Surgery, the complete saga.

Surgeon General's Warning: Reading this post may make your eyes blur, the length, content and number of links are not suitable for anybody that isn't interested.

It started as a early day. We had to be there at 5:30 so naturally we had to get up really early. Our alarms started going off around 4:00, and about 4:30 we drug our selves out of bed and managed to get dressed. I started the van to warm it up, which was a stroke of luck that I could think clearly enough first thing in the morning. I think we made it out the door at 10 to 5. Jen was hungry, and being the day after Christmas, and 5:00 in the morning, nothing in our path, be it ever so short, was open. So we detoured a bit to the 7-11 on Lee road, where Jen picked up some stuff to eat. I wasn’t allowed to eat before the surgery.

We made it to the hospital at about 5:20, got checked in on the ground floor and sat down to wait. It couldn't have been more then 10 mins later they took us up to the surgery waiting room. Now, in general hospital waiting rooms suck. It’s like they are built to make the time drag by, and for people to be uncomfortable. The new one in St. Joe, Ann Arbor rocked. It had 3 plasma Tvs. Full size couches, recliners, actual table you could sit and eat at. It had it’s owns set of bathrooms, and a vending room. To top it all of, it also has WI-FI.

When we checked in at the desk they gave Jen a pager like you would get at a restaurant, explaining the rules of the pager. First page means its time for the patient to go back, second page means she can come back to see me, third page was because they where coming to tell her how things went.

We wait about 15 mins before they took me back, I sat in a cold chair in a new freezing room. The nurse was friendly enough, she took my blood pressure checked my pulse, and then handed me a plastic bag with instructions to “Take it all off”. Then she left the room. So, I stripped. Everything, even my hair tie went into the bag. I put on the gown and was pleasantly surprised that it fit. Being 265 pound, you don’t normally get hospital gowns that are big enough. It appeared that someone read the chart before prepping the room. I climbed on to the bed, covered my self with the blanket and laid back. She came back in to start the iv.

After it was in, which was rather painless, she got Jen and we waited for the doctor. Before he made his was in the nurse came back and asked me some questions. Then after the nurse left the Anesthesiologist came in and asked me the same set of questions. Then the Nurse Anesthetist showed up and asked me the same questions. For those of you that do not know what these people are, I have enclosed links. Gotta love Wikipedia! Then the Nurse Anesthetist’s helper asked me even more questions. They told me what they where going to do, how it was going to happen. Then they told me they couldn't do anything until I saw the doctor. Fun, Fun. So I waited for the doctor, who showed up a little later. He told me basically the same the as the other 4 people, I was going to undergo a Lumbar Discectomy. After asking me what side we where working on, which I hoped was just to check my understanding and not because he didn’t know, he rolled me over put an X on my back and left the room. I should mention, this is the first and only time I got to meet the doctor. Previously I had appointments with his nurse, and PCA.

The Nurse Anesthetist came back with her helper, put a shot into my into my I.V. to “Relax me.” Then carted me down the hall. I remember reading the sign that said “Surgical Staff only behind this point.” We turned a corner to the surgical wing, the last though through my mind was, “Hmm, wonder what room I’m gonna be in.” Then I woke up in post-op.

I say “Woke up.” But what I really meant was that came aware of someone snoring, and sat there for a good 5 to 10 minutes listing before I realized it was me. Then I came all the way awake. There where two things I realized right away. First, my back fucking hurt, a lot. It felt like someone had stabbed me right in the spine, which in essences they did. Secondly, my legs and butt did not hurt. After 2 months of dealing with the pain, it was gone!. I could deal with the pain in my back for a few weeks.

I have a patch over the incision at the moment. Tomorrow I am allowed to remove it and even shower. Once it is removed I will post a couple of pictures of it. But until then, you'll just have to wait to see how it looks. Just like me!