FINALLY
The port is out.
Annnnnnnd apparently I say hilarious things when coming out of sedation.
Let me recap yesterday's events for you.
After a long and grueling plan ride home from Boston, I spent the night at my parents' house. When I came home, they had a room all prepared for me; complete with flowers on the bureau (courtsey of my mother). I slept fitfully that night, wondering what was going to happen, how I would feel afterwards and if it would be a painful procedure. Yet, the next morning, despite hours of restlessness, I felt strangely focused. I kept thinking to myself, "This is the end. There is nothing more after this. Just a few days of recouperation and that's it." It was a comforting thought, giving me increased focus as I lay waiting in the day surgery hospital bed. I was waiting for my bloodwork to be analyzed before I could have the device surgically removed from underneath my collarbone. The nurse hooked me up to a drip of preventitive antibiotics and told me some jokes as he brought a fresh bag of saline. The events of my most recent vacation flooded my memory and I felt deep pangs of loneliness for my friends. I knew that I wouldn't be so scared if they were there with me. I gritted my teeth and hardened my jaw, trying to hold back tears. I missed them dearly.
My Mom dropped me off at the 2nd floor day surgery center and waited for me in the lobby, reading a wrinkled and tired old copy of "Women's Day". I made up my mind the night before that I wanted to do this myself. I don't know why. Maybe its because mom gets nervous and queasy in the hospital, or maybe it was because I wanted to prove something to myself; that I can do it alone, that I'm strong. Either way, I was there now, by myself. I was scheduled for an 8:15 surgery and I anxiously watched the clock as the nurses asked me routine questions about my port. I met with the surgeon who had friendly green eyes and held my hand. It was almost as if he could sense how nervous and frightened I was, but respected my decision to go it alone. All of the staff paid extra attention to me and congratulated me on completing my treatment so successfully and quickly. Soon, the OR nurses wheeled me into the operating room and asked me to lay on the operating table. They introduced themselves and propped me up on a triagular shaped cushion so my head was elevated. They rolled back my hospital gown and taped it to my chest like a toga and stuck on these sticky EKG senors on my chest, back and arms. Afterward, I could hear the familiar OR room "BEEP!... BEEP!...BEEP!", measuring my heart rate. The staff placed an oxygen tube underneath my nostrils and told me that I should be getting sleepy and woozy. In a matter of moments, the whole room was spinning and the voices were fuzzy and mumbling. Feelings of deep relief washed over me, removing any semblance of anxiety from my mind. The nurse held my hand and explained that they were going to give me some Lidocaine to numb the incision site, but that is the last thing I remember.
It must have been toward the end of my surgery, but I remember waking up to a most strange sensation. It felt like someone was lacing their shoelaces in my chest. I felt no pain, but an odd sense of pulling. I assume that it was the surgeon suturing my wound. The nurses reported that as I was waking up, I said, "you're the best doctor EVER!..This doesn't hurt at all!!"
Later, I awoke in the recovery room, where the nurses offered me apple juice, crackers and pudding. From previous experiences, I was partial to the juice and crackers. Pudding and I do not have a good history. (See older posts) My mother came back briefly to talk to me, the substance of this conversation is lost with time... I have no idea what I was saying at all. She went to get my pain meds from the upstairs pharmacy and soon after she left, the nurse took out my IV and helped me dress. I borrowed a pair of my mother's fleece pajama bottoms; they had Christmas Snoopys all over them. I dont remember much about the ride home and I'm assuming that I fell asleep, but now, I'm feeling pretty good. I am definitely tender. It is really really hard to lift anything, even light things. Apparently, my port was stitched into my muscle and in order to remove it, they had to unstitch it from my chest wall. I am so pleased that I can't see the damn thing anymore; no more weird marks and lumps in my chest... no more painful car rides and seatbelts that scrape. No more bra straps to alter and resew! More importantly, my surgeon removed the ugly keloid scar and replaced it was a nicer, more cosmetic scar that will leave a very small mark behind.
Check the gross pics below! One of the bandaged up and swollen incision area. And after it has healed a bit.
I feel like myself again. :)
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