I could probably say it's 7 days and counting since it's 9:30pm; this day is nearly over. My husband came with me today for my PAT (Pre-Admission Testing). 4 1/2 hrs of answering questions and waiting in tiny rooms.
First was the questions from OBC nurse #1, the official weigh-in, and schedule discussion. Then it was to conference room A for a class with the nurse case manager with 3 other patients scheduled for surgery on 2/2 and 2/4, followed by a shorter class by the actual surgeon. Back to the little exam rooms for individual meetings with the surgeon, we were the 4th room, so had to wait quite awhile.
Next, wait around some more for nurse #2, more questions, more paperwork, more instructions. Finally, off to NW Anesthesia to meet with the anesthesiologist. But first, more questions, more waiting, and an EKG. After a 5 min meeting with the anesthesiologist, we were finally free to go. Sheesh!
I report in to Sacred Heart at River Bend (the big new hospital complex) at 7am. Me? 7am? Oye. We park in lot S. S for surgery, makes sense. Although, the parking structure for River Bend Pavilion is C. Go figure. Anyway, we go to the 3rd floor entrance, marked SPA. The class was very disappointed to find out that SPA stands for Surgical Patient Admission. We were SO looking forward to the facial and pedicure. Surgery is scheduled for 10:10am. Not 10:00 or 10:15, mind you! If they can schedule surgeries that tightly, why can't your doctor's office? Surgery is supposed to take about an hour and a half, with another hour or so in recovery. Once back to my room, they expect you to be up walking within 2-4 hours. The days of a long hospital stay are officially over.
On the bright side, I was supposed to lose 15# to qualify for surgery -- I actually lost 22.5#. We also found out that they no longer use catheters, or pain medication on a strict schedule. Pain meds are on request only. There are no external stitches; the small incision sites are glued together.
This is definitely going to be an experience..... stay tuned....
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2 comments:
Oh, I'm so excited for you! I'm continuing to pray for the success of this surgery and for your peace of mind throughout the process. Congratulations on loosing 22 lbs! That is wonderful. I love you so much and I'm really happy for you.
I will be there every step of the way toots!!! I figure I might need to in case Fred passes out, lol!! I am proud of you Deb, it takes a lot of courage to go through this and I know you will be much happier when you are on the other side of this. As for the 22lbs, way to go, that is just the beginning of the road. I love ya to pieces. We will have much more to celebrate then just my birthday on the cruise, won't we? Smooches
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