Have you ever wondered just what it's like to go through a major surgical procedure, or what it's like to recover from one? Well, that's exactly what I've been doing this past week. Read on to know more:
Background Story
All summer I had been having trouble with nausea after eating, and after my summer class was over my mom took me to the doctor. The doctor eventually decided that I was making too much acid and put me on a prescription-strength antacid, but I did notice a sharp discomfort when she poked slightly below the right side of my ribcage. After I got poked, I started having spasmy, crampy pain after I ate. My family and I ignored it, assuming it was just gas.
Two weeks after the doctor's appointment, when I went to a football game in Rock Springs with other people from school, I noticed that the area the doctor poked was swollen. I was slightly concerned, but there was nothing I could do so I tried to ignore it. The adult on the bus passed out candy when we were on the road, and after I ate a little bag of fun-sized M&Ms the swollen area started hurting. Again, I ignored it since there was nothing to do about it at the moment.
The day after, on Saturday, things took a turn for the worse. The area was warm in addition to swollen, and the pain was constant - and severe. My dad called my mom at work, and mom said to put an ice pack on it while I waited for her to get home (since dad called an hour before she'd come home anyways). She took me to the emergency room as soon as she could.
At The Emergency Room
Once we arrived at the ER, the person in admitting realized that I was in awful pain and got me to a room as soon as possible. The doctor felt both the left and right side of my body, and when she poked the painful area I almost screamed in pain. Shortly after, when the doctor left for a moment and mom went to call dad, I was crying in pain and fear (since my instincts said the problem was severe - I'd never cried in pain before). The nurse came in soon after mom got back, and she put an IV in my elbow to draw blood and give me pain medicine as soon as possible. The pain medicine worked quickly and calmed me down.
The blood tests showed an elevated enzyme, and the doctor ordered an ultrasound of my liver, right kidney, and gallbladder. The ultrasound poked all around the area that hurt, which didn't make me happy or comfortable. The ultrasound revealed that there was sludge in my gallbladder, and the doctor sent me home with pain medicine, anti-nausea medicine, and instructions to call the surgeon's office on Monday.
At The Surgeon's Office
The surgeon got me an appointment on the same day mom called. When we arrived at the appointment, mom filled out a lot of paperwork while waiting for the surgeon. We didn't have to wait long before I was taken to an examination room. The doctor listened to my story (which he said was very consistent with gallbladder trouble), poked the area that hurt, and took one glance at the ultrasound image before scheduling me for surgery the day after.
After the tests (they learned that I'm not pregnant - why they needed to test that when they know I'm on the pill is beyond me), my mom and I were sent to the surgery waiting room. We were waiting for less than five minutes when one of the nurses came to take me back to the room where I'd get ready for the procedure. The room was a relaxing blue with a (fake?) wooden floor. There were two beds, separated by a curtain, but I wouldn't have to share the room with any other patients.
I had to change into a hospital gown, which took two tries since the first gown I put on couldn't tie in back. Almost instantly after I had changed, the nurse came in to weigh me (since the anesthesia is based at least in part on weight). Seeing how much I weighed was a happy moment, since I had lost ten pounds since the last time I weighed myself. After my mom and I rejoiced a bit, the nurse settled me into the bed and put an IV in my hand. Luckily for me, she injected some numbing stuff before putting the IV in.
Once I was comfortable and got some medicine through the IV, the nurse left so my mom and I could wait in peace for the surgeons to be ready for me. Mom read random bits from her book to me, which was quite fascinating. Slightly before 9:45, the anesthesiologist came to talk to me and answer my numerous questions (in case you're wondering, they check to make sure you're unconscious by touching your eyelashes and checking for a reflex reaction). After I was satisfied, a handful of other people in scrubs came to take my bed to the operating room.
I don't remember much of the operating room, except for it being big and white - basically your typical, sterile hospital scene. When I got there, the people pushing my bed lined it up with the operating table and helped me move from the bed to the table. I was moving blindly, since I couldn't see at all where the table was to position myself right. In fact, when the people moved the bed, I nearly fell off because I wasn't placed right!
Eventually I got as comfortable as I could be, given that the table was steel and ridiculously cold. When I was in a good position, someone injected the general anesthesia solution through my IV. They might have kept me asleep by using the stereotypical gas mask, but I don't remember that at all. The last thing I remember before passing out was a pretty blue operating light (yes, the ones you see in movies and whatnot).
What's General Anesthesia Like?
After I
was injected with the anesthetic, I remember becoming really tired,
really quickly. After that, I fell asleep and woke up in the recovery
room. It's exactly like falling asleep and waking up on those nights when you don't remember your dreams.
At The Hospital - After The Procedure
When I woke up, I saw that I was in a hospital bed in a large recovery room. The room could hold a lot of people, and the area was divided into multiple individual rooms by green curtains completely surrounding the bed and monitors they watch patients' vital signs with.
Mom told me that one of the nurses commented on how most teenagers are "hormonal and crying" when they wake up from surgery. Not me - I was completely calm, even though I was tired, disoriented, and achy. The first thing I felt when I woke up was a combination of pain and bloating from the gas they pumped into my abdomen (which makes seeing and moving around easier for the surgeon), followed quickly by an ache where the incisions are. Shortly after, I realized there was an oxygen tube in my nose, which actually did make my breathing a bit easier.
Seeing that I was awake and fairly aware of my surroundings, the nurse in charge of my recovery removed a wet towel on my forehead and brought my mom and dad through the curtains. They sat by my bed and talked to me while I rested. The nurse brought me a few little packs of saltine crackers and offered me a selection of drinks - I chose Sprite. An hour to an hour and a half after I woke up, the nurse gave me the option to go home. I tried to get out of bed (with help, thankfully), but moving caused more pain than I could handle, so the nurse put me back in bed so I could get more oxygen and IV fluids.
Getting up the second time worked, and the nurse helped me get my clothes on and walked with me to the bathroom (which was really a small part of a storage room with wheelchairs and other things). When I was done in the bathroom, the nurse helped me back to my bed area. A wheelchair was waiting for me, and after she gave mom my goodie bag (which was a can of 7-Up, a microwaveable instant chicken noodle soup, and a ton of crackers) and got me into the chair the nurse wheeled me down the elevator and to the car.
Homecoming
As soon as I got home, mom helped me to my room and got me settled in my own bed. She got an ice pack from the freezer for me so I could keep my incisions cool like the doctor suggested. I fell asleep really quickly after my head hit the pillow and didn't wake up until later that evening. One of my parents helped me out of bed and got me to the recliner I like to sit in.
Dinner that night was the soup that came with my goodie bag. My parents and I sat in front of the TV the whole evening and watched
Storage Wars, which is one of my dad's not-so-secret addictions. When dad and I were hungry later, mom cooked some Italian sausage for us. I felt OK after eating mine, but it caused some discomfort a while later. Soon after my second dinner I went back to sleep.
What I Experienced While Recovering
I went through a lot of discomfort the past week - and a lot of pain. The doctor prescribed a heavy-duty pain medicine, which I took religiously every four hours for the first few days after the surgery. The doctor also told me to breathe deeply and cough at least once an hour for the first day and to keep ice on the incisions for two days after.
At first, my diet consisted of bland foods (the same stuff you eat when you have the stomach flu). If I ate anything else I would become nauseous and have to take the prescription anti-nausea medicine I was prescribed in the emergency room.
Nausea was one of the problems I had a lot of (and at the most random times, too), but there were many others that I had to deal with. I was dependent on the pain medicine - if I didn't take it I felt horrible. Even after taking the medicine I still had to hold a pillow or ice pack to my abdomen to keep me comfortable. If I took the pillow off for more than a second or two I would ache. Coughing, sneezing, and laughing were all painful, even if I was holding the pillow.
There were definite limits to what I could easily do, although I eventually found ways of getting along without much in the way of help. A lot of things we do every day, like getting in and out of chairs and beds, and moving in general, require using abdominal muscles. After my surgery, those muscles were really sore and painful when I used them. For the first two days I couldn't get out of bed without help, and I had to stand up slowly and carefully for much longer. In addition, for the first three days after the surgery I had to walk VERY slowly with both hands on my abdomen, just to keep the pain from being excruciating. Even with this amount of care, I still needed to sit and take breaks more than usual.
Moving in general was miserable. As a result, I was limited to my bedroom, my recliner, and the bathroom for three days. I couldn't stay on the computer for long either, since sitting in office and dining chairs for more than five minutes was painful for some reason. Because of this, I spent a lot of my time watching silly and pointless TV shows, like
Pranked on MTV.
I also spent a lot of time sleeping, since I needed an average of fourteen hours of sleep every night just to feel like a human being as opposed to a brain-dead zombie. There were a lot of backaches involved, since I couldn't sleep on my side for two or three days - and my mattress doesn't provide much back support. Dehydration was a problem too, since I drank glass after glass of water - especially before bed. This made me have to get up at least two times a night to use the bathroom, which is why I discovered a way of getting out of bed without help (rolling onto my right side, then holding the bookshelf by my bed and pulling myself up with my arms).
Being limited in what I can do was incredibly frustrating, which kept my mood low. I learned to cope with bending by using my knees more than my back and using my toes to pick stuff up (much to my dad's amazement), and standing up was made easier by pushing myself up with my arms instead of using my abdomen whenever possible.
Recovery Timeline
Wednesday (1 day after surgery) - I was so tired and felt terrible enough that I slept and watched TV all day.
Thursday (2 days after surgery) - Very tired. I slept in late, but still fell asleep in the recliner before the appointment to get my hair dyed. Sitting in the stylist's chair for four hours was painful, but so worth it! Mom and I stopped at Albertson's after the appointment to write a check and get cash, since McDonald's doesn't take checks. Then we got food at the Mickey D's drive-thru. My dinner was grilled chicken caesar salad - yum!
Friday (3 days after surgery) - I took the bandages off of the incisions. The surgeon said I could do it on Thursday, but paranoid me waited an extra day to make sure that it was safe. The incisions were covered with medical tape, and dried blood was around them - ick! The bandage adhesive is proving to be difficult to remove, too. I slept on my right side for the first time since the operation.
Saturday (4 days after surgery) - My parents and I went to Taco Bell for lunch. I wasn't nauseous after eating 3 Doritos tacos, most of mom's regular taco and the last bite of her chalupa (she was full), and a bowl of pintos and cheese! We dropped dad off at home, then mom and I went to Wal-Mart and Staples. I was tired after the little bit of walking we did, and I went to bed soon after getting home. When I woke up, later that night, I tried going downstairs and back up - it worked pretty well. I slept on my left side for the first time since the operation.
Sunday (5 days after surgery) - My parents and I were going to take labels down to a show dad has art in, but the restaurant was closed. Instead, we went to Wal-Mart (again) and ate at Subway. I ate a full footlong sandwich without feeling nauseous. Mom and I walked around the store for a while, and I didn't tire out even though it was more walking than we did on Saturday. In fact, I stayed awake until about midnight even though school's supposed to start on Tuesday.
Monday - Here And Now
I've noticed that every day I feel a bit better than I did the day before. Today, six days after the surgery, I'm doing great. I don't absolutely need as much sleep as I did a few days ago, although I'm still fairly tired. In addition, I can sleep on both sides of my body now, and getting out of bed is a breeze. Getting out of chairs is easy now too, and I don't have to take a ton of pain medicine or walk slowly - or have my hands on my stomach. There's still some discomfort and a little bit of pain, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was even the days before the surgery. I was a lot more nauseous before the surgery than I am now. I'm improving every day, and soon I'll feel better than I have in a very long time.
Miscellaneous Comment - Hospital Convenience And Caring
The hospital was extremely caring and considered my schedule before their own. Since I had eaten before I went to the emergency room, the ultrasound scan would normally have been delayed until twelve hours after I ate - that is, 1AM. The doctor suggested that we do a CAT scan, but the radiology people refused to do the scan without a pregnancy test, which would have taken a while to process. Mom tried to schedule an ultrasound appointment the next day so I could have a chance to have an empty stomach, but that didn't work. The appointment was scheduled for Monday, which neither mom or I were happy with. Instead of saying tough luck, the doctor threw caution to the winds and had the ultrasound done early so mom and I wouldn't have to wait until after Monday for answers.
In addition to the emergency room, the surgeon worked me into his schedule quickly so I would be recovered before school starts. He set up an appointment to talk to me on the same day mom called his office, and he found a time to operate on me the day after so I'd have a full week to recover before school (which is the normal, full recovery time).
Everybody involved with the operation itself took the time to make sure I felt valued. The surgeon said good morning to me as I walked past on the way to my room. The nurse putting my IV in made sure to tell me everything she was doing before she did it so I wouldn't be scared (which the ER nurse did too). The person in charge of my anesthesia answered my questions before I was taken back to surgery as well as reassured me that he could keep me unconscious. The people waiting for me in the operating room gave me a warm welcome when my bed arrived. When I was leaving the hospital, the nurse gave me a bag full of food that wouldn't be hard on my stomach. Finally, a few days after the procedure, I received a card in the mail from the people who worked with me. Having a hospital that sees you as a person instead of just a patient makes scary times a whole lot easier.
