The last few days have flown by. It has defiantly been an interesting ride. Ups and downs and all in between. I’m going to start my story the night before surgery. We took our sweet puppy to a family member’s house so she could keep her while my hubby and I were at the hospital. I got all of the house cleaned and everything ready to go. My husband noticed a dog outside and went to check it out. The dog, a pit bull, came right in the house. He was a pretty dog and very friendly. We asked all our neighbors to see where he was missing from. No one seemed to know him. Poor thing was hungry.
Later on it was so funny. He actually started getting frisky with the hubby.
My hubby had to go to work, he works graveyard, and left him with me. I ended up having to call animal control. I hated to but had no other option since we wouldn’t be home to take care of him. I really hope he found his mommy and daddy.
Night before and morning of surgery I had to take a shower and use special germicide soap. You are not allowed to use lotion, oils, or anything else with it either. This way your body is more sterile for surgery. Hubby came home from work grabbed me and our belongings and off we went. I checked in and got my nifty little id bracelet. We only waited a moment before they came back to get me. Once in the preop room I had to undress completely and put on a lovely hospital gown, blue hat and blue booties. Yeah right your thinking. Hey at least it wasn’t too tight.
The nurse had to try three times to get an IV. Finally another nurse came in and got it on the back of my left hand. I was glad because when they do them on the inside of your arm they usually cause trouble. They asked me a few questions, and then two separate doctors from anesthesia came in to talk to me. Then two other ladies, nurses I think, came and talked to me. Then my surgeon came and talked with me and asked me a few things. I had to take out my nose ring and contacts; said goodbye to the hubby and off they took me. I’m blind as a bat without my contacts in, so everything was blurry. Once in the operating room they had me move to a different table. The nurses were very nice and apologized when I came in because they had been gossiping. I didn’t care lol. They loved my tattoo and I told them about why I got it. For my angel babies.
They fixed my blue hat and then put an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose. They had me take in three deep breaths to get my lungs full of good oxygen they said and then one more deep breath and I was out.
Several hours later I woke up in recovery which I remember very little about. I Just remember feeling sore and having a very dry mouth. I also had a JP drain. It hangs from my left side held in an incision by a few stiches. It has to be emptied routinely because it collects drainage fluid. They took me to my room where my hubby and sister in law were waiting. They were nice enough to call him several times while I was under to give him progress updates. They got me settled. My nurses were fabulous. All seemed to really love their jobs. I was in some pain but it wasn’t unbearable.
They hardest thing at the time, was the dry mouth. They gave me these swabby things that reminded me of lollypops. You could dip them in water and swab your mouth with them.
The first day after surgery you aren’t allowed anything to drink and of course eat. So make sure if you decide to have this surgery you bring chapstick too. After a few hours the nausea set it. This was tough. You are already sore from your incision sights, but when you are dry heaving your whole abdomen jerks and it’s pretty painful. They tried several things. An alcohol pad under my nose which actually did help some. They also gave me Zofran and Phenergan. Both worked but wore off quickly. I finally figured out that if the pain got worse so did the nausea. So it’s good to keep everything in check like that. I’m not one to take much pain medicine so it was hard for me to ask for it. But that’s what it’s there for, so use it. I had a friend come by and visit. She and her husband had, had bypass surgery in the last year. They were very kind, but unfortunately I started getting sick again and they had to leave.
The first night I had a great CNA. He got me up and I actually walked around the whole floor. It was shaped like a large # 6. The walking helped extremely with the gas pains. Be for warned the taste and smell are pretty bad. To me it tasted like rotten eggs and smelled like it too. The next morning they were able to take the catheter out. My surgeon came by and checked on me and said I could start clear liquids. I tried just plain water first, which was just plain nasty. I’m used to my good tasting country water. They gave me some lemon Crystal Light packets to mix in a little at a time.
OMG it was so good. I started sipping. Shortly after though I started getting sick again. I kept sipping though. I was visited by a holistic nurse who gave me a little jar of peppermint oil on a cotton ball. That helped so much. He also showed me a few pressure points to use for the neasousness too. I will post them soon on another post. I had a few more friends come by to see me. They brought me some beautiful flowers and cards. Unfortunately I began getting sick again and they had to leave. The stomach medicine would work for a short time, but then I would begin to get sick again.
The second night my poor hubby was so exhausted he slept in the reclining chair. I didn’t want to bother him so I ended up taking several walking trips on my own. I had a few walking buddies too, for 3 o’clock in the morning lol. The next morning as the shift was changing the new nurse came in to check on me. I told her yet again I was starting to feel bad. She was wonderful. She had had a similar surgery and knew exactly what to do. She explained that the thinner liquid I was drinking was only passing through my pouch. A little bit thicker liquid, like that of a protein shake, would usually help and coat it some. She made me some vanilla and I was surprised she was right. I instantly could tell a difference. I was able to take a shower, which helped a lot too. One of my surgeon's assistants came in and told me if I could continue to keep the shakes down I could go home. Woo HOO. So they gave me 4, one ounce containers of the shake stuff. And I was able to keep it down. Several hours later I was able to go home.
The ride home was long and rough, but I had them give me pain and stomach meds before I left. I also used a pillow to cushion my tummy. That's my favorite pillow behind my head. Her name is Rosie.
Before surgery I did purchase a toilet seat boaster and that helped a lot. Our toilet was very short.
So I’ve been home two days now. Things are getting better. I am learning to adjust to when to take things and drink things. Now working on getting in at least 48 ounces of fluid and 60 grams of protein.
Here is what my tummy looks like now with the incisions and drain. 
