After my last post, I was so angry about the direction my healthcare was taking. I know that a sick person for doctors is a business, but it should never be treated that way. At the recommendation of my boss, who suffered the same frustration with a treatment she needed, I went to see a doctor at the mayo hospital. It is one of the best hospitals and their reputation for service is stellar. I went in during my lunch on Tuesday the 18th. The campus was beautiful and all the people were nice. I saw dr magtiby, and I heard about eight different pronunciations of his name in the time I was there. I told him all my symptoms and we talked about the degree of pain I was in. he was very honest and direct and told me if everything went okay, I could have surgery the next day. My eyes welled when he told me that this pain would be taken care of and that I could get back to being normal and taking care of my family. So after finishing everything up at work, I went home and prepared for surgery. I had to be on a complete fast for 18 hours, which meant no food or drink. That was tough. In the morning, I put on some sweatpants and a sweatshirt (because hospitals are always cold) and got a book and my pink blanket and we headed out. It was an outpatient procedure so I didn’t bring an overnight bag. We dropped off landon for the day and I gave him a big hug because I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick him up or hold him for a week to two weeks. Jordan had to go in to work so he dropped me off at the hospital early. I sat patiently in the waiting room and listened to all the other reasons people were having surgery that day. One man was having a kidney removed, one woman was having a mastectomy, and one boy was having his arm broken again to the bones to heal right. I was nervous but it was much more comforting at this hospital then I wouldn’t felt at my originally intended hospital. The nurse called me in and I had to put on that ridiculous sheet gown they make you wear. They started an IV and the doctor came in and drew a purple x on my right side. Just as I was going to be put out, Jordan popped in and told me he’d be waiting for me when I was all done. That was the best thing, to see him before I went in. they put me under and the next thing I knew, I was in the recovery area. The doctor had made four incisions into my abdomen; one to look into the right ovary and take care of the mass that was there. One into the belly button to look around the stomach and intestines and to remove the appendix. A third to look into the uterus and clean some tissue out that was still there from having landon, and a fourth to look at the bladder and other organs in that area. The surgery all lasted about 2 hours. I was beat up. The recovery area had about 10 beds and some of the people who were in the waiting room were in there too. The nurses laughed because I kept falling asleep and then waking up suddenly and calling out to them, like separation anxiety. They kept asking what my pain from 1 to 10 was and it was really terrible for the first few hours. Jordan came back to see me and said he had to go get landon from daycare. The doctor said I couldn’t leave that night. I was in too much pain and my vitals weren’t strong enough. So they put me in a recovery room of my own and my nurses were fantastic; I wanted for nothing. If I was tired, they turned the lights off, if I was thirsty, they got me some juice, and if I was in pain, they had the stuff to help me. My mom was great too. She called me at least three times a day to see how I was and to make sure she didn’t have to have some words with any nurses about taking care of her baby girl. The whole time I was in recovery, my blood pressure was really low, which was odd. When it was time to get up and try to walk, I only got a few steps before I felt sick and dizzy and passed out a little in the hallway. I was really tired too. I’d be awake just long enough for the nurses to check in on me and then I’d drift off again. It was partially due to the medicine they gave me, but my body was working really hard to heal me. Good thing the nurses were right there to catch me. I didn’t get to go home that day either. On Friday, I was up walking a little at a time and actually got to eat some food. Jordan came and took me home and I was glad to be home, but it was different. In the hospital, I was allowed to be down and weak and taken care of. At home, I had responsibilities and I felt terrible not fulfilling them….especially not being able to hold Landon when he was sleepy at bedtime. I was really sick Friday night. I had a high fever with chills and shaking. Jordan loaded me up with blankets and I feel asleep for awhile but when I woke up, I was throwing up and clammy and felt awful. I finally fell back to sleep. Saturday, we were all supposed to drive to California for our friend’s mark and kami’s wedding and there was no way I could go. Thankfully, our friends Ryan and kami watched Landon overnight. They are great! Landon loves to play over there too because kade has all the big boy toys. Jordan left and I slept most of the day, trying to get up every once and awhile to see if I could walk some more. Sunday, kami brought Landon back over and Kyle, my dear brother in law, came to help. He’s a great uncle and Landon adores him. Kyle brought us jack in the box which I don’t really eat but it was the first meal in over a week that I was able to keep down, so I was happy. Jordan came home and worked from home yesterday to help take care of me. I’m still really sore and can’t do much. My stomach is all bruised this yellow kind of bruise. I go back to the doctor tomorrow so he can tell me what, if anything, he found in the biopsies and during the surgery. Hopefully, he fixed whatever the problem was and everything will be fine. If not, I’m confident that if I have to be treated for something else, that the mayo hospital is the place to have to done at. I’ll be letting you all know what he has to say about his trip into my abdominal cavity tomorrow!
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