So after waiting 29 long years and a long battle, the surgery was finally here!
I read lots of blogs online about the recovery process and I will share mine as well but I also wanted to explain what surgery is like.
First off my surgery time was 7:15am. I arrived at the hospital in comfy but smart pjs, with a book, downloaded films on my iPad and a change of underwear. You never know! Everyone else waiting for surgery seemed to be dressed in normal clothes but I would recommend being comfy.
Once I arrived I sat in the waiting room for about half an hour. A nurse took my name and then left me be. I wasn’t sure when I was going in but tried to just take my mind off it.
I then met my anaesthetist who spoke really quickly and didn’t really give me much information. Luckily I didn’t really want to know much about the process but if you do then I would recommend writing down any questions you have to remember them. Her speed in going through things put me off. I did however relay to her my concerns about waking up. I wasn’t scared at all about going under but I was scared about waking up too early. She reassured me that she would be in the theatre the whole time monitoring me and would give me more drugs if I appeared to be coming round. I felt reassured knowing she would be monitoring me and went back out to the waiting room.
I then met with a nurse who took measurements, carried out a pregnancy test due to my age and went through a series of questions. She explained that I was first in which was a relief. I didn’t get a chance to wait around but make sure you are prepared in case you are lower down the list.
She gave me my surgery gowns, paper underwear and socks and sent me into the loo to change. This took me longer than I thought so make sure you pay attention to which bit goes where. I had come to the hospital on my own and was a bit overwhelmed.
When I left the loo the doctor was waiting to explain the procedure and get my consent. Again he spoke very quickly and I didn’t get a chance to ask any of my questions. I wanted to know how many people would be in the operating room, what procedure he was going to do and how long until I wake up. Really it didn’t matter not knowing but if you do want to know again writing it down may help.
I was then given a pillow and walked to surgery. I began in the recovery room where I met lots of lovely nurses. They couldn’t have made me feel more at ease and for the first time actually checked if I had questions. Doctors do an amazing job but I cannot speak highly enough for nurses. They give so much care and it made a huge difference to me. I had about 3 nurses who all had to ask me the same set of questions; what is your name and DOB, what surgery are you expecting to have, is this your signature, are you pregnant, are you diabetic and do you have dentures.
Once all that was finished my anaesthetist nurse walked me into the theatre. Inside there were 2 rooms; the prep room and the surgery room. Once in the prep room I got on the bed and before I knew it the anaesthetist had put a canular into my hand. I’m terrified of needles but it all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to get upset. The nurse and doctor started trying to distract me with questions about work which lasted for a couple of minutes. The anaesthetist then told me she was going to give me a really strong pain killer which would make me feel weird. Well it certainly did that! It took seconds to go from answering questions to feeling very woozy and spaced out. I started hysterically laughing and told her I thought I was going to pass out. Well that is the last thing I remember so I’m pretty sure I did pass out. From the point onwards I had no idea what was going on which was perfect.
I looked at the clock as I went into the surgery prep room and it was 8:50 the next time I remember being awake was 11:20. Although the nurses told me I had been awake for some time and had spoken to the doctor, I have no memory of this. When I woke up I was really sleepy and in a little pain. Probably about 7/10 on the pain scale. The nurse gave me some pain relief and stood with me until the pain had gone down to a 1 or 2. This took a matter of minutes.
They then took me up to the ward. I was so out of it I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I just remember feeling really frustrated because I wanted to thank the nurses but I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
On the ward I basically slept. The doctor came down and was much calmer this time. He went through what he had done and finally answered my questions. I was sat up right and able to speak straight away. I felt alright to be honest, just so woozy.
They bought me ice cream and water but really let me have as much or as little as I wanted. This was a huge relief as I’d read from many others that you had to eat a sandwich and drink juice which sounded awful. The nurse asked me to go to the loo which I apparently needed to do before I would be discharged.
By 2 o’clock I was discharged and on my way home. The nurse gave me some oral morphine before I left so the pain was still very minimal.
I got home and pretty much slept all day. I didn’t manage any more than ice cream that night but was feeling well considering.
Surgery was so much easier than I expected. I don’t cope well with medical things but everything is so routine there wasn’t time for me to panic.
misskjle 