Will update later..just letting you know it went well and we are home! Feel free to post a comment or two. :) Please keep in mind that I kinda have double vision at the moment and it is hard to write!!!
It is early Monday morning. I set my alarm clock to 5:00, but forgot to turn it on! We got up anyway! I woke several times in the night, but was not anxious or afraid...it was VERY strange!! It was more of a thankfulness and relief that the day was finally here!
We got ready quickly and took off. We had figured out earlier how to get to our particular spot at MD, so got there without getting lost. For those who were there, you KNOW what a feat THAT was! So we wait at the surgery check in room and fill out paper work and get my vitals taken. We are there about an hour or so early, but wanted to not get stuck in traffic. After a while Daddy and Sue showed up, then Diana, Val, and Cynthia. They could only stay a little while as you were supposed to go to the main waiting area. When it came time to go to the holding room, Graland was allowed to go back with me. I'm not sure how long I was back there, but we were able to talk, get into a surgery gown, the white no-blood-clot hose, hair cover and feet cover.
I THOUGHT I was all there, but apparently I wasn't!!! I DO remember wondering if Donna and Sherry had made it in OK as I hadn't seen them and verbalizing this to Graland. The part I DO NOT remember is asking Graland to take pre-op pictures..I obviously asked for two!! lol Then I asked for the cell phone so I could check on Donna. Graland said I had a difficult time going from screen to screen and touching the buttons. (I left out the fact that they HAVE by now given me something to relax!!) So I talk with Donna who is in the waiting room with my family. She tells me that they had passed a waiting room with a lady in there whose husband was in surgery, but she-the lady-was on the Price is Right and she wanted them to watch it with her. (Hope I'm getting this right!!) I remember this conversation, but had no idea it was on the phone..I thought I had dreamed it. Donna, you'll have to leave a comment and tell your side...you are much better at it than I!! It is not until I'm in recovery that I find out about this conversation and of course I think they're just messing with me! Shown is the pre-op picture that I do NOT remember asking to take!! Bless your heart to everyone who saw me afterwards!!! You said I looked great- but there's iodine all over my face!!!
I remember them saying the OR is ready for me, got a kiss from Graland and then rolled over to surgery. They are not ready!!! so we wait a little bit. I see Dr. Ross in the hallway. Finally I am taken in and they give me something and that's it until I am in recovery!
I hear my name being called again and again and strain to hear where it is coming from. My eyes are so heavy they won't cooperate. I know my surgery was supposed to start at 10 and I am figuring a 4 hour surgery. I ask what time it is and they tell me 6:30!!! OH MY!!! So of course I immediately think of Graland and that he must be worried sick. I ask if he can come back and they run get him for me.
I woke up in recovery at about 630pm and we got a room about 1145pm or so. During my stay in recovery I was able "visit" with whoever was still in the waiting room. It didn't occur to me that all these people were waiting to see me and still needed to get back home!! **smile** But it was good to see everyone, whether I remember fully visiting or not! It was during this time that I found out about talking with Donna on the cell phone! Then visited with Sherry who called me a "bright and morning star" and said a prayer with me. Everyone was just so wonderful and loving and just the biggest group of fibbers you'd ever meet! lol But thankfully I believed them all at the time and I know that really helped me feel good about how I looked (darn vanity). Then saw Val, Diana, and Cynthia (one by one)... in and out of pain meds, but remember how good it was to still be connected.
We stay in recovery getting pain management taken care of and finally get a room. I have incredible nurses who check on me every 20 minutes!!!
more to come... feeling pooped!
If you were there at the hospital, please leave a comment and tell me your side..I'd love to hear the parts I missed. Or if you weren't there but were praying...I'd love to know--you were just as close to the waiting room as those who were bodily. Make sure you sign your name to your post.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Back home. 2nd update
Posted by Jo at 7:16 PM
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“What Phone Call???”
Sherry and I had the privilege of being at the hospital with JoAn, her sisters, aunt, dad, step-mom, and husband. Sherry and I traveled together early that morning. (This was quite humorous in itself. It takes both of us to remember things, and it pretty much took both of us reading directions and looking at the map to get there. We probably look like the two little old lady sisters on the Waltons, minus the “moonshine”.) As we were walking through the hospital, we noticed a lady alone in a waiting room. She was very bubbly and excited about watching “The Price is Right”. We heard her say, “Look, that’s me, and there’s my friend!!!” We poked our heads in and asked her about her excitement. She told us she and her best friend of 50 years were on that episode and that we would be able to see them next. Because she was alone, we ended up staying to watch her tv debut. (She was sooo sweet and cute!!!) After that, we found the right waiting room, and met all of JoAn’s family. It was neat to be able to put faces with her family’s names. A few minutes later, my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller id, but because I didn’t have my glasses on, I thought it was Julie Delahoussaye calling to check on JoAn. When I answered it, I realized it was actually JoAn calling me from the surgery prep room (holding room). I think I said something like, “What the heck are you doing, and how in the world did you get a phone????” She told me that she just wanted to make sure Sherry and I had made it okay (That shows you how pathetic I am, and how thoughtful and caring JoAn is.). She told me that she had a wonderful night’s sleep the night before and a very peaceful trip there (which is exactly what we were praying for). She sounded great and very calm. I then asked, “Are you going to get in trouble for talking on the phone?” She drowsily answered, “They’ll never catch me. I’ll never tell.” Because she was sounding a little slurred, I teased her and said, “You’re on some really good drugs, aren’t you?” She said, “Yep, and I’m taking them home with me!” We had the best time kidding and talking with each other for quite a while. I told her all about our new Price is Right friend, too. It really put my mind at ease, knowing she was at such peace with the surgery she was about to go through. She had to give up the phone when they came to wheel her into surgery, though. (I can just picture them chasing her around the room in that cute little hospital gown to get the phone away from her.)
A few hours later, my phone rang again, and you should have seen the heads whip toward my purse (mine as well). We were all relieved to find that it was NOT JoAn calling from the operating table to check on me again. At that point, we checked with Graland just to make sure he did have her phone. (You just can’t be too sure with JoAn.)
When we first saw her in the recovery room after her surgery, she was really trying hard to open her eyes. Graland asked her several questions to see what she remembered. The first question that got one eye opened pretty good was did she remember him taking her picture in pre-op. When she said, “NO you did not!” he said, “You MADE me. You actually made me take 2!!!” (What a ham she must have been!!!) Then, as she still struggled to open her eyes, Graland said, “You do remember calling Donna from the holding room don’t you?” BOTH eyes popped wide open. WHAT??? She really had no idea, and now she thought we were just out right messing with her. It was hilarious!!! (She finally did remember part of the story about the Price is Right experience, but she thought she had been dreaming.)
She really did look wonderful!! I hope she posts the picture Graland took of her afterwards. (Graland, I’m your witness…you really DID have her permission on that one.) What a mighty and awesome God we serve! I love you JoAn!!!
Love,
Donna
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