Wed Jun 11, 2008 11:53 pm
It went great. Just got home last night at about midnight. The worst
part was traveling. Here is my narrative of the trip:
We arrived on Sunday morning and called the shuttle. The shuttle
drivers for the Hampton are wonderful! We tipped them a lot
throughout our stay.... much deserved. He brought us to the hotel and
we checked in. Our room was nice, a little small, but nice
nontheless. We decided to take a quick nap and then headed out to see
a little of Louisville.
Sundays almost everything is closed! We went to the Louisville
Slugger factory (that was fun, although we didnt do the tour, we just
got a couple of personalized bats for our boys) then we headed out to
the science museum. They had a IMAX theater and a lot of hands on
exhibits. From there, we ate at a mexican restaurant that was pretty
good. From there, we had the shuttle take us to 4th street Live. We
wished we knew about it before we ate at the mexican place becuase
4th street has Hard Rock Cafe and lots of bars and food to choose
from. We went to Lucky Strike and bowled a couple of games. Great
place, was more of a lounge and the staff there was awesome. After
that, we went back to the hotel and walked around for a bit and then
went up to our room to play cards and hopefully get some rest.
Monday morning, we got up and my husband ate breakfast (good variety
of choices available) and we waited for our time to go. I was
scheduled for 9:30a so the shuttle took us over at nine. I checked in
and then went to the waiting area. They called my name and I went
into the cubicle with the admin person and answered all her
questions. She gave me a hospital wristband and directed me to go
upstairs to the 2nd floor outpatient surgery. Once there, they called
my name and brought be back while my husband waited. They gave me a
hospital gown and socks and a hair cover. I had to place all of my
clothes into a bag they supplied and then they bought me to the
examination area. The nurse came and asked a lot of questions about
medical history, when the last time I ate, etc. She took my vitals
and attempted to start an IV. She had a lot of trouble and "blew out
my vein" on my right arm. Boy did that hurt! (I have a bruise about
the size of a half dollar now). She apologized and said that she had
to get a smaller needle and would be right back. She brought back
another and started an IV in my left hand instead. The
anesthesiologist came in and asked me a lot of questions and
explained what his role was going to be, then left. They brought my
husband in and we chatted for about ten minutes until Dr Levin came
in. He introduced himself and then asked to examine my belly. I have
had two previous C-Sections, so he said that I had a lot of scar
tissue that he could feel and so he opted to do the vertical
incision. I told him that I didnt care about having another scar and
do whatever was necessary. After all, he is the expert, right? :)
He asked if we had any questions, and I asked if they were going to
place a catheter and he answered that they did during the surgery.
We didnt have any other questions, so he said he would see me soon.
About five minutes later, he came back and said that they couldnt do
the surgery. He asked how I was feeling, he checked my eyes and
pressed on my skin and said that my bloodwork indicated a serious
issue iron issue. I said I felt just fine, and so he said that they
were going to take more blood samples and decide from there. They
went ahead and wheeled me into the operating room and took some more
blood. They gave me some oxygen and that is the last thing I
remember until waking up in recovery....
They brought my husband in and he helped me get dressed. I was quite
woozy, but I remember looking at the bandages on my abdomen. There
were about six rows of spongy tape overlapping and holding a little
pressure on my belly. By the way, I dont remember any documentation
telling me what to bring to wear back to the hotel. I brought a tee
and a pair of cozy jammy pants with some flip flops. It was perfect!
I had the pants riding low on my hips and there was absolutely no
pressure on the bandages. We got back to the room and I took a
couple of pills and rested. A couple of hours later I woke up
incredibly hungry, so Marcus and I had the shuttle take us over to
McDonalds. Not healthy, but fast and easy. I took notes on the pills
I took. That night, I took one stool softener every six hours and
one Oxycodone every three. I woke up like clockwork to take the
pills, didnt even set the alarm. I was sore, but in great spirits.
Tuesday morning, we woke up and I showered. Marcus read the
instructions and removed the outer layer of spongy tape and then
removed the inner bandage over my incision. It looked great! Nice
vertical incision with about twenty five or so staples running from
just below the belly button all the way down to my c-section scar. I
used a Kotex extra long thin pad to lightly cover the incision and
protect it from being rubbed by my panties and wore soft elastic
banded terry pants and a tee. We then just waited for Dr Levin to
show up.
He arrived just before 9am and we chatted a bit about the blood issue
(he said that he thinks the lab submitted the incorrect report to
him. They checked the new sample and then re-tested the first and
they were both perfect, no issues!) then Venica checked on the
incision. He explained that they removed a LOT of scar tissue from
my previous C-sections and also some scar tissue that they found
around the left side. He said they initially didnt think that they
could do anything with my right tube because it had folded in half
and healed back to itself, so they moved on to my left. After they
were done with the left side, they decided to re-address the right.
He found a line of scar tissue in between where it fused to itself
and was able to cut right down it and free the tube back straight.
He said they both cheered when they saw it was open and straight and
they were able to connect it back up with no further problems. I am
amazed, I ended up with 10 cm on the right and 12 cm on the left!!!
A 4ww. I thanked both of them and my husband took a photo of us.
Hugs all around and then they left to meet with the next girl.
We had quite an adventure trying to get back to Portland. Our first
plane was delayed, so we missed our connection. Continental said
that we could wait on standby for 4 hours until the next flight. Ya,
whatever! I couldnt imagine sitting in an airport for that long, not
knowing if we could even make it on the flight. My husband asked for
a supervisor, we explained that I had just had surgery and a long
wait around an airport wasnt an option and he suggested that they
find another airline for us to fly. They did! They re-routed us
through Las Vegas and then switched us to Alaska Airlines for the
final leg home. We got home three hours late, but soooo thankful
that we are here.
The pain is getting better, but I am just incredibly sore. The stool
softeners were a great tip. I have had no problems with
constipation. I have found that the oxycodone makes me way too
dizzy and I get sick with vertigo, so I am not currently taking it.
I am sticking with 1000mg of Extra Strength Tylenol. It takes the
edge off and makes it bearable. I feel much better when I am not
foggy headed and sick. I like keeping a pillow handy and having it
to put a little pressue and support on my abdomen. Mostly, I am just
tired and thankful it is all over. Now just the waiting part.....
then the trying.... what an adventure!
~Amy (32)
DH (34)
DS (5)
DS (3)
TL 11/04
TR 6/9/08
No comments:
Post a Comment