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.

The post Surgery Day appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Recently Lou published guides #4 and 5, Liberty Square and Mickey’s Toontown Fair. Lou’s Audio Guides are filled with stories and details that you don’t find in any guide book. Listening to Lou’s guides you learn about the architecture and the story behind the story to the buildings, rides and attractions. The Audio Guides are perfect for the Disney fanatic who thinks they know everything there is to know-because they too will learn some thing. It is also perfect for someone who has yet to make it to the park but has always dreamed of going. Lou’s vivid descriptions enable the listener to picture the park in their mind’s eye and enjoy a mini-vacation-no matter where they are when they listen.

Liberty Square

The Liberty Square Audio Guide takes time to explain why there is this corner of the Magic Kingdom dedicated to American history. You will also learn how the story flows from Fantasyland into Liberty Square and why the buildings are built where they are and in the different colonial era styles. Unfortunately many of us don’t slow down and really take in the beauty and the history of Liberty Square…and we should-the details are amazing.

After listening to the Liberty Square Audio Guide I was inspired to spend some time there last week and snap a few pictures of the Liberty Tree and some buildings.

Mickey’s Toon Town Fair Audio Guide was not scheduled to be the next guide released but when Walt Disney World announced that Toon Town would be demolished to make way for the expansion of Fantasyland, Lou knew his production schedule would have to be changed. He worked diligently so that he could release the guide while Toon Town is still open and I’m glad he did. I listened to this guide on my drive to the Magic Kingdom last week and it inspired me to take some time and enjoy Toon Town before it is gone for good. On the Audio Guide Lou explains the history of the area now know as Mickey’s Toon Town Fair. It has very temporary beginnings as Mickey’s Birthdayland and then became Mickey’s Starland before becoming Mickey’s Toon Town Faire. I hope to go back one more time, with my iPod in tow so that I can wander this special land, where Mickey Mouse and his friends vacation, while listening to Lou weave the story behind the one place you can be guaranteed to meet Mickey Mouse.

In case I don’t get the opportunity to go back again, I took a lot of pictures last week, I hope you enjoy them.

You can purchase any of Lou Mongello’s Audio Guides to Walt Disney World from Lou’s website. They are available on CD for $8.99 or as a Digital Download for $6.99. They would make unique Christmas gifts for the Disney lover in your family.

Disclosure: I received a free digital download of each of these Audio Guides for the purpose of this review. All opinions are 100% mine.

The post Lou Mongello’s Audio Guide to Walt Disney World 4 and 5 appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Congratulations to Renee!She is the winner of the 2 Walt Disney World Audio Guides. Don’t forget to check out WDWRadio.com and @LouMongello on Twitter and thank him for sponsoring this giveaway.

The post Day 8 Winner-Disney Audio Guides appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The winner of Day 1 of our Mother’s Day giveaway is commenter #6. Congratulations to @dolls123 on Twitter! She has won the Celebrations Magazine and the trivia calendar that were donated by Lou of WDWRadio.com.

The post Winner 1 of 10 Days of Celebrating Mom appeared first on The Mom Maven.