major surgeries, and I definitely know what it’s like wondering whether or not you did indeed have surgery. It’s only the numbing pain on the surgical site that tells you.
Demerol was your friend? Percocet was mine, lol. Your sleeping patterns and that ‘enjoyment’ of the nurse call buttons brings me back to the times I was in the hospital. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, but hey…no harm in recollection.
Anyway, hope your recovery goes well. Take care!!
Yes, this is was my first ever surgery. Outside of a few scrapes, bumps and nearly lost teeth my visits to the hospital have been somewhat tame. Not this time baby!
Percocet is currently my good friend in the post-hospital phase of recovery. I’m still a little upset that I didn’t get the usual morphine hookup, but after the first injection one of the nurses noticed a small rash around the injection site, so that ended my chances of IV morphine and required the use of my right leg as a pin cushion for the Demerol shots. Strangely enough, after a few shots it hurt a bit more than the incision sites themselves.
Glad to hear you’re doing reasonably well despite that nightmare. Here’s to a quick, full recovery!