Surgery Day

Eight days ago I had a hysterectomy. Last week I shared with you the pre-operative prep that I had to do-which honestly wound up not being nearly as bad as it sounded. Last Wednesday morning was relatively normal. I got up, showered and finished packing my hospital bag and then, I waited. I didn’t have to be at the hospital until 11am so I had some time to kill. I hugged my oldest son as he headed off to work knowing I wouldn’t see him until I returned home from the hospital. I made sure my 16yo son and hubby had packed things to keep them entertained while I was in surgery and then I waited.

At about 10:40am we gathered our things and headed out to the mini-van and we realized we couldn’t find my car keys. You may remember that my keys have been missing since October. One call to my son revealed that he had the keys to my van with him and he was about 30 minutes north of where we live…Thankfully, my mother-in-law was in the area and she was able to bring us to the hospital.

I checked in at 11:02am and my husband and I were taken to the pre-op area and my son and mother-in-law went to the pre-op waiting area. For the next hour I was treated very well by the pre-op nurses and technicians as I was prepped for surgery. I met with the anesthesiologist and finally my surgeon came in and we discussed my desire to keep my ovaries if at all possible. Then we were just waiting for the daVinci robot to be cleaned and turned around from the previous surgery. My son and mother-in-law took turns coming to see me and then my pastor and assistant pastor each came in and prayed with my husband and I. I was feeling very calm, even before they added the Versed to my IV. I was more concerned for my husband and I was glad he would have plenty of support while I was in surgery.

At about 12:40pm a surgical nurse came and said they were ready to start a little early so I kissed my husband and told him I loved him and then they wheeled me down the hall to surgery. the nurse anesthetist introduced himself and patted me on the shoulder and honestly that is all I remember!

Two and a half hours later I woke up to someone calling my name. I was in the recovery room! After I came around a bit they removed the oxygen mask from my face and asked me if I wanted to see my husband…ummm YES! He came in, with tears of love, and relief in his eyes and kissed me and told me everything went very well and I was able to keep both of my ovaries! Ron stayed with me for a little bit and then he went back out to the waiting area, where my parents had joined the rest of my crowd. They hooked up a Morphine Pump, which I used a few times, and I steadily became more alert while the nurse kept checking my vitals and trying to find me a room to go to. Finally, she asked if I would mind being on the Pediatric floor in a private room. I said I didn’t mind at all. She asked me this question several times as I woke up, probably because some women who have had hysterectomies are mourning the loss of their ability to have children and as such, Pediatrics wouldn’t be the best place for them.

Shortly thereafter I was taken to room 442. Along the way they wheeled me through the surgical waiting room and in God’s perfect timing my oldest son had just popped in to drop off my husband’s truck and get my younger son to go to church so I got to briefly kiss both of my kids before they headed off, thank you Jesus! My husband and my parents accompanied me to my room. the Purple Panda room! My parents didn’t stay long, just long enough to know I was ok. Ron stayed with me for quite a while. The nurse even offered to bring him a bed so he could spend the night with me. At first I said I wanted him to stay, but that was because I was still groggy. We spent the evening watching TV and then at 7:30pm Ron logged into the WDW Radio Live Wednesday Night Newscast so we could hear about all the fun our friends were having during the One More Disney Day Celebration. It was soothing to hear my friend Lou Mongello talk about Disney World and it helped me take my mind off of what I had just been through.

At about 9:30pm I told Ron he could go home, IF he promised to be back first thing the next morning. He left at about 10pm and dozed on and off until 1am. At 1:00am I was finally feeling awake. My nurse came in to take my vitals and give me meds. She also brought me water and a breathing exercise thing to use every hour to make sure my lungs stay clear and I don’t get pneumonia. I spent the rest of the night watching television and doing my breathing treatments at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 etc every hour…

I was amazed that though I had some discomfort I didn’t have any real pain. I only used my magic morphine button once after midnight, which I thought was a pretty good feat! I am so thankful to Dr Hradek and all of the staff at Manatee Memorial Hospital for all of their wonderful care. I’ll share my post-op adventures in another post on another day.