I didn't sleep much that night...about 2.5 hours. The Nursing Team came in every hour to check my vitals. When she told me they were going to do this, I couldn't help but ask her, "Seriously? You have left me alone the bulk of the day but now you are going to come in every hour of the night?" What common sense is there in that?
Everything I asked for to eat to try to settle my stomach, they didn't have. Applesauce? No. Yogurt? Nope. They had pudding though. Or Jello. Or Oreo's. Really? None of that sounded remotely good! I don't eat that kind of food full of sugar. I opted for Cranberry Juice, Saltine Crackers, Apple Juice and Graham Crackers.
Periodically, the nurses would have to come in as my IV would go off beeping for no reason, at least I thought no reason. Evidently when it wasn't flowing, it would alert them of this, and they assumed it was kinked somewhere and would come and stretch it all out.
I had the funkiest bed...it truly had a mind of its own! I used the buttons to maneuver it up and down to assist me with getting up and out easier, to put less of an impact on my belly, but once I had it set, it would pause and then move some more, here and there. It was forever altering the lower end of the bed from my knees to my feet and it was like it tried to contour to my upper body. My Nurse Tammy, said it has to do with your weight and position on the bed, it will adjust itself to you. Believe me, it was strange! It would even do this when I would get up from the bed or when I crawled back in. It is hard to describe, but it was strange.
It seemed like every hour I had to go to the bathroom. It was hard to tell if the pressure I was feeling was from my bladder or just from my swollen belly. As one who drinks a lot of water and is used to no complications in going the bathroom in a steady stream, this was a pain to have to be patient with dribbles! I always had to buzz a nurse to come assist me as I was hooked up to the IV and Pain Medicine line along with an O2 Stat Meter and the inflatable boots on my legs. What they were were these plastic boots that were Velcroed around each leg from the ankle to above the knee with tubes connected to them to inflate them to the point my legs got squeezed very tight and then deflate them every 30 seconds or so. Just as soon as it was done with one leg, it did the other and then back again. I realize this is to assist with blood flow and prevent blood clots, but it was so not something I am used to and was very disturbing to try to rest. So as you can see, there was no option for me to go to the bathroom on my own. At 5am, the nurses came and took my pain medicine unit away as it kept beeping that it was empty. Between all this commotion all night, you can see that getting any sleep wasn't happening!
Robb came in a little after 7am to see how I was. I don't remember being checked on by my anesthesiologist before following surgery, but maybe I have. I let him know that I had a hard time with nausea until about 2am and was disappointed they didn't put a patch behind my ear as they had said they would as this was something you wear for 72 hours and helps with the nausea even after you go home. I think that me letting him know that took him by surprise because his face reflected that they obviously forgot that. I tried to warn them what I am like and though I didn't throw up this time, it would have been nice to not have to have dealt with that all day!
Dr. McWherter came in to see me about 08:15am. He said that contrary to how I was feeling, he felt that things couldn't have gone better. He removed everything successfully and said he wasn't going to say the word [endometriosis] but he got rid of all the brown powder lesions and fresh looking lesions to oblivion. He told me that I had it everywhere! All over the remaining organs in my body. [He had told Aunt Connie the day before that I had more mess inside then he has seen for someone my age.] You might not understand this, but I am anxious to see pictures. I have had pictures of each surgery and seeing the results of what you have been dealing with is a relief. He has tweaked a few things regarding my postoperative alternative medication treatment plan that we were going to discontinue because of his findings. He looked at my 4 incisions and gave me some postoperative instructions. He then asked if I wanted to go home, and I said yes, if he felt I could. I told him that I know wanting to go home yesterday was a bit ambitious, but that I was ready to go today! I have spent 32 hours in this place and I want rest and quiet!!!
He ordered me a Bland Breakfast:
- Chicken Broth
- Coffee, no sugar or cream
- Apple Juice
- Grape Popsicle
- Lemon Jello
I am grateful for his skill and work he did on my behalf...I am truly hoping I will feel like an all NEW Woman!
I was discharged and left the hospital about 01:15pm and instructed to have a liquid diet for the next two days. The drive home exhausted me...I felt like things were either flying by me or going by really slow. I was very nauseous. I came home and crawled straight in bed. No place like your own bed!!!
Aunt Connie is going to spend the first 24 hours with me at home. Here is hoping that my recovery goes well and that I don't have any complications.
