It started at eleven thirty A.M. with a phone call asking me if we could be there forty-five minutes earlier than I was originally scheduled to be there; we said okay. The drive up US 41/Tamiami Trail was one red light after another, but taking I75 would have been worse, its too far inland from the hospital, but after leaving for the only 24 miles trip we arrived in an hour and a half, a minute before our scheduled time.
Getting to the hospital earlier is a bit confusing, since I did not seem to go down to the pre-op floor any sooner.
An hour and a half later I was on the second floor from the fourth, after being prepped and the lovely nurse seemed to have difficulty with getting the IV in my left hand so after a few tries I noticed there was a wad of gauze and what looked like packing tape left on that hand, but no IV. She moved over to my right one that was a definite win win and my IV was implanted, deserving of three 10's. Shelly, the nurse, was lucky my skin sensations are very low so I felt very little during the whole process. She didn't ask, so I did not tell.
I had a blood pressure cuff and was told the cardiac lines would be installed in the OR.
My team was of five or six if I recall correctly, including the GPS/ ultrasound tracker to find the filter tech and surgeon.
Prior to me entering the OR Megan, my nurse, informed me on all that could happen/ translation go wrong, they might not be able to find it, or it might be embedded in me and take some time to get out, it might have gravitated to a hard to get out location and that instead of going through my jugular vein and they might have to go through the femoral artery above the thigh or make two holes in my neck for fishing purposes or some such thing or if it could not be removed due to not being found or too long under I would have to leave it in or come back for another go at it at a later date....
Any-who, it was too late to leave after I was told all the pitfalls of removing the thing... I was pretty much hooked up to everything plus my ride was left in the room, 413 that I would be eventually be going back to if I should survive the procedure that takes about twenty minutes to four hours depending on any of those ifs ands or buts, or none at all.
I was a medium situation, since it took nearly an hour and half to remove, it had embedded itself in me, and it was supposed to be only a temporary visitor.
And although, I was given just twilight sleep anesthesia I slept through the whole thing, and when I awoke I was a terrified!
A male tech or nurse, who did not introduce himself and so I pretended I was asleep still, and hoped I was having only a nightmare, not an actual occurrence, too scary because he was saying as he pressed on my neck hard that he could not stop the bleeding from my jugular vein!
Again when I finally was completely awake my neck was well packed with gauze and dressing, not a dream nor nightmare!
They had given me heparin.
Between my two hands and my neck's dressings and my orange colored betadine solution on my face, right shoulder and arm I gave up on the idea of putting on makeup after all dressed, all that medicinal doings for, if I recall, the needle is small and thin and did not leave even a mark at all when originally put in, and I was assured in spite of this time having it take longer to remove I have only one hole in my neck again, and my thigh was not touched!
The unveiling is tomorrow, PS my left hand is black and blue but with a very slight stick mark, meanwhile my right hand looks totally unscathed and had been well gauzed and bandaged too!
Hope my neck has the same result for tomorrow.
The worse part is not being able to bathe in my case shower for two whole days.
Actually I take that back, not being able to sleep on my right side due to my neck, and having to sleep on the side that I am not supposed to, since I get that pressure sore too often on my left ear, but I did it anyway with my ear pillow.
And oh yeah, not being allowed to do my exercises, first the nurse said no driving or wine, I said I haven't driven in years and we don't have wine anymore due to the calories and no lifting anything eight pounds or more. I said then I can lift my two pound weights for my bed exercises and she said no, when she realized that I had MS! No exercising even in bed until next week!
We arrived home around seven last night.
Long day, for us and Gus, our rescue Havanese, Shih zu mix, but he was left home and did fine.
This morning I read the instructions when to call the doctor or nurse for any problems.
I had awoken with a swollen face and hands, and panicked those problems were on the list so I called the nurse thinking I would have to go back to the hospital or call 911, but I was told that it was probably the IV's, and sure enough after losing those three pounds that I had gained, and lost before going to the hospital the morning of...I had gained back two of them!
Darn IVs!
Well I was able to lose the fluids during the day.
Thank goodness!
And after I did eat spinach of all things it appeared to get my face looking better, well like me!
On this note of till tomorrow if I have my own American Horror Story or not, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!
And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
Getting to the hospital earlier is a bit confusing, since I did not seem to go down to the pre-op floor any sooner.
An hour and a half later I was on the second floor from the fourth, after being prepped and the lovely nurse seemed to have difficulty with getting the IV in my left hand so after a few tries I noticed there was a wad of gauze and what looked like packing tape left on that hand, but no IV. She moved over to my right one that was a definite win win and my IV was implanted, deserving of three 10's. Shelly, the nurse, was lucky my skin sensations are very low so I felt very little during the whole process. She didn't ask, so I did not tell.
I had a blood pressure cuff and was told the cardiac lines would be installed in the OR.
My team was of five or six if I recall correctly, including the GPS/ ultrasound tracker to find the filter tech and surgeon.
Prior to me entering the OR Megan, my nurse, informed me on all that could happen/ translation go wrong, they might not be able to find it, or it might be embedded in me and take some time to get out, it might have gravitated to a hard to get out location and that instead of going through my jugular vein and they might have to go through the femoral artery above the thigh or make two holes in my neck for fishing purposes or some such thing or if it could not be removed due to not being found or too long under I would have to leave it in or come back for another go at it at a later date....
Any-who, it was too late to leave after I was told all the pitfalls of removing the thing... I was pretty much hooked up to everything plus my ride was left in the room, 413 that I would be eventually be going back to if I should survive the procedure that takes about twenty minutes to four hours depending on any of those ifs ands or buts, or none at all.
I was a medium situation, since it took nearly an hour and half to remove, it had embedded itself in me, and it was supposed to be only a temporary visitor.
And although, I was given just twilight sleep anesthesia I slept through the whole thing, and when I awoke I was a terrified!
A male tech or nurse, who did not introduce himself and so I pretended I was asleep still, and hoped I was having only a nightmare, not an actual occurrence, too scary because he was saying as he pressed on my neck hard that he could not stop the bleeding from my jugular vein!
Again when I finally was completely awake my neck was well packed with gauze and dressing, not a dream nor nightmare!
They had given me heparin.
Between my two hands and my neck's dressings and my orange colored betadine solution on my face, right shoulder and arm I gave up on the idea of putting on makeup after all dressed, all that medicinal doings for, if I recall, the needle is small and thin and did not leave even a mark at all when originally put in, and I was assured in spite of this time having it take longer to remove I have only one hole in my neck again, and my thigh was not touched!
The unveiling is tomorrow, PS my left hand is black and blue but with a very slight stick mark, meanwhile my right hand looks totally unscathed and had been well gauzed and bandaged too!
Hope my neck has the same result for tomorrow.
The worse part is not being able to bathe in my case shower for two whole days.
Actually I take that back, not being able to sleep on my right side due to my neck, and having to sleep on the side that I am not supposed to, since I get that pressure sore too often on my left ear, but I did it anyway with my ear pillow.
And oh yeah, not being allowed to do my exercises, first the nurse said no driving or wine, I said I haven't driven in years and we don't have wine anymore due to the calories and no lifting anything eight pounds or more. I said then I can lift my two pound weights for my bed exercises and she said no, when she realized that I had MS! No exercising even in bed until next week!
We arrived home around seven last night.
Long day, for us and Gus, our rescue Havanese, Shih zu mix, but he was left home and did fine.
This morning I read the instructions when to call the doctor or nurse for any problems.
I had awoken with a swollen face and hands, and panicked those problems were on the list so I called the nurse thinking I would have to go back to the hospital or call 911, but I was told that it was probably the IV's, and sure enough after losing those three pounds that I had gained, and lost before going to the hospital the morning of...I had gained back two of them!
Darn IVs!
Well I was able to lose the fluids during the day.
Thank goodness!
And after I did eat spinach of all things it appeared to get my face looking better, well like me!
On this note of till tomorrow if I have my own American Horror Story or not, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know whom and we will too!
And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
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