Surgery Complete!

Well, yesterday was the big day and all went really, really well. We arrived at the hospital a little before 6:00AM and it wasn't very long until they took us back to the pre-op area. The pre-op nurse, Ally, was super nice. We told her about the horrible experiences that Chris has had in the past with IVs and she promised that she would look, and if she didn't see a vein that she thought she could get, we would wait for the anesthesiologist. She checked his arm, found a vein in his hand that she really liked and...one shot...she had an IV! That was awesome...that in itself was Chris' biggest worry of the whole thing! She had to shave his belly, he got a patch behind his ear for nausea (which we actually did good and remembered to remove it this morning when we got up, as instructed). He had a pepcid, a shot of blood thinner (to help prevent blood clots) and an antibiotic in his IV. We met his anesthesiologist, the nurse anesthetist and assistant and the OR Nurse. Dr. Strickland made a quick visit and shook our hands...we really, really like him. At about 8:00 they gave him a "happy shot" in his IV and rolled him off to surgery at 8:03.

By 8:55 my pager went off and they took me back to the consultation room to wait for Dr. Strickland. He came in and let me know that everything went perfect. I asked him if Chris had a liver to be envious of and he said yes, everything looked very healthy. He was indicating that I could go ahead and find out what room he would be sent to and I reminded him that we were self-pay and therefore not expected to spend the night. He was glad I reminded him! He said Chris would spend about an hour in recovery and then they would call for me once he was moved to the observation area. It actually was at least about an hour and half when they paged me...Chris said he was ready to move in about an hour but his recovery nurse had another patient coming out of surgery that she was waiting for before she could move him. Anyway, when I got back to the observation room, he had a team of about 3 nurses trying to figure out how to get his leg "massages" to work. They finally got that figured out...his nurse in observation was just wonderful! Super nice lady and she took the time to explain things to us better than anyone ever did during all the surgeries that we both went through back in 2006. She was very clear about what we should and/or shouldn't do when we get home, things to watch for and be weary of, how to contact the surgeons if anything was questionable...just very thorough. And she was a big animal lover so she was perfect for us! LOL But...he did really great. She had him eat 3 oz. of ice chips, we got him up and walking (which she really just praised him at how wonderful he was doing, that most patients don't get up and walking as soon as he did or as well as he did). He just kept going down the hall and she was thrilled...she had to tell the other nurses how far he walked when we got back to the room. Guess she just didn't realize that was really because he wanted to do whatever he had to do to go home! LOL I think they had a minimum requirement of 2 hours to hold him for observation and that was all used. By about 12:45 we had his dressed, his IV was out, he had met all of his requirements for observation and we were ready to go. At 1:00 I went down and got the truck, pulled around to patient pick-up and we were out of there! We went by the CVS drive thru and dropped off his prescription for pain pills and went through the Sonic's drive-thru and got a bag of ice (we knew that would be perfect for him to munch on). I got him home, set-up in the recliner with his CPA machine (sleep apnea) and once he was asleep, I ran back up to CVS and got his prescription...and...I made a quick run to Subway. (I did not eat supper Wednesday night and by the time he went to surgery, I was about sick with hunger. I did get 1/2 a multi-grain bagel with some cream cheese down if the cafeteria...so...by now...2:30...I was getting hungry!). So...when I got back to the house, I guess the dogs woke him up. He took the CPAP off and said it was really drying him out. But...he went right back to sleep so I sat in the kitchen and had my subway sandwich. Sneaky, sneaky. (He did ask me last night when we went to bed if I ever did eat anything.) So...the rest of the afternoon and evening went very well. He really slept most of the time. I did make sure that I got him up a few times to walk around (blood clots)...once even out to the mail box. And I made sure he was eating the ice too..although he really did not have as much as he should have.

So far this morning he has sipped on some water, taken his AM meds and ate a Sugar Free Jello. No problems. He is in the recliner now...1/2 watching a movie and 1/2 sleeping. I am going to go get him up and get him into the shower. His instructions were to bath after 24 hours, washing the wounds with anti-bacterial soap and put on fresh bandages (large band-aids). I changed one band-aid as we went to bed last night because it had a larger spot of blood on it than the others. The would looks weird...small cut with two staples in it...but it looked good...no redness. We will be on high alert for infections after the ordeal he had two years ago with MRSA. I think the nurses thought I was funny at the hospital...every chance I got I was rubbing his hands and arms with the anti-bacterial "gel" that they have in each room. I'm not taking any chances!!!!

So...as of now...everything is really good. I'm not sure when his hunger will kick in but I know it is coming. We were told to expect him to feel hungry during this first 6 weeks until he can have his first adjustment. Week One...all liquids (water, broth, sugar free beverages - NO SODAS for a year -, sugar free Popsicle, sugar free jello, liquid protein drinks, etc. He has to try to get in 40g of Protein per day. Week Two and Three...he can add runny mashed potatoes, runny grits, low fat cream soups, etc. Week Four and Five...add canned chicken and tuna (soft meats) and any food that we would want to puree. Week Six begins lifetime maintenance...he can eat what he wants which will be an experiment to see if there are foods that he cannot tolerate. Also, this is where it is important to remember, the choices that you make in your food means everything! Healthy food...not junk food.

Okay...I have seen his wounds now and posted a photo to this blog entry. One is bigger than I expected. I think that is where they put the port, where they will insert the saline when they adjust/tighten the band (lower right abdomen). I think we counted 17 staples. The staples are a little freaky...I think I prefer stitches...

Until next time...