Monday morning we got to the hospital so early. I had my bag of essentials and my pillows from home. As soon as I got my hospital band they did another EKG on me, then back to the waiting room. They they took me up to a room where I got into a gown and waited until after 8 AM before they brought me to the surgery room. Once I got on the surgery table they put me under pretty fast because I don't remember a thing until I woke up in my private room.
I think I first remember Jim & Joyce in my room talking to Rich about something and I was disagreeing in my head with some detail Rich was talking about but I couldn't speak or open my eyes. I was still VERY out of it, but somehow conscious? It was surreal.
I heard Rich say, "Open your eyes, Jame." and I remember trying very hard to open my eyes but they were so, so heavy. I kept thinking why won't my eyes open? Gosh I'm so tired, I really want to sleep.
Eventually I did open my eyes and said hello to Jim & Joyce and Rich. Alisha stopped by later but honestly I can't remember much about the day of surgery afterwards.
Throughout the day and night I kept having my vitals taken, and at 3:15 AM Tuesday morning I had blood taken for labs (also on Wednesday morning). I asked for pain meds on Tuesday sometime because I had severe back pain and my belly hurt pretty bad -- more soreness than anything but SO uncomfortable. They put morphine in my IV. Boy, that felt really weird. And good. And instantly took my pain away. I could feel it coursing through my veins, my fingertips and down to my toes. How weird! I felt great.
I got up and walked as often as I could, knowing it would make me feel better. I'm not sure how much gas I had to expel in my belly -- I wasn't passing gas at all but I was burping a lot.
I craved crushed ice, so my nurses kept me stocked. On Tuesday morning I did go down for an upper GI to ensure I had no leaks in my new sleeved stomach -- I passed and they let me know that right away. So that meant that lunch I got broth and tea and pudding I think. They kept bringing me yellow jello which is nasty. I liked the cream of wheat -- added a little butter and sugar substitute and that made it palatable.
Wednesday morning, Dr. G. came to see me and picked up my sheets of paper where I'm supposed to track my walks, my spirometer usage, and my fluid intake, but I hadn't filled out much because I really didn't know that was my job. Four ounces of fluid every waking hour? Yeah, I don't remember those instructions, so he wasn't happy with me. He said he wanted to see three straight hours of doing everything I'm supposed to be doing and then he'd discharge me. I never saw him again though -- the discharge nurse came in around 2 PM and Willie gave me a ride down to the entrance so Rich could take me home.
Thursday at 3 PM I got to take a shower finally -- boy that felt GREAT! My hair was rank.
So the last couple of days I've been sleeping, eating, watching TV a lot, napping, drinking water, and taking walks around the house since it is so hot outside. I did go for a 10 minute neighborhood walk this morning but it was really too hot outside.
I weighed as soon as I got home on Wednesday and I was 244 or so -- the result of LOTS of fluids being pumped into me 24/7. Today I'm around 237 which is just a couple pounds higher than my Monday morning pre-surgery weight.
My stomach is super sore and alien looking. I have 5 holes and one drain hole -- they all have some kind of skin superglue on them that will eventually wear off. I guess due to swelling, my belly is super bumpy -- strangely so!
Rich is taking good care of me. I am so glad he was able to be with me all week. I am already getting stir crazy in the house, so I have to figure out how to entertain myself for the next two weeks before I get back to work. I have a list of stuff I can work on. I guess I have to use this time to heal as a priority, but I feel so unproductive! Looking forward to the weekend - maybe we can go somewhere besides home.
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