Chapter 5: Surgery Day!

It's official. I was diagnosed with stage 1 endometriosis on Wednesday during my laparoscopic surgery. I really thought that I'd be able to blog before now but recovery has been much worse than I was expecting. I really didn't have realistic expectations so I guess that's my fault. Anyway, for today's blog I am going to run you through surgery day and what my experience was like. The actual recovery and diagnosis will be in future blog posts.

We arrived at St. Joe's hospital in Cheektowaga, NY at 6 am for my 8 am surgery. I had to pee in a cup when I got there for a pregnancy test. Considering I wasn't allowed to drink anything after midnight, this was a difficult task. After that I signed in and went back with a nurse. At this point I had to leave my bag and everything with my dad. The nurse went over my health history and my allergy concerns with me. I changed into a hospital gown and they hooked me up to an IV and leg compression machines that prevent blood clots. The IV stung a little because I was dehydrated and the compression machines annoyed me but it's part of the deal, right?

Then my family was allowed to come back. My dad, best friend and aunt and uncle all sat with me while my surgical team trickled in to chat. I was so concerned about my allergies that I must have mentioned it about 90 times to the anesthesiologist, the CRNA and my surgeon. After going over what they were going to do, I said goodbye to my family and they gave me something in my IV to relax me. That stuff was AMAZING. I remember joking around with the team as they wheeled me back and talking to the CRNA. I climbed over to the operating table and breathed in the gas and that's the last thing I remember.

My surgery took about an hour. I woke up in the post op room asking about hives. Repeatedly. Like a crazy person. Then I asked if I had endo. The nurse confirmed that I did. She gave me some ice chips. I had to hang out there for awhile because my oxygen levels were low. I was refusing to take deep breaths because I wanted to sleep and have ice chips. I'm a nightmare patient.

Then I got to back to the secondary post op room. I was a little more with it here. I got cookies, 2 bottles of water and a ginger ale. I was allowed to see my family. I got my care instructions with my med suggestions around this time time, too. I had to pee before I was allowed to leave. When I did, it was bright red, which totally freaked me out. But I was told that it's normal. It's happened a few times since surgery too.

It was around this time that I realized I inherited my dad's reaction to anesthesia. I was wide awake. I was discharged shortly after I used the bathroom and we got home around 2:30. I didn't fall asleep until midnight. I guess that's not entirely normal but it's how we both are.

This has probably used up my concentration for the day so I'll have to post more later!