Durham Days--Part Two

[Guest guest]

Debbie and Daughter's Durham Days, Part Two

....Woke up early the next day, Thursday, the10th, as it was my surgery day

and I didn't want to miss my Hibiclens shower! (It wasn't as bad as I

thought-lol-and didn't mess up my hair at all.) When I returned,

towel-turban atop head, who should be outside Chris' room but Dr R. Yes, I

said, we ARE roomies. He thought that was pretty cool. He gave a great

report on Chris--naturally her 16-yr-old organs looked wonderful, including

the all-important liver (Dr R had told us at clinic that he will not do the

bypass if he gets in and finds a bad-condition liver--it is just too

dangerous).

I forgot to tell you that the night before at 10:30 when I was returning to

my room from the shower, I heard a nurse on the phone saying, " Dr Rutledge!

You're just finishing up now? " I knew that was strange as he only had 2

cases after Chris.

Well, I asked him about that in the morning and he told me that he had been

in surgery for hours with the lady whose room was right next to ours, and

that he tried for 2 hours to do the surgery lap, and then for 2 hrs to do it

open, and that there was no way he could. It seems she had too much scar

tissue from surgery she'd had as a child, and her liver was married to her

stomach, so to speak. I felt so awful (this has to be devastating) and still

am praying for her. (She is not on the list.) She will have to recover from

major, open surgery and then have nothing to show for it. How sad.

Went downstairs to register and was among the first. They sent me up to the

5th floor (from whence I came- Ha) and I checked in at the same day surgery

desk, reminding them that I was back in Chris' room. They said I could just

hang out back there, as Dr R was of course at that AM and wouldn't get

to the hospital until later.

The lovely nurse that had was also to be mine, which was great. She

pointed out where my " getting prepped " room was and left my gown and tights

there on the bed for later. I felt kinda special having 2 rooms. (:0) I

took the long paperwork/release form back to room #1 and filled out my little

essays, which took a long time because kept wanting to chat. I

reminded her of when she was hospitalized in 3rd grade for a week (with an

awful asthma attack) and how she was chatty then, too. She smiled and said

she'd forgotten about that. We decided that hospitals make her very

talkative. She said she LOVED being in the hospital-- go figure!

Got up to walk and then she napped while I cruised the halls.

Michele's mom, Joyce, told me that Michele was still vomiting and nauseous.

She had come out of surgery throwing up, it seems. I think the anesthesia is

harder on some. Anyway, she looked pretty miserable, poor baby. I went down

one hall looking for Dawn but she wasn't in her room. Later, when I checked

on Michele and Dawn again, they both were snoozing, with oxygen masks on, so

I tiptoed away. I was surprised that who has asthma, didn't have to

go on oxygen, but her levels always tested fine.

Just as I was going to look for the others, in popped Blair, Michele, and

Susie from NJ (not on the list). They were out cruising the halls and looked

pretty good, though Susie was sore between the ribs, and Michele was still

fighting nausea. While at the hospital I also met Blair's super nice hubby,

Carlton, and Blair was already talking about getting together when everyone

was " sprung. " She is a great organizer, and a very nice person.

The only complaint I have is that Dr R's use of the Center on Thursday

mornings means that littermates are split up. It would have been great to

have Sherry, and Tricia with us! I never did get to meet Sherry or

:0( But then again, they had a great experience there, so I guess I

shouldn't be so selfish-- haha. Luckily Tricia (and her friend ) were at

the Hawthorne, too, so I did get to see them again.

Sometime in the early afternoon a beautiful blonde young lady popped into our

room saying her mom had sent her to find us. Turned out to be 's sweet

daughter, . Funny thing, I kept going to the waiting room trying to

locate Beth and , but never did find them there.

led me and Steph to the " getting ready room " that they were in, and

Steph and I had a great visit with them. is a darling girl and a

great big sister. Found out that Beth would be going first (after the 3 at

), and that I would be after who would be second. Another

(don't know her) would be after me. Never did find Beth! I figured it was

time to get ready, so I went behind door number 2 and claimed my lovely,

breezy gown and oh-so-slimming hose. Darned things kept rolling down my legs

as I walked, which for some reason I found pretty funny. Walk, pull up hose,

they roll down. Walk, pull up hose, they roll down. Pull up the right, down

goes the left. Yank on the left, there goes the right. Too funny!

The nurse snagged me in the hall saying that the anesthesiology department

was in room #2 looking for me, so off I went, hose rolling down with each

step. I didn't bother pulling them up and thus arrived with what looked like

2 donuts around my calves.

A very nice young woman asked me all the questions that had been asked

in the holding area on the 3rd floor. It seems there was a lull in the

action roght then, so she was able to do the little pre-screening on the

early side. I told her that the IV was my only concern (have had some bad

ones) and she said she hoped they would get it right the first time. She

said she had a patient the day before who had the same last name. Yeah, my

roommate, I told her. She thought it was cool when she found out that Chris

was my daughter. Also said that she would not be my Dr during the procedure,

though, as she was assigned to different cases.

The nurse returned to ask me about what meds I take, have taken, took the

last 2 days, etc. She said I could go back to room #1 and be with my family

until they were ready for me. In no time there was a knock on the door and

my chariot awaited! Tom walked me down and I noticed the same misty eyes

that I had seen the day before when he left at the OR. " I'll be FINE, "

I assured him.

From there I went to the holding area, which was not at all crowded. In the

other bed was an elderly woman who was very nervous about her surgery, so

lots of people were around her, reassuring her. Me, I felt strangely at

ease. Never did get anything to " calm " me, I think they knew I was very

copacetic. (Don't worry, be happy...) I can't tell you how long I was

there, but for me it was a serene and enjoyable time. Heard the chit chat of

the staff, as they went about their work day, the bustle of people in white,

blue and green, hustling here and there.

One of the blue was a young man named Kip, who was to start my IV. What a

good looking guy! I made the mistake of telling him my IV history and I

think I jinxed him because he couldn't get it started on my right hand.

(Where was Sheila, I half-wondered?) I told him I must have jinxed him as I

gave him my left hand. We had been chatting about where he was from in

Florida (color me curious, I didn't detect a southern accent and wondered

where he was from). Thankfully he had better luck on that side and got it

started relatively quickly, though it hurt a bit.

The apprehensive lady was being wheeled away, fears allayed by a calming

female voice who followed along after her, and then someone else was wheeled

in her place. Like clockwork, bing-bang-boom. Reassuring.

Not long thereafter, my anesthesiologist, Dr , came over to chat, and

then someone pointed out that Dr R was nearby. " Hey Doc, " I said, getting

his attention. He came over and said, " Well, I just finished with

GoofyGrits. She did great! "

" And you did " TooEnable " before her, " I added.

" TooEnable? I thought she was Gerry (sp?) Oh, she's TooEnable! I can't

keep you all straight! " he laughed. He sounded as calm as I was feeling. A

good match, I thought, smiling to myself.

The next thing I knew, my dance partner was ready for little old me and it

was all hands on deck! Reassuring voices attached to self-assured

professionals took over, wheeling me into the refrigerator, er, um, I mean

the OR. So many questions, directions. People helping me slide onto the OR

table, one on each arm and one for the legs, getting me straight, my arms

out, slipping me out of my arm sleeves, covering me in sheets and blankets.

A gentle feminine voice directing the others. People shuffling behind me.

Boy, all this attention for me, I thought. Pretty neat. Worth every penny

Cigna is paying for me. LOL More serene peace flowing through my pores. I

craned to look around, to take in all I could before I would go off to sleepy

land.

A voice from behind. " You know Dr , don't you? " someone asked.

" Who? " What a time to have a senior moment! " Oh. yeah... "

But before I could state that I did INDEED know him, the forgotten Dr in

question piped up, " Oh, I guess I'm not too memorable... " Titters all around.

" Oh, yes... " I started to say, wanting to reassure all that he had INDEED

done his duty in meeting me before surgery! LOL

Too late...

The next thing I knew I was in an area that looked a lot like the holding

area, but I knew it had to be the recovery room. I woke up as gently and

peacefully as I had gone in. The strangest thing, I felt like I was floating

in my own little insulated bubble, safe and protected. Never had a bit of

pain, never felt anything but calm and contented. Once I was awake, I was

awake, and stayed that way until I left the room. The only thing I felt was

thirsty. And happy. Very happy. Downright giddy, in actual fact.

Back in the room I looked for Tom. We had had a deal before surgery that

revolved around the acronym ALL. He was to remember that what I wanted to

know the second he saw me was ALL-- A- were there Adhesions? (I was very

worried about this as I'd had previous surgery--though all in the lower

regions, including a hysterectomy, L- how was my Liver (Tricia and I were

both worried about this), and L- what Length of intestine did he take?

He answered these questions quickly, as I had instructed (what a good boy!).

Adhesions, a few, but only encountered through the lowest port, and not a big

deal. Liver, very good condition. Not perfect, but only a little bit fatty.

Length, 6', just as he'd planned. At 226#, he wanted to make sure that I

wouldn't lose too much (what a problem to have! LOL). My surgery was 30

minutes (same as Chris) and I had come through it all just fine and dandy.

Yep, your right, I thought.

Looked over to see that had dressed and moved over to the recliner, as

she was checked out already.

" Poor baby, " I said. " You get to sit in that old thing? Whatever you do,

don't go backwards! " We laughed at the inside joke.

I looked at the clock and it was around 7PM--the same time that had

come back. Synchronicity.

Nurse Jeff popped in. " Hey, you switched places! Cool! "

He showed me the pain pump and asked, " From one to ten, with ten being the

worst, how would you rate your pain? "

" One, or can I say zero? "

" Great, but you probably should hit the pain button, to keep it that way. "

" Okay. " I obliged. I chatted with my family awhile and then drifted off to

sleep. When I woke up I wanted to use the bathroom and walk but felt

nauseous so I couldn't go very far. wanted to spend the night and look

after me, as I done her, which I thought was so sweet, but I told her

absolutely not, she needed a good night's sleep. Besides, I was feeling

great. I hit the pain button again, just to be safe, though.

I insisted that Tom get the kids back to the hotel so could get to bed

and they left around 9. I tried walking again, but got another wave of

nausea, so didn't get very far. This time I decided that it could be the

Demerol, so I vowed to leave the pump alone. I wasn't feeling any pain,

anyway.

The next time I got up to walk I was fine and managed to do " the loop " with

no problem. How can I be feeling this good, I wondered? I had a great

night's sleep and talked with the overnight nurse about how all the rain was

killing her tomatoes. She said they had not had constant rain like that for

years. Life goes on, I thought, comforted by the simple things in life and a

nurse who takes care of others while the rest of the world sleeps.

I welcomed her each time she woke me to check my vital signs. It was a great

night. Once when she helped me out of my leg-blower-uppers, we stood by my

window together, watching the electric cracks of lightning illuminate the

night sky over the stadium outside my window. Booming thunder accompanied

the bolts, and I stood there mesmerized by the irony-- God was wreaking havoc

across the sky, while holding me in his protective hands inside my little

room.

Storms, surgery, and tomatoes... I slept like a baby.

The next morning I woke up feeling wonderful, inside and out, through and

through. Dr R came to chat and I said I only had one question. " When's my

surgery? "

He laughed, saying that's what he liked to hear. He pretty much repeated

what Tom had told me, and then apologized saying he had to scoot--busy day,

or something. :0) Dawn and Max came by (aren't they sweet?) and got to say

a quick hello to the good doc before he hurried off. Dawn said she felt

great and had found that she could drink quite a lot. I was glad to hear

that because I am a big water drinker, myself.

I spent the rest of my morning cruising the halls and went up and down what I

thought was every corridor on the 5th floor trying to find everyone. Never

did find Beth ANYWHERE. Did she really have the surgery? lol By the time I

located 's room, it was unoccupied, and then later she was already gone.

Tom picked me up after he tracked down all the medicines for me and Chris

(had to go to various drug stores to do this-- it might be wise to get your

drugs before going to Durham). After I arrived at the hotel, Steph and I

went down to visit Tricia and while napped. Tricia related her

experience at , which was wonderful. Sounds like a great place!

I felt really good the whole time we were in NC. We took the girls to the

movies the next day (Sat) to see " The Nutty Professor, " and we went shopping

and exploring on Sunday. Monday morning we left for home, both of us feeling

great. Except for 10 tiny slits in our tummies (5 apiece), you'd never know

we had anything done at all. Excessive hunger and cravings are no longer a

problem--at last we feel " normal. " Miracles DO happen, friends-- BELIEVE!

Regards,

Debbie in IL

MGB 8/10 Cigna approved as " in network "