Recovery Day One: Time To Break Out an Old-School Cliche

Well, it's done! This morning I am thinking of that very old poster cliche, Today is the first day of the rest of your life. I've made this permanent change, and it feels daunting, but I will continue to take it step by step.

Monday night I was prepped for surgery, including an IV line for hydration and follow-up medication. Then yesterday I had visits from a whole slew of medical staff: the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, the doctor who coordinates my care, the patient coordinator who I've been emailing with, and a nurse. The dietitian even came by to say hi and tell me we will speak tomorrow.

They gave me a chest x-ray, an EKG (normal! whew!), compression stockings, and maybe some other things I've forgotten. 

Then I was wheeled off, needle, drowsiness... then I was in my room. Ta-da!

I woke up feeling like I'd done 1,000 crunches, with pain under my ribs. Apparently laparoscopic  surgery pumps you full of gas. Ouch. 

Once I woke up more fully, the doctor visited again, saying the surgery was fast (45 minutes) and easy. He told me to walk around as much as possible, as this will help the gas dissipate. Also, I have a drain (TMI?) that they will monitor, plus a breathing thingy to help facilitate deep respiration... also for gas.

So I spent the rest of the day alternating between sleeping, walking around the room and in the hallway, and having nursing staff come in and out putting various medications in my IV line -- anti-nausea, antibiotics, anti-gas, painkillers -- and giving me ice chips.

IV lines! Why wasn't this always standard?! When I was 12 years old, I had knee surgery. All painkillers and antibiotics were given by injection into my thigh. Always the same thigh. After a while, it hurt so much that I was crying, and preferred the surgical pain to the constant stabbing. It also caused nerve damage; the area was numb for nearly 20 years! Why didn't they use an intravenous line? One needle, and you're done.

I can tell that the standard of care here is very high. The staff is very methodical and deliberate, with great attention to detail. Perhaps this is a function of working in a private clinic without a huge number of patients? I don't know. But my experience in hospitals, either for myself, my partner, or anyone I've ever visited, has been that staff are very rushed, and if you don't advocate for care, it's easy to be overlooked. (Admittedly my experience is limited to New York City, where everything is always over-crowded and rushed, and the same, but slightly less, in suburban Mississauga.)

You may be wondering about a language barrier. The doctors all speak perfect English and are obviously fully bilingual. The people who seem to be the head nursing staff speak a lot of English; they also use translation apps on their phones, for both you and them to speak in. The aides don't have much English, but instead get someone for you who does. 

Everyone is friendly and so caring. It's like this in BC, too -- medical staff are unfailingly friendly and caring. I did not find this in NYC or Mississauga! I'm guessing, again, that's it's down to workload. It's hard to demonstrate caring when you're constantly rushed off your feet. 

So it's morning now. Today will be full of breathing tests, walking, drains, and other recovery business. The doc told me there are three different tests for leaks. If any are found, it's back to surgery to repair them. However, he informed me, his work never leaks. The hospital's complication rate is less than 1%, and his is zero. (Surgeons!)

To be honest, I don't know how I will be ready to travel tomorrow afternoon, but then again, that is more than 24 hours away. I already feel better this morning than I did yesterday.

One weird thing: I had an allergic reaction to one of the medications. My face and lips got swollen and puffy. No respiratory issues -- my breathing was not affected, only my face. My lips look like I tried to give myself silicone injections and didn't read the instructions. They gave me antihistamines, and will change both the nausea meds and the painkillers.