3 Days to Surgery

Getting closer to surgery. I try not to think about it, mainly because the thought of being cut open makes me completely nauseous. I can't even watch fake surgeries on TV. I'm sharing my experience because I wondered what happened leading up to surgery and afterward. I figured if I was wondering, there were other people that wondered, so here I share... Anyways, today I had my pre-op appointment. Mom got me there right on time, but I eneded up hanging out in the waiting room in a wheelchair until the pre-op office opened. A wheelchair is quite a handy contraption, especially when you have become accustomed to clinging to walls with all your might to make it down a hall.

After the usual paperwork, they did a bit of poking and a bit of prodding. The usual temperature and blood pressure followed by the withdrawal... I couldn't even look as the nurse stuck me to draw blood. The sight of blood seriously makes me ill. I've never had an EKG before, but I've had one now. It took longer to put the sticky things on me and clip me up than it did to run the test. Then they rolled me into the x-ray room for a standing chest x-ray. It would have been fine, except that standing quickly becomes excruciating. Everyone at the hospital was really great and that certainly helped me feel at ease about returning Monday. A friend arranged a ride home for me from one of her room mates, so I got to meet a great person and have some good conversation on the ride home. I love getting to meet new people and hear their stories.

It's been a rather painful day. I'm not sure why some days seem to be better than others, but today was a bad one. The meds just didn't seem to work today, but I had a few moments of relief. I was home alone most of the day, so I just layed quiet on the couch, texting a few people, made a couple phone calls and checked my facebook a bit where people have been leaving me such encouraging messages.

I am so thankful for the friends and family that are praying for me. It's been a huge step for me to reach out asking for help- what a great experience and what an awesome response! People sometimes just don't know what you need until you tell them! What a novel idea! Let people know you are in need and give them the opportunity to give. More on this later...

Well, I'm going to try and get some sleep. Hopefully I'll feel a little better tomorrow and can write with a bit more wit. :-p