It’s been quite the interesting past couple of days. Thursday was to be my last day at work before getting surgery on my hernia. In the middle of the night, I started getting some intense pains in my right side. I had to leave work to find out what was wrong. I drove myself to the hospital and went to the emergency room. Something was wrong. I’ve had stomach problems, I’ve many a nervous belly, this wasn’t something I remember feeling before.
The nursing staff and the doctor were great. They got me on an IV, pumped some fluid into me, got me some medicine for the pain and nausea. I needed them both. The pain medicine was something else. My room was moving but nothing else was. I felt the medicine move through my body. It was something else. It deadened the pain. I went for a CAT scan, they did an ultrasound. They think it has something to do with my gallbladder. That was a long eight and a half hours in the emergency room. Everyone at Fairview Hospital was great.
It was just a short time at home before I went back there, this time to the operating room. They didn’t waste anytime getting me into prep me. I no sooner sat down in the waiting room than they were calling my name.
Back to the prep area, they told me to strip down and put on the robe. Nothing I came with went with me. Hospital socks and gown were my coverings for the surgery. The nurse established another IV. Unlike the day before, it was in the top of my hand. In the ER, it was atop of my elbow. They gave me some “twilight” medicine. I remember being wheeled down the hall. I remember going into the OR and them taking my one arm and having me stretch it out across from my shoulder and then the other arm and then that was it, I was out.
The last moments I recall were around 11:00am. Fast forward to about 2:00pm and I was up like that. It wasn’t a gradual thing, that I recall, it was just “hello world, I’m up!”
They got me some ice chips, some ginger ale and wheeled me to another floor. They moved me from the bed to a chair, gave me some grape juice and some oreos. I got dressed (with a lot of help from one loving sister) and proceeded to get in the car. The first day (Friday) I felt like a champ but very sore.
Today is a different story. I’m on the mend quite literally. I’m sore, very sore, very, very sore. I ain’t kidding folks, this ain’t fun. Getting comfortable in the bed isn’t comfortable at all. A pillow around the stomach is required. I count down to my next dosage of Vicodin. Ice cubes on the stomach is also a big help.
Hopefully, the soreness goes away soon… Whew!