Thanks!

[cjsmith]

Thanks everyone for the get-well wishes. I am feeling even better tonight than I was last night. I'm truly amazed.

I admit to a certain amount of overconfidence where pain is concerned. I am starting to figure that when a doctor says "you'll be in pain" that perhaps the message is calibrated for people who aren't as used to pain as I am. I'm feeling this, some, but I can't imagine what it would be like to be so pain-free so much of the time that this would seem bad. I sure hope this "expected pain doesn't show up" trend stays the way it is. I know pride goeth before a fall.

But anyway, the upshot is I'm really feeling quite good.


I tried to take pictures of things like my bandages this morning. Couldn't find a flash card for Rob's digital camera, so I took film and hoped I had draped cloth in all the right ways. I immortalized the bandages, the cute little booties I wore on my feet, and the EKG electrode someone left behind. (That last stayed on my back, itching mildly, until joedecker came by and took a digital shot.)

Cool Things:

They gave me the weirdest stuff to wear. I was stylin'. :-) And I'm pretty sure I could have breast-fed a baby in that robe: its pocket hid a hole clearly designed to be there.

Doctors have those little finger-clip blood oxygen meters too! The nurse was intrigued when I told him some pilots use those. "Learn something new every day," he said.

I had to remove all metal jewelry. Since I couldn't wear jeans, I had no pockets to tuck those things in for safekeeping. I am now the proud owner of a denture cup. It has a big smiley-face on it and it says FOR YOUR DENTURES. When I get dentures, I will be ready with a place to store them.

I got to see a television while waiting for the anaesthesiologist. It was showing Fox; I found CNN after a brief search. Wow, I had forgotten just how much air time is advertisements. Unfortunately, even war coverage wasn't very distracting this close to knife time.

I have vague memories of some things that happened while I was still mostly out. I love having vague little snippets of memory that I'm not "supposed" to have. I remember the oxygen cannula being removed, I remember the gurney wheeling to the recovery room, and I remember that I had some dreams but I no longer know what they were.

They gave me a video! I haven't had the guts (er, no pun intended) to watch it yet.

I haven't needed so much as an aspirin, so the Vicodin I got Tuesday is safely stored away for future need. If this operation didn't "work", I may still need big painkillers, and that prescription alone is a year's supply.

Yay!

Comments

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

I'm so thrilled to hear you're feeling so good!!! i'm sure that in comparison, this pain is nothing to you.

was your robe's pocket-with-a-hole up high, like where a shirt pocket would be? i think that's for portable heart monitors; a friend had one once.

i'm jealous that you got film of your surgery! i wanna see it!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was up high. Heart monitor! Didn't think of that. I was even told I would be wearing one during surgery and early recovery. I got to keep one of the electrodes ;-)

I wanna see it too, but I think I'll wait until nothing twinges. I'm squeamish enough at the moment! :-)

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're recovering so nicely! So did you get three little scars, or only two?

I know you feel ok, but please, no running or anything else strenuous, for at least a day or two? (/motherhen mode)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Only two. He said two to four depending on what he found... so I'm hoping this isn't BAD news, meaning he didn't find anything!! :-( :-( [hope hope hope hope]

Yep, I didn't run at ALL today. Nothing more strenuous than cleaning the litterbox and dragging the trash / recyclables cans in from the street. Honest! I swear! Tomorrow I will square dance, but will stop if I feel I've had enough. I promise.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I wasn't around to add my good luck wishes ahead of time, CJ, but I'm glad everything went well.

A video, wow! I've had laparoscopic pelvic surgery a couple of times, and didn't get a video. Heck, I didn't even get stills of my colonoscopy, like some of my friends did. All I've ever gotten in the way of surgery pictures was a few stills of the inside of my knee when I had my arthroscopy a few years ago! Next time I have something done I'm going to tell the doctor I won't do it unless I get pictures!

I hope your recovery is quick and uneventful!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :-)

Yes, definitely insist on pictures. After all, we all need good "home video" stuff to show our friends, right? :-)