Day 0: Surgery Day!

Full disclosure: I'm writing these posts AFTER the titled day, because, let's keep it real, you'll be way too drugged up and tired to type up a coherent blog post. :) Don't try to be superwoman/man and live tweet/blog/post your experience.. just focus on resting.

My dad came into town last night to help me for the first few days post surgery and to drive me back home. I was instructed to not eat/drink/chew anything after midnight and take a shower with an anti-bacterial bath soap (Dial) the night before and morning of. No lotions, moisturizers, lip balm, and no contacts. Since my surgery was scheduled for 8am, we were asked to be at the Surgical Center by 6am to get checked in and get prepped.


Pre-Surgery
Once we arrived, we were promptly escorted to the Pre-Operative area, where I changed into a drape and gave my clothes and bag to my dad to keep with him. I was visited by my room nurse, anesthesia providers, and surgeon. They each asked me tons of questions to re-review my medical history and verified what I was here for. They also repeatedly asked if I had any allergies, which I have none of. Speaking of verifying, they will also ask you to verify your name and date of birth every single time a new member of their team comes to see you for security purposes.

First unsuccessful try - back to the drawing board.

The worst part of this prep process was starting my IV line. My veins are horrible and I always get poked several times before they find a good vein. This time was no different.

The first lady was not able to do it successfully with the standard needle size, so they brought in another lady who changed the needle to a smaller (kid) one, just so I can start getting the juice in my system. I expressed my concern to her about how I might not get the proper dosage of fluid since it's a smaller needle and she laughed. She said, "Oh, don't worry sweetie! I'll switch that needle as soon as you're under, at which point, you won't feel a thing anyway!" Funny and true.

All IV'd up! Ouch...

So stylish in my gown - anxious and ready!

Thanks to my daddy! Last pic with the old face :)

Post-Surgery - 5 hours later
Other blogs were saying they remember being rolled into the Operating Room and see all the instruments... I do not remember any of that. I must have been knocked out before I entered the room because the next thing I know I'm awoken from my anesthesia and lying in the PACU recovery area. I was a little out of it but was able to speak pretty well to the nurses, despite my jaws being banned together. My immediate feeling was no pain, tired, and a sore throat from the tube they inserted so I could breathe. I forget now, I'm not sure if it was saliva or mucous running to the back of my throat, but I had to use frequent suctioning of bloody saliva/mucous out of my mouth. It was a long clear tube, similar to the one at the dentist/ortho office where you close your lips around it to suck up the saliva. There was a nurse literally standing right in front of me the entire time for several hours, posting guard and making sure I was OK while she typed away on the medical laptop. She was the one who suctioning my mouth each time I raised my hand or made a noise to get her attention. Super sweet.

The surgery must have been completed around 1PM and I think I was able to see my parents a couple hours after that. The nurses placed a clipboard with paper on it and a pen so I could communicate - that proved to be helpful!

My scribbled questions and notes.

Lying in the PACU recovering right after surgery.

My parents and the entire staff was amazed how well the surgery went for me, in regards to very minimal swelling and no nausea and minimal pain. Like I said, I could talk a little bit, I could move my lips, I could feel my cheeks, my tounge, the roof of my mouth, and so on. Speaking of which, the roof of my mouth felt sooo... I don't know how to describe it, solid? It felt like a metal sheet was right behind it. Didn't hurt - just weird. I experienced ZERO nausea the rest of the night. I must not have a reaction to anesthesia because I didn't feel ill either after removing my wisdom teeth.

Moved to ICU (only because there was space)
I spent the following 5 hours after surgery napping here and there and suctioning my mouth. I think the hospital was really, really busy because I didn't get moved until 6:45PM. At that time, they rolled me into the ICU actually. Apparently that was the only place that had space because I wasn't in critical condition to need to be there. I shared rooms with a cancer patient who had just gone through radiation and she was complaining about her nausea and pain the entire night - I felt so bad for her. A curtain separated us and my parents came by again to check on me as I was settled in and then they left for the night.

I only experienced Pain Values of 3-4 before midnight, for which they gave me mild pain medicine. I felt pretty good otherwise. My nose was really stuffy and I kept wanting to blow my nose but they said not to. They placed the mask over me at low setting to give me some humidity and hopefully my nose wouldn't bother me so much. It sort of helped - if anything, the mask was a little uncomfortable because it pressed against my jawline. So I ended up taking it off in the middle of the night and just propped it right below my nose on my chest.

Sleeping was hard - I woke up every 2 hours to suction my mouth and the nurses came in periodically to take my vitals. The bed itself and my position was quite comfy though!

All in all - the day of surgery wasn't bad at all. Just uncomfortable with the clogged nose, sore throat, and constant suction I had to do.