The drama commenced the day before my surgery as I was skedaddling to my last gym workout before the big day. In pulling out of the garage I noted the need to veer off to the left to avoid a truck partially blocking the driveway. Unfortunately, I turned the steering wheel before clearing the garage and tore the bumper and headlights off the front of my car. Besides entertaining the window washer it made quite the racket after which Paul came running out to see “what was the matter.” I was quite taken aback by what my obvious preoccupation had caused but was determined to get to the gym. With my car out of commission, calm Paul offered to drive me in his car but gave over the keys reluctantly worried I might wreck his vehicle as well. I will admit to being startled several times when the vehicle warning sound notified me I was moving out of my lane or getting too close to another vehicle but was able to keep it together for the round trip to/from the gym. Note to others, if you are a jumpy sort, don’t get behind the wheel the day before surgery.
The big day arrived and after a 10:30 registration we spent a little time in the pre-op waiting room before being taken back to the large busy pre-op area that supports a dozen or so surgical suites at our local hospital. They quickly had me poked, prodded and hooked up to all the necessary equipment when the three hour wait began. My surgeon’s morning surgery was extended so my 12:40 time became close to 2:00 when I was finally wheeled into the operating room. I attempted to look around the brightly lit sterile industrial room and my eyes quickly honed in on a long stainless steel counter with instruments galore carefully laid out for what appeared to be subsequent use. Yikes! With no time to dally, the suited up team seamlessly moved me to the operating table after which I was quickly masked and sent off to la-la land for the duration. I awoke some 4-5 hours later to Paul and friend Sue’s smiling faces in the recovery area which is always an out of body experience, literally.
At some point early evening, I was taken to my room in what turned out to be a quiet wing of the hospital and spent the night awake and continually engaged with a sweet young night nurse who aimed to please. I don’t remember what she did on her numerous visits to my room but it included lots of jello. The night to day transition commenced around 5am when a friendly male vampire arrived to take my blood after which I was aware of more people coming and going in the hallway.
After the shift change, I was introduced to two daytime nurses who were all business as their goal was to check lots of boxes readying me for a planned afternoon discharge. The most exciting visit was from a physical therapist who went over all kinds of precautions after which she got me out of bed using the log roll technique, into the restroom and then out into the hall for a walk around the wing. The most important test was climbing a set of stairs verifying I could get into my house when I got home. After that I ordered a late breakfast from an exhaustive menu which was like using room service in a hotel. By then it was noon and one of my surgeon’s physician’s assistants stopped by to check on me. A little while later, the surgeon stopped by to let me know there was a lot of cleanup to do once he got to my spine, whatever that means. I probably don’t want to know but part of me would love to watch my surgery; I wonder if they video record them? Of course, no good would probably come from that either. I must have passed all the tests because it was then time to call Paul to come pick me up. Discharge went well because I think they are eager to get you out of the hospital as the real fun happens in the next 24-48 hours. Stay tuned for Phase 2 next week.