Pre-op at the hospital provided a plethora of information. Sometimes information is helpful, and other times it just provides unnecessary room for worry. I thought we had heard it all when I met with the surgeon, but No-O-o (hear the pitch of my voice rising and falling). There’s more. If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout this process – there’s always more.
This visit consisted of registering with the hospital, more labs, urinalysis, chest x-ray, and a detailed question and answer session by the pre-op nurse about my life and family history, preparatory routines, anesthesia, intubation, recovery, and the fear of God (do you want a chaplain present?). She was very sweet and a believer, so our conversation was pleasant overall. In my humble opinion, her job is to let you know everything that could possibly go wrong, show you how to best prevent these things from going wrong, and then ask you to sign documents that you really aren’t sure you are signing to make sure you don’t sue in the event something does go wrong. So much information my head is swimming. Hopefully what I forget, Tim will remember. Here’s what I remember, or perhaps the things that stuck out at me as most important.
The night before surgery I have to take a shower and use this special microbial soap she gave me, sleep in clean pajamas and lay on clean sheets. Don’t eat or drink anything after midnight. The next morning I take another shower using the special soap. This soap is apparently known to decrease risk of post-operative infection. Wear something comfortable. Take an overnight bag, but don’t keep anything valuable during surgery. No rings, jewelry, deodorant or lotion. This is such a habit, I hope I remember to leave it off.
We have to be there at 5:30 AM, which means getting up at 4:30 AM to get ready.
They will put a tube down my throat. I won’t be awake when they put it in, or when they remove it, but there is a risk of cutting my lip or damaging my vocal cords in the process. The tube will help keep a clear path to my lungs.
I will be asleep during the entire procedure. They start with a “margarita” and then put me to sleep with the hard stuff. The anesthesiologist will keep me informed the whole time, until I’m asleep. My husband is looking forward to seeing me “loopy.”
The procedure takes about 3-3.5 hours, but this seems to include going to sleep and waking up, so perhaps the actual surgery is less. They will send a volunteer out into the waiting room to let my family know progress as it happens. Our kids will probably sleep in, then join him mid-morning.
When I wake up, I will want to go back to sleep. Hmmm. Why wake me up in the first place? I’m kidding, of course. I know why they wake me up, but it does seem a bit ironic.
I will wake up with a sore throat (from the tube) and that should last about 24 hours. So much for singing in the hospital room.
I’ll probably be in my own room by about noon. While it will be lunch time, I won’t feel like eating. I will want to sleep. I will stay in the room at least overnight, and will have drain tubes in place for about 2 weeks or more.
Writing it down decreases my anxiety. Now I don’t have to remember to think about it.