Day of Surgery: What I Remember

On Tuesday, I went into the hospital at 6:30 in the morning. They had to take a urine sample and some blood before I went into the pre-op area. I waited with my mom in the surgery waiting room for awhile until they took me back into the pre-op area where I put on a hospital gown and they started my IV. I got to talk to the anesthesiologist, my surgeon, and some nurses before I was given some anti-swelling medication, an antibiotic, and some "happy juice" through my IV. They then wheeled me into the operating room where I remember getting on the surgical table and having a mask put on my face before I fell asleep.

Afterwards, I remember having to roll off the table onto the gurney. I was extremely hot and the nurses in recovery kept putting ice cold towels on me. I also remember being next to a guy who was really out of it and kept saying that he wanted a t-bone steak. They also hooked up my morphine pump in recovery. I didn't get into my room until 5:00 pm.  

My surgeon came and talked to me in my room and said that everything went great during surgery.

For the rest of the day I kept taking morphine and dozing off. It took the nurses a little while to figure out the right anti-nausea medicine that I needed, but thankfully I didn't throw up at all. My mom stayed with me the whole night, and my dad and neighbor came and visited for a little while. I slept reasonably well that night except for having my vitals taken every couple of hours and having to listen to someone move into the bed next to me.

Here is a picture of me not too long after surgery.