I'm a LOSER!!!
posted on 7/30/07 12:56 pm
I made it to the loser's bench! I cannot believe how wonderful I feel. A bit tired, but just wonderful. Have you ever noticed, after surgery, that you feel so much more alive? I've had a few big surgeries before (hysterectomy being the biggest), and I'm not sure if it's just that you have time to stop and smell the roses, or if it's that you're so glad you made it through alive that brings on this feeling. I've been going out for walks and it seems the world is so alive. I notice all the different flowers in my neighbors' yards, I notice the flight of a bird as it passes me and I am so awed by it, I love the feel of the wind on my face, and the moon -- my God, the MOON! The moon has been full the past few days and I purposefully go out for a bit of a walk when it gets dark, just so I can look at that lovely moon.
I guess I should feel lucky to be alive. While I had a terrific surgeon, and I do believe OHSU is a great place, I had such a comedy of errors occur during my hospital stay that I could not wait to get out of there! At times, I did think they were trying to kill me. Below is an account of all my mishaps:
One of the things they make very clear to you before surgery is that you must wear these leggings that pump air around your legs to prevent blood clots. I had them on going into surgery, and they were on when I woke up, except that the machine that powered the air was no longer there. I got to my room at about 1:30, and it took until after 5:00 for them to finally bring me a machine. In the meanwhile, in my drug-induced haze, I was certain I was going to die from a blood clot. :-o Then, I told the nurse that there was something wrong with my bed. It seemed to be breathing and it was really making my back hurt. All I got was, "well, yes, hospital beds can be uncomfortable." Some of you know that I blew a couple of discs out in my back shortly before Memorial Day and am only just recovering from an injection into my spine to relieve the pain. Surgery was Tuesday morning and, by Wednesday morning, I was in the chair in my room and absolutely refused to get back into the bed. Thank goodness, my CNA (Lupita, bless her!) checked the bed out and found that it was indeed breathing -- it was an ICU bed for comatose patients to keep them from getting bed sores. They are known to be extremely uncomfortable for people who are conscious! So, Wednesday morning, they start me on liquids. I had chicken broth, grape juice, and sugar free jello. A short time later I began to get one of the worst
headaches of my life. My eyes just burned. I thought maybe it was just too much pain medication or maybe the fact that my back was killing me. Lunch came - same stuff. I ate a little more. Someone on my roommate's side of the curtain backed into my table and I was soon wearing my lunch. They brought me a washcloth, towels, and a clean gown, and of course, the gown had no ties!! Are you all expecting the keystone cops to come running in? I certainly did. Anyway, that cut lunch short and my headache continued to get worse. My neighbor's visitors included her daughter-in-law who brought her screaming toddler with her. Folks - please do not bring screaming children to a hospital!! I was so tired, had such a headache, and a backache, and I thought I would go right round the bend! Dinner arrived and this time we had beef broth, apple juice, and jello. After a bit of that, my head began to explode, my throat got sore, and when I went into the bathroom I noticed that I was breaking out in hives. I called the nurse and asked her to check if the broth contained soy protein. She brought the box back. Yep, there it was. The same stuff that was listed next to Morphine, Demerol, and Versed on that bright band around my wrist!! I needed two huge syringes of IV benadryl to calm all that down. I crawled into my new bed and managed to sleep a little. In the morning, I got skim milk (thank goodness I could read the carton), tea, and some custard. I had to have them confirm with the kitchen that there was no soy in the custard. Once it was determined I could keep that stuff down, I was
released to go home. Thank God! I really think the nurses were trying to kill me!
So, surgery went great and I survived a couple of attempts on my life. Since I've been home, everything is great. I'm just very sleepy and full!
As I said above -- I really do believe that OHSU is a great place. My surgeon visited me three times and I was only there for two and a half days. His assistant, a doctor who helped with the surgery, also came by at least three times. Then there were the medical students. They visited often and they were very attentive to everything I had to say. They weren't in much of a position to help me, but did get the nurse for me a few times. I had absolutely no complications from the surgery. I would recommend the place to anyone.
5 Responses to "I'm a LOSER!!!"
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Mary . commented on 7/31/07 5:04 am
Darlar commented on 8/10/07 5:28 am
Naphtali commented on 8/13/07 8:30 pm
