Post #32
Due to my anesthetic, morphine and Toradol induced fog, I don't remember the exact sequence of events for the next 24 hours. But I'll try to relay them as best I can.
Come to think of it, the day of surgery was kind of like the day after Blogathon, except with more pain and no money going to charity.
Back to the hospital....
When they got me to my room, I remember seeing my mom sitting there. The nurses told her to leave so they could get me settled. One of the nurses asked if I wanted to move to my bed myself or if I wanted help. I really wanted to ask “Are you nuts?! I can't even freakin' think about moving right now!” But I was polite and asked for help. After I was in bed, they hooked me up to a blood pressure monitor, took my vital signs and made sure I was as comfortable as possible. The best thing they did was explain how to use the morphine pump. I could press it every six minutes and, believe me, I knew when six minutes was up without even looking at the clock. Pain is a good time keeper.
Some people who have abdominal surgery like this part. Some don't. I loved it! They had these automatic leg massager things on me so I wouldn't develop blood clots in my legs. Every few minutes they would puff up and give my legs, from ankles to thighs, a little massage. It felt so good, like I was in a spa or something. I'm sure spas spell better than a hospital, though. The nurses took them off sometime during the night, if I promised to move my legs every now then. I was kind of depressed about their removal, until I realized they were making my legs sweat. So, although the massages felt good, the fresh air felt better.
Because they did so much stuff with my bowels and bladder, I couldn't ingest anything besides ice chips for several hours. So, everytime I woke up from a morphine-induced nap, I'd pop a couple into my mouth. Then, I'd use my lip balm because, I'm tellin' ya, my lips were so dry! Thank God Hysters Sisters suggested the lip balm.
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