Surgery Day

I registered at the hospital around 10:00am on March 15, 2012 with my brother. After a few minutes in the waiting room, I was taken to a room to be prepped. I changed into my gown, had IV put in my arm, and answered all the nurses’ prep questions. My mom arrived about 12pm and the rolled me into the OR at 1pm. It was freezing in there, but once my oxygen mask was on, the anesthesia kicked in and I passed out.

Recovery

I woke up really groggy and in excruciating pain. My face, neck, and chest had blown up because trapped the air used in the laparoscopic procedure. I had no idea until I saw myself in the mirror and the Nutty Professor was staring back. No one seemed really worried, except my mom who said I was unrecognizable. Once I was wheeled into my room on the pediatric floor, my doctor visited me for a brief moment and said that the trapped air was possible and should be released back into my system with a few weeks. Other than my freaky appearance, I couldn’t breathe normally because of the air around my lungs. I was constantly short of breath and it was just painful to breathe, especially in my right side when I breathed deeply. They gave me the ability to press a button whenever I wanted more pain meds pushed into my IV. When my doctor visited a second time he said I had gone a little overboard and they took me off it and put my on Tylenol. That was really no help managing the pain, but I withstood it without complaining too much. I later learned that I really should have complained more because I should have never been in so much pain while in the hospital. I survived and I know it could have been a lot worse. My nurses were wonderful, everyday. I could tell they really cared about my wellbeing during and after my hospital stay. Saturday morning, it took them a little long to get me on my way after my doctor discharged me in the morning.