Small, but still an operation, left me with a bit of fear of the unknown. I welcome new experiences, be they good or bad. Odd, is it not?
The wait was not overly taxing, but a bit long. I tried deep breathing, but in the end this did not lower my BP. Still, I did not have anxiety within my thoughts. I moved from one waiting area to another. The ear protection helped me block out the busy and unfamiliar outside stimulus. I had prepared well.
The IV drip was non-eventful, and really, should have been expected. Drip, drip drip, one a second. I reached into my bag for my phone and then found I had dislodged it, wetting my hand. Not a good sign, haha. Then I did it again, unfortunately, but it was not I that discovered red drips on the ground. I did not notice. Next time I used my right hand. Cleanup was easy.
I walked with her, she, at ease in her environment, but I in very unfamiliar territory. The room was medium sized, with a single table in the middle and two big lights on top. I stepped up onto a foot stool and laid down. Pillow on one end, no need to ask. There were introductions to 3 nurses, one named Emma, I forgot the other two, and two docs, one doing anesthesia. It was all very friendly.
The two lights each had 4 groups of 4 on the perimeter, and then in the center had two sets of four. The exact center was empty, for a handle. One of the lights, the one nearest to my head, had 2 of the middle set of lights seemingly burned out.
The nurses pulled my arms out of my smock and laid them down on both sides. I had not felt cold initially, but then started to shiver, so asked for and received blankets. Initial reading was 178/98. I had guessed way low. There was no calming down, as expected I guess. I guessed 160, which I thought was high, haha, no.
He was very descriptive and told me exactly what he was doing. There were no surprises. Three needles for a local freeze pinched a bit, but he told me it was coming. Ten mins later there was no feeling. The first cut, forewarned, I did not feel.I estimate about 20 mins of pulling feeling, and the deed was done. For a 5mm hole, only a single suture was required. He then buttoned it up.
I was not allowed to sit up, but scooched over to a wheeled stretcher. The trip down the hallway, with the florescent lights going by reminded me of many scary movies. It was a surreal experience. In the recovery area I was given apple juice, and then asked to pee. The rest was uneventful.
Local anesthesia is safer, less complex and wears off faster. In the evening some pain arrived, but it was ok. Sleep was ok, but turning positions was painful. I’ll take it easy for quite a number of days.
These events are inevitable, which makes them memorable though not pleasurable. I take the good with the bad.
Day 1: Sleep was ok, but turning was painful. Bending too much is painful. Can’t puck up anything heavy. Exercise is delayed.