One Week After Surgery…

First, I can’t thank you enough for the prayers, well wishes, good vides, flowers, food, advice, help and support you all have given me over the course of the last 6 week while I have been going through this whole process.  I have no words to describe the love and positive energy I feel from the outpouring of support.  Last Friday, February 23rd, I underwent a surgery that took 5 hours, which is apparently pretty long in surgery terms.  The surgery was a success, but I ended up having a horrible and slightly scary reaction to the anesthesia.  

I remember waking up in recovery and feeling extremely nauseous.  I saw my husband sitting near the end of my bed looking slightly concerned.  I heard alarms near my head beeping and my eyes closing, followed by two nurses shaking me telling me I need to breathe and putting an oxygen mask on me.  I then remember opening my eyes again, vomiting, the feeling of a haze coming over me, my eyes closing and hearing the alarms beeping again.  The nurses once again, shook me and told me I need to breathe and put oxygen mask back on that had been taking off to vomit.  At this point I heard one of the nurses calling over a third nurse to page the doctor.  I remember looking at my husband who now had tears in his eyes and looked scared.  Anyone who knows my husband knows he is not a guy who EVER looks scared.  I remember fading in and out at this point, more alarms, more vomiting.  The anesthesiologist that was on call came over and started giving orders to the nurses of what to give me, then kept telling me to keep my eyes open and to breathe.  Looking back, he seemed way too concerned too.  That should’ve tipped me off that something bad was going on.  

After being given several medications I wasn’t losing consciousness and my body was breathing on it’s own with the oxygen mask.  I was still vomiting though.  And let me tell you, that even with all the pain meds, vomiting after surgery on your abdomen is NOT fun.  Ouch.  After 4 more medications over the course of an hour to try to stop me from getting sick the nurses were pulling my husband aside and telling him that he needs to INSIST on seeing any doctor and and telling them that he was refusing to take me home.  They knew I needed to be admitted to the hospital overnight to be monitored and have oxygen and were worried they would try to send me home.  That’s our medical system right? 

Everyone ended up agreeing that I needed to stay in the hospital.  They found me a room.  Within a couple hours I had various people come by to look at me.  In the recovery area every doctor that saw me had a concerned look on their face, which was apparently because I looked so pale, green, and my lips had no color at all.  The first thing all the people who came by my room to check on me said was, ” oh wow, you look so much better.”  For all the various doctors to say this to me means I must have looked preeeettty bad.  ?  My husband and my sister both said that they were very worried because they had never seen a living person look like that before.

Anyways, a couple hours later, on oxygen and tons of meds coursing through my veins the vomiting had finally stopped and they were telling me I needed to walk.  Hours earlier I had my enlarged uterus, fibroid tumors, and left ovary with several large cysts removed and here I was, up and walking.  I made it around the loop of the hospital wing and felt like I had ran a marathon.

That night I barely got any sleep because the man in the next room was screaming obscenities all night.  I felt so bad for those poor nurses who were being called horrible names.  The nurses had to call security several times to help restrain this man for his meds.  That coupled with nurses coming in every couple hours to take my vitals equaled very little sleep.

I was in the hospital 24 hours and then finally got to come home.  I feel sore and tired, but a little better each day.  I am thankful for my family.  They are so supportive.  The biggest shoutout goes to my mom who flew in to help while I am recovering.  I can’t wait to be pain free and on my feet again.  Thank you again for all your prayers.  I feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community.  ❤