Well, the Open RNY is over and after five days in the hospital, I've made it back home. I feel very certain that much of the uneventful week came about due to your prayers and caring. Thank you so much.
So, what can I say? Well, the morning of the surgery was a bit unnerving, but all in all it went pretty smoothly. All I really remember now is going into the pre-op room, getting my clothes into the bag, and thinking, "My God, don't they have any gown's that fit us bigger people?"
Then I remember the longest wait on Earth trying to relax as I lay there and watched TV, wishing they would have had me come in an hour early, instead of two hours early. All I could do was wait.
Then came the epidural. I was so nervous. But I never felt a thing. And then, I remember being on my back, watching the ceiling racing past. Finally laying in the operating room looking at those two huge polished surgery lights. I remember saying something funny to lighten the mood, but don't remember what it was ... and then the next thing I knew, it was over. I was being spoken too by several people.
I do remember saying something about "it hurts." But as I recall, it wasn't all that bad. And most of what I said was from being so out of it.
The next thing I remember is my wife in ICU with me. The worst part of the whole week ... how horribly dry my mouth and throat were. Even with the ice chips. And I have to add that the ICU staff at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids were some of the most dedicated and caring people I've ever known. I tried not to bug them too much. But they were always there, and did everything they could to make me feel "at home." They were fantastic!
Two days in ICU due to my carbon dioxide levels in my blood being too high. Had me on one of the little oxygen tubes in my nose. And the levels came down and they began
to take down the pain meds in the epidural. Hated the catheter whenever things got moved around. And had a tough time sleeping more than an hour or so, due to moderate to light pain in the staples area. Always felt pulled in as I tried to get in and out of bed.
Got some oral meds for nausea two or three times while in ICU due to feeling like I was going to vomit as I tried to swallow, and the NG tube in my nose would tickle my dry throat.
Finally they took out the oxygen tube, the catheter, and the IV on my fourth day. God that felt good. Staples still hurt a bit, but I always told them my pain was somewhere between a one and a two, on a scale of 0-10. Just wasn't that big of a deal.
Day five. Rainy and cold in Cedar Rapids, but I was going to go home. Watched the heck out of TV Land those last three days! Slept a bit better the last night, but kept getting up in the middle of the night to watch some TV.
Oh, took some oral pain meds after the Epidural was out to deal with staple pain. Man is that stuff horrible tasting! It's a liquid form of Acetaminophen and Codeine. It has to be chased down with something like Crystal Light. But it does help.
Then I got to sign the paperwork, and wait for the wife to pick me up. One thing I have to add here that I wasn't ready for, was that I couldn't get my pants back on. These are knit dress slacks with plenty of room to fasten. But wow ... my belly must have an extra five inches around it!!! I had to wear my robe home. Good thing I'd brought it. My PCP told me there would be a huge fluid shift afterwards. Man was he right!
One other thing I'll mention that I haven't come across on the site. And this is "for the guys." But as I got into my Explorer and the wife carefully drove down the car ramp, it gently hit a few bumps where the pavement is coupled together. I haven't felt pain like that since I landed smack dab on a pommel horse in high school. To put it mildly my testicles felt as if they'd been smacked up into my chest. I have no idea why and will call my PCP Monday to ask.
Now I'm home, and doing pretty good. The staples still smart a bit. They'll come out in another week. I'm trying to enjoy sugar-free Jell-O, pudding, and Crystal Light. But it's hard to enjoy 30 cc's of Jell-O or pudding every 4 hours. But I know it will all get better down the road. And God forgive me ... on the way home, all I could think about was where the family was going to go have dinner. Would it be double whoppers at Burger King, a couple of pan crust pizzas from Pizza Hut, or the Chinese buffet place. God I'm going to miss most of that. But I know why I did what I did, and I'm not losing sight of that.
I have experienced the crying routine a couple times already. Even found myself crying after a "touching" episode of Happy Days on TV. So guys ... it might happen to you too ... crying for now good reason other than what you're body's been through.
Okay ... enough for now. Too much time sitting here makes the staples hurt a bit. But all in all ... worth it. I just checked the scales. I'm already down 10 pounds!