May 1996

I had surgery on Mon., May 20, 1996. I was thirty-one (31) years old. I had the surgery at Baptist Medical Center. It was the first time for my PS to ever operate on anyone there.

On Wed., Feb. 12, 1997, I originally wrote part of the following to an email discussion list for individuals, families, or anyone dealing with cleft lip and/or palate and/or other craniofacial anomalies. It was the first time I had ever talked about a surgery indepth online. It was from this post that I decided to write about my experiences with my surgeries and hospitalizations online.

Background

I went to see my current PS back on October 11, 1995. We met for like an hour or so at that first appointment. He was speaking with my HMO about becoming the PS that does all the cleft and craniofacial reconstruction for those patients within the HMO. My mom had been after me to make an appointment. But I was hesitating. I finally went. I am glad that I went. Then the long fight with my HMO began.

On Fri., Oct. 27, 1995, I went to see my primary care physician. I scheduled the appt. the week I went to my PS. Geez what a joke! I told her what I wanted and she was trying to get me to see one of their doctors from their list.

November and December 1995 passed with no word. In early January 1996, I get a call from one of the office workers at the HMO's regional office. She tells me that I have to see an ENT. I was like "What for?" Then she told me. My reply: I want the referral to my PS and NOTHING LESS. She told me that I needed to write some letter to the contract office. (I never did.)

In late February I received a call from my PS' office. The office manager said that I never sent my medical records to the HMO. I told her that those records had been hand delivered back in November to the Hillcrest office. The HMO was going to deny me because they never bothered to get my medical records from the Hillcrest office. I called the lady who I had spoken to in early January. She was trying to give me some song and dance about PS' contract being limited. I immediately called my mom. Let's say my mom had a good time ruining that woman's weekend. My mom ended up calling the woman's supervisor. LOL The woman had to drive out to the Hillcrest office to pick up my records.

I pretty much have a permanent referral to my PS.

The Preparation

I had my surgery on Monday, May 20, 1996. I had started the long process back in Oct. 1995. But my HMO and time were not on my side. :-( On Tues., May 7, 1996, my thirty-third surgery was going to be scheduled. This surgery would involve opening up my nostrils more. I had my appt. with the plastic surgeon that day. Everything was all set for Monday, May 20, 1996. My surgery was scheduled for 10:00 AM and I was to report to the hospital at 9:00 AM. The following week I got a call from the hospital where I would have the surgery done. The lady gives me the standard instructions which I've known for years and asks me the questions which I've answered many times before. By Friday, May 17th, I was stressed out because I was trying to get a ton of stuff done at work before I went on my week's medical leave. Plus I was getting just a little nervous about my surgery on Monday.

The Weekend before the Surgery

I remember the nite of Sat., May 18th... I chatted online for awhile and then I stayed up until 5:30 or 6 AM that Sunday morning. I got up that Sunday morning at 9:30 or so. I was busy that Sunday since it was Ashley's (my oldest niece) tenth birthday. We went over to Ashley's parents' house to celebrate her birthday. Ashley had gotten a trampoline for her birthday. We had dinner and cake. We walked around their subdivision, which was brand new. My brother, sister-in-law and, Ashley were one of the first families to move into the subdivision in Feb. 1996. My parents and I came home.. I took a very short nap. I didn't eat or drink after the party. I chatted with some online friends until about 1:30 AM or so. Oh yeah, we had the countdown to midnight when I was to go NPO.

The Surgery and Hospitalization

I went to bed about 1:45 AM and woke up between 6:30 and 6:45 AM. When my youngest brother and sister-in-law came by between 7:15 AM and 7:30 AM, they came downstairs and told me "Good Luck". After that, I got ready to go. I wore what I feel is appropriate for hospitals... sweats, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. I wore my hot-pink Mall of America shirt with black sweatpants.

The Drive to the Hospital

My parents, Kayla (my youngest niece), and I left for the hospital around 8:30 AM. I was sitting in the backseat with Kayla. We had Oldies 95 (one of my favorite radio stations) playing on the radio. I did not say much of anything. On the inside, I was nervous but on the outside I appeared calm, cool, and collective.

Waiting and Pre-op

We got to the hospital about 9 AM. My surgery was scheduled for 10:00 AM. I had some paperwork to sign and showed the receptionist my insurance card. I waited in the reception area with my parents until they called my name about 9:15 or so. While I was sitting with them, I didn't say much of anything. The nurse called me back. She took me to a room where I changed and put my stuff in a locker. Then I went to the pre-op area. I signed my op permit. Before the nurse started my IV, I told her to stick it in my right hand. She wanted to stick it in my left hand but I told her that it would be easier on me in my right hand. The nurse was left-handed. I made her earn her pay that day. I mentally prepared myself for the needle stick. She didn't numb the area before inserting the needle. I felt the stick but didn't flinch at all. She drew some blood out for a CBC thru the catheter. That saved me from another needle stick. After the nurse started the IV, my mom was allowed to come back and be with me before they took me to surgery. I talked to the anesthesiologist and told him that I did not want to be pre-medicated even though I had already told the person the week before. They gave me pre-surgery doses of anti-nausea medication and Keflex (antibiotic) intravenously. Mom and the nurse had a discussion on anesthesia and nausea. The nurse's daughter had had multiple surgeries and had difficulty with the anesthesia making her nauseated too. My plastic surgeon came in about 9:45 AM or so. This was his first time to do surgery at this particular hospital. I am allowed to go to one hospital under my HMO. They took away my partial.:-(

Going to the Operating Room

After he was ready, it was time for me to go to surgery. Before I went, my mom and I hugged. It is our usual ritual before I go to surgery. I would not see her for another 6 1/2 hours. An OR nurse took me to the operating room. I transferred from the gurney to the operating table. It was freezing in there so the nurse covered me with a couple of warm blankets. The anesthesiologist did the usual.. attached the electrodes and the pulse oxmeter. I told everyone present to "Hurry up and knock me out." Finally someone answered me and I was out. (Let me tell you it a real trip to be put under. It's a feeling that's kind of hard to describe.)

The Recovery Room

When I woke up, I was in the recovery room. My surgery was over and the road to recovery had begun. The plastic surgeon had made my nostrils bigger and placed nasal tubes in my nose to keep the nostrils open. I wasn't hurting.. I was still kind of out of it tho. I think that I remember looking at the clock and it was 1:20 PM. As I woke up more, I noticed a lot of junk in the back of my throat. It was drainage and other gross things. I couldn't even take a deep breath for the longest time. When the nurse tried to wean me off the oxygen, my oxygen sats went down into the 80s. It was a scary experience. The nurse gave me back my partial. :-) After awhile, she told me that she was calling the plastic surgeon and seeing if he would admit me. About 3:30 or so, he calls back and says to admit me overnight. He comes back to the hospital to see me. Finally about 4:30, the nurse let Mom into see me. The nurse had kept her updated on the situation. She stood by the stretcher and talks to me for awhile. I couldn't really talk because of my throat, the drainage and the nasal tubes. At a little after 5:00 PM, I was finally transferred me upstairs. Their outpatient surgery area is another area of the hospital.

On the Floor

Evening

I finally get upstairs, oxygen tank and all. I transfer from the stretcher to the bed. The nurse comes in every 15 minutes to take my vital signs. Someone from respiratory therapy came by to check me to make sure the amount of oxygen I was getting was correct. The nurse discontinued the IV but left the catheter in so I could get meds thru the catheter. I kind of dozed off and on. My youngest brother and sister-in-law came by the hospital to pick up my niece and to see me. My brother proceeded to give me a very hard time. (He knows where to push my buttons. ). My parents left around 8:30 PM. Before they left, I told Mom to call two of my friends to let them know what happened.

Night

After my parents left, I listened to TV for awhile. I fell asleep for awhile. I was sharing a room with an older lady whose nursing home had burned a few nights before. The nurses left her TV on all night and it drove me crazy. (I've decided that a private room is the only way to go from now on.)

Next Day

My plastic surgeon came in at 7:15. He told me that he would be back in the afternoon to check on me. Shortly after he left, I became nauseated. I pushed the call button but the unit clerk would not send the nurse back and attempt to understand what I needed. Talk about being frustrated! The nurse comes in an hour later and I had stopped using the oxygen but I won't tell you why. She injected some anti-nausea meds into my hep line. About an hour later, while I was in the bathroom, I started getting nauseated again. :-( Those were the only two times I was nauseated. My dad finally got up to the hospital between 10:45 and 11:00 that morning. He alternated between sitting at my bedside and sitting out in the lobby. My mom couldn't come up because she was watching my two youngest nieces. I had liquids for lunch since I had gotten sick twice that morning. In the early afternoon, I managed to sponge myself off. It wasn't easy with a hep line in my right hand. (I'm right-handed.) There was a fire drill while I was there. LOL My dad and I were watching TV when the plastic surgeon came in at about 2:45 PM. He checked my oxygen sats with the oximeter. It was 97, I think. I hadn't been using the oxygen since about 8 that morning. He said that I could go home after the nurse cleaned around my suture lines a little. I got dressed and put my shoes on with no help. I had my dad tie my shoes because I still had the hep line in. Finally the nurse got what she needed from the pharmacy. She cleaned around the suture lines and my dad and I started out the door. We noticed that I still had the hep line in. LOL The nurse told us to come to the desk and she would pull it out on our way out.

The Recovery

Before my dad and I could go home, we had to stop by one of my HMO's pharmacies to pick up two prescriptions. One was a generic for Keflex and the other was pain medication. Mom had told the plastic surgeon the day before that I would not take the pain medication. She was right.. I didn't and the bottle of pills sat on my computer desk for a long time. We finally got home and I chatted with my mom for a few minutes. Then I hurried downstairs to send an email to my friends on DELPHI. LOL Later that night, I chatted online for a bit. Mom tried to get my to sleep upstairs but I wouldn't. I slept with my cordless phone at my side that nite.

The Rest of That Week

I went to see the plastic surgeon on Thursday, May 23rd. Afterwards, I stopped by work to pick up my paycheck. Some of my co-workers thought that it hurt and I told them that it felt funny. Then I got a yeast infection.. I won't say where but it was NOT pleasant. I got the infection because of the antibiotic. That weekend my parents and I went shopping. I hung around my brother's hot tub too. I still had stitches in too.

The Following Week

I went to see the plastic surgeon on Tuesday, May 28th. After my appt., I went to work. He had taken all the stitches out around my nose. I had another appt. on Thurs., May 30th with the plastic surgeon. Finally on Tues., June 4th, he took the nasal tubes out to see how the nostrils and inside of my nose was doing.

Epilogue

The epilogue was originally written in February 1997.

I am still on my second set of nasal tubes. I lost my first set on a boat trip from Long Beach to Catalina Island CA. I am still waiting for my third and fourth sets of tubes. I have an appt. with the plastic surgeon on Tues., Feb. 25th, for a checkup and to schedule a nasal endoscopy. After the nasal endoscopy is done, then my thirty-fourth surgery will be scheduled. During that surgery, the plastic surgeon plans to strengthen my columella and do possible work on my palate.