Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Where's my Monkey Mask?

I'm definitely on the mend. 

The main issues I'm having are anesthesia related: I've got a sore throat and am really groggy.  Really groggy. 

But in terms of my uterine pain, (on the oh-so scientific scale from 1-10) before surgery I was about a 7 on a regular basis.  The day of surgery?  About a 16.  It took 2 Percocet plus Motrin to just dull the post-op pain.  And the pain was still there.  Yesterday?  About a 7.  Today?  About a 4.  Which I'm guessing is what most women experience as cramps during a "regular" menstrual cycle.  I've got to say, a 4 feels pretty good.  And the best part?  I'm not bleeding!  Wahoo!!!

But the surgery went well.  Once again, none of the nurses believed me when I said my veins were deep and rolled.  Even though I told them the best way to find them was with a blood pressure cuff, they seemed to think that little blue rubber band would work.  At one point, the pre-op  nurse who drew a blood sample for the blood bank, said, "I'm just going to dig around in your hand until I find it.  You said they were deep right?"  Meanwhile, I was practicing my Lamaze breathing, trying not to say, "I'm not a nurse or anything, but I'm fairly certain you're supposed to find the vein before you go digging around in my effing hand.  You're a nurse, not an archaeologist."  She complimented me on my patience with her.  I complimented myself on not blessing her out. 

So I now look like a druggy with bruises from all the missteps to draw blood and start my IV.  The nurse anesthetist blew threw a vein in my wrist when trying to set up my IV.  But at least she numbed me first.  Big shock the only person who actually listened to me was the MD anesthesiologist.  And guess who got the IV in on her first try?  Yeah, the doctor who knew it wasn't this patient's first time at the "poke my veins" rodeo.  It was also the first time when I wasn't puking when I woke up from anesthesia.  So bonus to the Dr who listened to me who gave me not only Zofran, but a little anti-nausea patch that I wore for the surgery and then the 36 hours afterwards.  And another shout out to my beloved Dr. M.  Who took a biopsy and completed the surgery all without incident.  And also gave me the meds.  Me likey meds.

As I type this, Henry is at school and then his beloved Aimee's house while Gracie is at my sister's.  I have today until around 3:30 all to myself.  And so I'm channeling my inner Bruno Mars.  So today I swear I'm not doing anything. I'm gonna kick my feet up and stare at the fan, turn the TV on and probably not stick my hand down my pants. 


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