Tuesday, April 7, 1998
The day is finally here...
I woke up at 7:10 AM. I went over to the computer and quickly logged on. I looked at my mail real quick and logged on AOL IM. Then I went upstairs and took a quick bath and washed my hair. I came back downstairs and chatted online for awhile. I even built an awards page for my main page.
Here's my last post to two listservs:
Hi, This is my last post before I go to the OR......
First of all, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has written or IM'ed me with well-wishes and who ate pizza last night with me!!! Your presence will definitely be felt today in the OR!! The OR is never crowded with your guardian angels. :-)
I feel pretty good. I am ready to get this surgery done and over with and then face the next one.
All the old-timers know the drill.
I should be home tomorrow sometime... Hopefully in the morning
Oh yeah.. The conversion is still happening.. Some of the stuff on my pages may not be accessible like my guestbook and counter.. When I get home tomorrow, I will check my pages out to make sure everything is running OK. If not, ISP will get a nice email from me. :-)
BRAG TIME: My pages got their first award!!! The award is from one of the places where I got my graphics for my pages. You will have to wait to view the award when I get home if it is not up by 8:45 AM.. Because of the conversion, I can't upload anything to my webpage. :-(
I logged off at 8:45 AM.
My parents, grandma, and I left 8:45 AM for St. Luke's Hospital . We got to the hospital at 9:15 AM. I had to sign some paperwork and fill some paperwork out. We sat in the outpatient waiting area for almost an hour. Finally one of the preop nurses called my nae and we walked down to preop. The preop nurse asked me all kinds of questions.. the usual ones.
Then it was time to walk on down to the holding room. It was like 10:30 AM or so. I got the bed near the entrance to the holding room. Talk about a long wait there. My surgery was scheduled for 11:15 AM. I didn't go to the OR until about 1:20 PM or so. During the almost 3-hour wait, the following happened:
My mom and I talked with my grandma about many of my previous surgeries. We talked about computers. I got asked more questions. LOL We met with the anesthesiologist. He actually listened to me. LOL
We saw Deloris too. She was off on the number of surgeries by 3. LOL
The anesthesiologist finally started my IV at a little after noon. He was good at putting my IV in. He stuck it in my right writst where I like it. He agreed and said that the veins in my left hand and wrist are shot from all the IVs over the years. He did trip me out on something tho... He asked me if any anesthesiologist had ever had any trouble intubating me. I told him that no one has ever told me. I was kind of like tripping because I thought that they were thinking about doing my intubation awake. I would have been like "NO WAY."
At 12:30 PM, PS finally came into holding. He had been doing a nasal reconsruction and a tongue clip on a teenage boy. My dad came into holding eventually. He talked to PS out in the waiting area because PS came out and talked to the teenager's parents. The smart aleck that I am.. I just knew my dad told those people about me and he did. LOL
The anesthesiology resident was truly impressed doing the anesthesia for my surgery. She had heard of Dr. Tessier because she worked at Children's Mercy Hospital for seven years. She also told us about the bronze statue of Dr. Tessier in the Sutherland Tower. My parents and I have to go see that sometime.
At 1:20 PM, it was time for me to go to the OR. I told my parents and grandma "Good Bye." And I hugged my mom. One of the nurses Leslie and the anesthesiology resident and I go to the OR. We get in the OR and the resident announces that she is impressed with doing the anesthesia on the first Tessier patient in KC. LOL
I transfer from bed to table. I gave up my partial. The anesthesiologist stuck the leads and the pulse oximeter on me. While she was getting me ready to be put under, she made the comment that I could do this. LOL (I probably could LOL) Then she injected the meds for me to go under. I always feel the drugs going in thru the IV. The weirdest damn feeling.
I believe that I slightly remember being woke up in the OR. If I did, it is just vaguely. But I do remember waking up in Recovery. I must have gotten some really good drugs because I wasn't awake much in recovery. LOL The nurse taking care of me would come by every so often. I remember when he hooked up the PCA pump up to my IV. (Geez when are people going to learn that I don't do pain meds?????? LOL) I woke up one time and it was 5:35 PM. When they took me to my room, it was 6 PM. I couldn't believe it.
I was taken to Pediatrics. (All cleft and craniofacial patients go to Peds.) I was put in a semi-private room by myself. That was OK with me because I had requested a private room. :-) I don't do roommates anymore after the experience in 1996.
Eventually my parents and grandma came in. They were givien the wrong room number (the room next door). I actually stayed awake for an hour after coming up to my room. Mom told me what PS had done and didn't do. She said he did not work on the columella.. That will be done in the next round of surgery in a few months. I actually took a couple of sips of 7-up and used the bedpan. I think that the nurse was a little upset because my mom grabbed the bedpan instead of letting me get up.
I ended up falling asleep at a little after 7:00 PM. I crashed much of the night. I woke up like around midnight for 30 minutes or so.. I went to the restroom. I had my only real bout of nausea then.. didn't get sick but my stomach hurt. Then I slept a lot for the rest of the night. I would wake up every so often and then fall back asleep right away.
Deloris woke me up at around 7:30 when she came thru on rounds.. I laid in bed for awhile doing nothing. Carol, the nurse who was taking care of me came in and cleaned up my face (lots of drainage YUCK). Oh yeah I was on oxygen all night too. I actually ate a few bites of breakfast but then my stomach started hurting so I quit. I then slept for over two hours. Someone from pain management finally discontinued my pain pump. At one point the nurse came in and hung my last dose of IV antiobiotics. I had lunch.
PS finally came in at 12:50 PM. He told me what he did during the surgery and what will happen over the next few months. I have a feeling that the next round of surgery won't come til the end of summer. This MIGHT be the last round. YAY :-)
The nurse took my IV out at a little after 1:00 PM. I called Mom so Dad could come pick me up. He went to work so Mom had to call him there. Mom was joking how I looked. LOL She joked that I look like I had been a few rounds with Mike Tyson and lost, except my ear didn't get bit off. ROTFL!!! (Good one, Mom!!) I changed into my street clothes. Sweats are wonderful! Mom called me back and told me that Dad was on his way. She also told me that some of my friends had been trying to get ahold of me. But the hospital gave them the wrong room number. One of my friends called her.. Mom told her to expect me online about 3 PM CT.
My dad came at 2:00 PM just as Carol was giving me my discharge instructions. I go back for my first postop appt. on Mon., April 13th at 2:00 PM. One of the nurses wanted my homepage addresses so I gave her all three. LOL She also wanted to know where my laptop was.. I told her that my mom wouldn't let me have one. LOL The gal who did my anesthesia came up to see me right before my dad and I left. She told me that she threw everything at me to prevent any nausea. I like hearing that because I can't stand to be sick after surgery. We left. Carol walked with my dad and I to the car, which was parked in the outpatient parking lot at the other end of the hospital. I could have gotten a ride but I chose to walk. It felt good to walk. :-)
My dad and I had to stop off at Kaiser's Blue Ridge office to drop off the script for my antibiotic. He went back and picked it up later.
I got home at 2:50 PM finally. :-)
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