Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The Big C has Left the Building
I don't want to repeat the last two days anytime soon. But it is nice to say that my little procedure is now a memory. At least the prep is a memory, not a great one. Everyone said that is the worst and it is completely true. The best thing I can say about it is that is probably the cleanest my insides have ever been. Soooooo, moving along. I have never been so thirsty in my life. After breakfast, all I had was clear liquids right up to the midnight hour. Then I could have nothing except a repeat of the cleansing cocktail which I had taken at 7 pm. The second dose I took at 7 am but without a liquid chaser. I brushed my teeth twice but the taste lingered on. And it's incredibly salty. My breath could have knocked over the doctor by the time I reached the hospital at 10. Keeping in mind that I have been on clear liquids most of the previous day, and most of that gone, you can imagine that I am a little on the freezing side. And the hospital is also freezing. But they did wrap me up in a warmed blanket that felt wonderful for about five minutes. Plus my cleansing cocktail is still working. Not until 11:15 do I get wheeled into the operating room. From my last surgery, I remember wheeling down that long bright hall into the operating room and then it was lights out. Today, I had a chance to really look around. Nothing like TV. My doctor is waiting at the door and I express my concern about the cocktail effects. He said only women worry about, men could care less. Wanting to put my best foot forward, I reply that we just want to be all clean and pretty, hoping a little levity will keep him relaxed. I guess it worked because he starts talking in a German accent. This freaks me out but I hide it well. I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it because I haven't been medicated yet. So they start hooking me up to machines, take my blood pressure twice, bring out this instrument of torture which I would have preferred not to see, and the doc asks to roll over on my side facing away from him. (Is it my breath?) The last thing I remember is watching my heart beat on the monitor. Two seconds later I wake up, only the clock says it is 12:30 and I'm in the recovery room and my blood pressure cuff is tightening yet again. In walks my brother, Steve and his wife, Verona, come to take me home. They wheel me out to the car and Verona drives me home. I was a little rude as I walked right into the bedroom and fell asleep. Later I wake up, and hear Steve and Verona watching a movie, "Baptists at Our Barbecue," a real LDS favorite. I join them and remember they were asked to stay with me for four hours. I feel bad they have given up their whole day and send them home. Back to sleep. When I wake up, I seem to remember the nurse giving me pictures taken during the procedure. Surely that isn't true. It is, they are sitting on the kitchen counter. Yuck. But clean. Pretty?? I'm not going there. I can't find my car keys. I hope Verona has them. Good thing I have a spare. And it just occurred to me that I don't remember getting dressed. Weird. Next week, I go in to find out the results and I also get to have the Big M. Oh, grow up. Everyone knows what the Big M is.
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Well I am glad everything went well. I meant to call but we had a concert at our house tonight so it sort of slipped my mind.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the big M is.
A memories of forgetfulness - how sweet they are. I've had the big C both ways. I certainly prefer the forgetful version. I also loved the deep sleep I enjoyed afterward.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, Myke, I'm not sure you can pay me to do this again. I have bruises all over today, but the innards are doing fine. Can't wait to see the doc and find out why he beat me up. Maybe I made fun of the accent but can't remember.
ReplyDeleteSteve, thanks again to you and Verona for taking care of me. I sure have a great family. We'll have to watch another movie together sometime. I had the same problem with those "words." I find them a little frightening. Aly explained they were to keep spammers away, but Cassie says she hasn't had a problem on hers that doesn't use verification. You should read Cachinator's blog about these words. Very funny. Yours fits right in. By the way, my word is fhoza. Oh no, that cleansing cocktail has followed me into Blogworld.
Your experience is pretty much identical to mine. I don't recall getting myself dressed afterward, either, and wondered if a nurse or my hubby helped me. Nope. I did it all by my big girl self. Go figure! I also remember feeling like I wasn't going to be in full control, thanks to the cleansing cocktail and was worried about it, too. The nurse kept assuring me that nobody cares and it's pretty much just water at that point. Ick. I don't recall anything after the iv kicked in, although I do remember meeting my doctor and thinking he looked like he was in junior high! My dh said I asked him at least a dozen times how it went and what the doc said afterwards (all ok, no polyps), but of course I couldn't remember these conversations five seconds after initiating them, so I had to ask once again how everything went. My dh had the same procedure a few weeks before me and I couldn't help but laugh everytime he repeated a question. Having starved for hours, we hit our favorite burger joint on the way. Wolfed the food down in seconds and immediately went to bed and slept like a baby.
ReplyDeleteFrog, would you give Cassie a call and explain the Big M? Or is that a mother's job?
ReplyDeleteLes, I wished I had thought of a big hamburger. Come to think of it, Steve and Verona had hamburgers while I slept. At the time, I was very tempted. All I wanted was more liquids, like I didn't get enough the day before.
Very funny, Steve. I'm still laughing. My word is uoayj, which I'm pretty sure is the obscenity I called by doctor when he brought out the hose.