Here I am in the pre-surgery bay, all ready to go. I wasn't really nervous about this surgery; if anything I was happy the day had finally arrived for the beginning of the end to my misery.
After surgery, I had a lot of pain in my shoulders, which was very unexpected. They said it was from air bubbles--I guess they inflate the abdomen or something. I had a nice little button to press to get pain relief from morphine directly into my IV. I think I used it for an hour or two, but once they came and gave me the other pain meds, I didn't need the morphine button anymore.
I was poked full of holes and connected to lots of tubes. I had an IV in my left arm and a back-up tube in my right wrist. I had a urninary catheter and another tube in my butt. I also had a JP drain coming out of one of the 6 incisions in my abdomen. And lets not forget about my stoma and bag. It was quite a lot, but the good news was that I had no need to move out of the bed at all that first night. After months of getting up multiple times a night to go the bathroom, this seemed like a luxury.
After surgery, I stayed groggy from the anesthesia for a long time. But eventually the fog cleared and I asked what I was allowed to eat. They said I could eat anything I wanted, but to take it easy. So for my first meal without my colon, I had pancakes, applesauce, and yogurt. I hadn't had a real pancake in four months, so it was incredibly delicious.
Tuesday 10/16
They took out my urinary catheter and I had to prove I could pee. My whole time in the hospital they measured and monitored my urine and stool output. Nurses would come at all hours to take my vitals, give me pain meds, or give me heparin shots (it's a blood thinner to prevent clots).
I couldn't sleep properly, plus my remaining intestines were rather uncomfortable. As they "woke up" slowly from the surgery, they produced lots of gas, and it seemed like I could feel everything moving through them.
Also, every day for three days I was visited by the ostomy nurse who teaches me how to change my bag and care for my stoma. My stoma looks like a small, peeled, ripe red tomato. I'm shocked every time I see it.
Wednesday 10/17
I spent most of my time in recovery watching TV and thinking about what I would eat next. The hospital had a good menu, and I was finally able to eat a variety of foods without fear. I still avoided the greasy and heavy stuff, and stayed away from beans or gassy foods. My room had a pathetic little window with no view, but it was brightened by flowers and cards from friends, and some art that Zac brought from the kids.
Thursday 10/20
This was a bad day. I didn't feel well in the morning and kept getting hot flashes. In the afternoon I threw up three times. They put me back on an IV and restricted me to a liquid diet. I was so nauseous I couldn't even keep water down. They said this was normal on day 3 of recovery. Zac stayed the night with me in case I needed help barfing or if things really went south.
Friday 10/19
I was on a liquid diet for most of the day on Friday, which made me sad because I couldn't enjoy all the restaurant food. I had trouble drinking juice or gatorade because I associated it with my nausea from the bowel prep the day before surgery. I found that I could tolerate icy ginger ale and little cups of Italian Ice, and chicken broth, so I survived on that. The nuisance of being on an IV again was that I had to pull the pole around with me on my exercise walks through the corridors. Luckily, I didn't throw up anymore and my nausea was gone by the evening, so they said I could eat real food again.
Saturday 10/20
As nice as it's been laying around with no responsibilities and enjoying real food again, delivered by room service no less, I am ready to get out of here! So was Zac, so he took a break from sitting with me in the hospital and my parents came up for the day.
Sunday 10/21
In the morning they tell me I'm going to be released! I was so happy and felt so good. I stuck around long enough to enjoy one last meal: meatloaf, mashed potatoes, collard greens, roll, and lemon merengue pie! (the strawberry milkshake was for Zac)
Goodbye hospital! See you again in a few months.
