Just a quick update

It's very difficult typing one handed, so this may not be the best post.

Wednesday, the 23rd, I woke up super nervous.  I took a shower while the rest of my family ate super delicious, yummy bacon and eggs.  I was hungry, but had to fast for the surgery, and I was too nervous to eat anyway.  Pants, our babysitter, arrived with his monster of a dog around 9:15.  Jovi loved his dog and followed him around the whole time.  It was hilarious to see our puppy following a huge mastiff around.  I sat down before we left, and per instructions, scrubbed my arm and hand with soap for 15 minutes. We left the house around 10 and ran to Bakers really quick to pick up a pacifier for Charlie.  The plan being Chris trying to pacify him as long as possible before giving him a bottle.  We arrived at the hospital right around 11 and checked in.  Shortly after we were taken back to the pre-op room and I nursed Charlie one last time.  They gave me this ridiculous Bear Paws gown that actually hooks up to a heating system during surgery.  It was very bulky and uncomfortable.  They started my IV with antibiotics and the anesthesiologist came back in to talk to me.  Same lady as before.  Very nice.  She could see how nervous I was and gave me a mild sedative to calm down.  She also assured me that being awake unknowingly is very rare - that was honestly one of my biggest fears. 

A short while later I felt extremely itchy and jittery - like I needed to run around.  They came to check on me and told me my whole body was red.  I was having a negative reaction to the antibiotics called "red man syndrome".  Its not quite an allergic reaction - its just a sensitivity.  They told me next time I'd need the antibiotics much slower, and then they gave me some benadryl.  I'm not ure what was causing it but my entire body became restless.  I started trying to curly my body into a very tight ball and then I'd release and stretch out as far as I could.  This went on for a little while.  Then my surgeon arrived, a few minutes late, at 1:15 and told them to take me to the OR.  They wheeled me to the OR, the nurse anesthetist asked me a question and the next thing I remember is being shaken and a nurse telling me to wake up.  I was in recovery, a huge room filled with patients in the first stage of recovery.  My arm was on fire and I remember I started crying.  The lady next to me had had abdominal surgery and was crying too.  She asked me if I had abdominal surgery too and I was in so much pain I could only shake my head.  The nurse maxed me out on fentanyl  and dilaudid but neither did anything.  My body had built up such a tolerance to pain meds.  She told me if she had taken that much she would have stopped breathing.  Around 4:30 they brought me to my private recovery room with Chris and Charlie.  Chris said Charlie only had one bottle and he had fought him for an hour to take it!  Best news!

My stay was very painful.  We stayed overnight and they wanted us to stay another night but we didn't have a babysitter the second night.  Next time we will plan two nights.  I was originally given 1 mg of morphine every 30 minutes but then they put me on a pump that gave me 3.0 mg/8 min.  They finally upped me to 3.5/8 min.

Recovery is going okay, both mentally and physically.  I have my good days and my bad ones.

I have been uploading all of my photos to this public album.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=653616891#!/album.php?aid=188498&id=653616891