Surgery again

Yesterday, I went into Piedmont Fayetteville Hospital to have my second surgery. This time I would be having a cyst removed along with some tissue that had died in the last surgery.

I arrived at the hospital shortly before 11 a.m. as instructed. My sweet daughter, Laura, was with me since my husband was unable to get off work. Around 11:30 a.m. a nurse came out to get me and take me back to the pre-surgical wing. I wasn't nervous at all and I know it was because of all the prayers going up for me.

She gave me a gown and told me to remove all of my clothes and then, she'd be back in to hook me up to an I.V. I was compliant for the most part but I didn't remove my underwear. I thought about it and decided there was no need for me to take off my panties. They weren't even going to be working remotely in that area, so I left them on. (The rebel in my strikes again!)

I got into the bed and waited. About fifteen minutes later, the nurse came back in to insert the I.V. needle. I was thankful she gave me a shot of Lidocaine first to numb the area. I didn't even feel the I.V. shunt go in. When she was done, the nurse told me she'd go get my daughter and bring her back to sit with me. I looked down at the I.V. needle she'd just placed into my hand. It didn't look like it was inserted all the way, but I figured she knew what she was doing.

Laura came back into the room with me and we talked for a while before the Anesthesiologist came in. When she came in, she asked all the routine questions : loose teeth? partials? dentures? trouble swallowing? etc. She explained they'd be inserting a breathing tube along with the anesthesia. I listened to her as she hurriedly explained each detail. She was so high strung that I commented about it to Laura after the doctor left the room. Laura assured me that the anesthesiologist must have many patients today and was just trying to move quickly so she could cover all the bases. More medical staff came in to visit - surgical nurses, a resident anesthesiologist, and Dr. Sroka's assistant. They were all very kind and reassuring.

Just before 2 p.m., Dr. Sroka came in to talk with me. She went over the procedure again and asked if I had any questions. While she was there, the nurse was at the head of my bed doing something. All of a sudden, I felt an intense burning pain in my left arm and looked down to see where it was coming from. My wrist, just about the I.V. needle began to immediately puff up and swell. As I screamed out in pain, Dr. Sroka sternly corrected the nurse and said, "You just blew her vein. What were you doing?" The nurse explained that all she'd done was grab hold of the bag of Prevacid (an antacid liquid) and force it through the I.V. Dr. Sroka told her when she did that, she ruptured my vein and she'd have to remove that I.V. and replace it with another. The nurse was not too happy about that and disagreed with the doc. I was surprised that she was defending her I.V. insertion so vehemently when it was clearly problematic.

Dr. Sroka went out and 2 nurses came in. The original nurse, the one who'd blown my vein, and another R.N. The second R.N. came over to me and said she'd be placing the new I.V. I was thankful! The first nurse might have been vindictive. The second I.V. was placed quickly and efficiently and the surgical team was ready to go. Something was inserted into my I.V. and that's all I remember until I woke up in the recovery room.

In the recovery room, the first thing I heard was an oriental nurse talking to me and telling me it was time to wake up. Her cute accent made me think one of my good friends was in the room with me (she's from China too.) As I forced my eyes to open, I saw a large clock on the wall at the foot of my bed. It was 5:05 p.m. I was surprised it was that late in the day. It seemed I'd only been there a short time. The nurse offered me some Sprite and it felt so good on my throat.

Laura came to help me get my clothes back on and I didn't realize how much pain I was in until I sat up on the bed. I felt like I'd been run over by a truck. My chest was on fire and I could feel something very tight around my chest area. I looked down and saw they'd placed a type of surgical corset on me to hold the incision tightly. I was told I'd have to wear that for the next week until Dr. Sroka had her followup visit with me.

We began the long ride home and I was so groggy. I could hardly keep my eyes open. Laura told me that it was from the leftover anesthesia in my body. Instead of going straight home, we stopped by the drugstore first to get my pain medication. I was so thankful Laura thought to do that because I needed it as soon as I got out of the car. I was also thankful they'd put a Scopalamine patch on me to keep nausea at bay during and after surgery because I began to feel a little woozy as I walked into the house.

I tried my best to stay awake long enough to have a small cup of chicken broth and some saltines. I knew I would need something on my stomach before taking my pain meds. Bedtime couldn't come soon enough for me. I was so thankful to have purchased a wedge pillow before my first surgery last year. It surely came in handy. After getting all my pillows propped up and the wedge pillow in place, I slipped into bed and slept soundly all night long.

This morning, I woke up at 6:05 a.m. I felt pretty good until I got out of bed to go to the restroom. As soon as I stood up, the pain shot through my chest and I remembered, I'd just surgery! Very slowly I walked across the room and got my pain pills. Everyone else in the house was asleep. I tiptoed into the living room to have my quiet time. As I lit a candle and pulled out my Bible, I said a prayer of thanks. I was still alive. Cancer hasn't won yet. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Sometime this week, I'll get the biopsy reports. I'm trusting God that everything will turn out just fine. My life is in His hands and there's no place I'd rather be.

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