Drinks are now permitted up to two hours prior to your scheduled arrival time at the hospital: water, apple juice, Gatorade, sodas, (Coke is one of the examples in the above pamphlet!) and black coffee with no milk or creamer. They’ve found that hydrated patients usually have less trouble with nausea.
So when I awoke at four AM on surgery day, I took a few sips of my beloved Coca-cola.
What’s NOT allowed is makeup. I put on a minuscule amount, but let’s keep that our secret.
As Cliff drove me to UNC Hospital an hour later, I had five predominant fears about the day ahead.
1. At the top of the list was the pathology report. The pathology would be done while I was under. I’d know right away.
2. Nausea upon waking. I hate to throw up, and my body does not handle it with grace.
3. The intubating tube being pulled from my throat. The nurse in Precare said they do this AFTER you’re awake, but you’re too groggy to notice. Yikes. Groggy or not, that sounded bad.
4. The catheter. This would be inserted while I was under, but the whole concept creeped me out.
5. A roommate. I’m a people person, but not a room-sharer. I kept telling myself this was nothing compared with Fear Number One (and the others). Buck up. Barbara. Your hospital stay is only one night.
When we got to pre-op, I was whisked away to a large cubicle with a Carolina blue curtain. (This was UNC, after all.)
A resident and a medical student were the first to pop in. “Can you explain what you’re having done today?” the resident asked me.
“I’m having my uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, and nearby lymph nodes removed because I have uterine cancer. While I’m out, pathology will be done. If the cancer is in the lymph nodes, they’ll take additional nodes to determine how far it has spread.”
“Excellent!” she said.
I felt pleased to pass the test. (Those of us who work with words take our praise in whatever form we can.)
We chatted about my illness, the surgery, and what the recovery should be like.
They left, and I met my pre-op nurse. Jeannie put me at ease and did an IV in my hand so painless I hardly knew it was happening.
An anesthesiologist introduced herself next. I noted to myself how good her hair looked for 6:40 in the morning (smooth and curled in a pageboy).
“I hate to throw up,” I told her.
“No worries. We’ve got great drugs we’ll put in that IV. How are your teeth? Do they chip?”
On no! My teeth love to chip, especially on important occasions.
She promised to be careful. “And what about reflux?”
“I had a bout of reflux a few years ago,” I said.
“Tilt your head back. Let me look at your airway.”
What if my airway is bad? What happens then, I wondered, but didn’t ask.
“Good airway,” she said.
Phew!
Jeannie sent for Cliff.
He snapped this picture and filled me in on life in the waiting room, which sounded like it had soap opera potential. He’d have time to soak up plenty more during my three hour operation.
Throughout this entire process, I kept my eye on the clock in front of me. I watched it move from 6:15 to 7:25, sort of like waiting for midnight on New Year’s Eve but without any hope of champagne.*
With a word from Jeannie, Cliff kissed me goodbye and was off.
And so was I, to the operating room.
I’ve been told you don’t remember much about the operating room. I tried to pay attention.
I saw the fancy robotic instruments, and that’s all I had time to take in.
They had me scooch from the chair in the picture above to the operating table.
Someone put a mask over my face. “Breathe, Barbara. This is oxygen. The anesthesia is coming next in your IV line.”
Two weeks before the surgery, I asked my son-in-law Matt how he dealt with his surgery, a spinal fusion, at age twenty. “Were you scared?”
“Not really. I figured there’s no one more qualified to help you than the doctors,” Matt answered.
I love simple advice that is oh-so-smart. And in its simplicity, the best advice sticks with us.
I kept Matt’s words in my head and heart the weeks before surgery and especially that morning.
I couldn’t save my own life.
I needed the expertise of my surgeon and her team.
Take it way, Dr. Gehrig.
And thank you.
Click on the photo above to hear my surgeon, Paola Gehrig, talk about endometrial cancer.
* Actually, as it turned out, there is champagne in the story, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
This post brings tears to my eyes, Barbara. Thank you for sharing all the intimate details of your surgery–it’ll bring comfort to those who will or have gone through this–to know they are not alone.
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Thanks, Carol! Surgery day ended up being one of the happiest of my life. I never would have guessed that!
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Wonderful post! Love the bit about waiting for midnight with no hope of champagne! That describes many times in our lives; glad your wait was so successful. Also, love Matt’s advice about doctors; that was helpful.
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Funny how the simple advice can really hit happily home. And one could argue, what if the doctor is off her game that morning or some other problem comes up, but knowing how skilled my surgeon is really did help me.
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Hurray for women doctors! And for a smart, sensible son-in-law; now if only that curtain was a deeper shade of blue 🙂 Hope you are healing well in body and spirit at the beach!
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Beach was great. Home with the post-beach blues but might just be that I miss Mr. Mazen.
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It’s as if I was there with you. I’m so sorry this had to go through all this. I get the thoughts.
Carol
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Thanks, Carol, for the writer’s pick-me-up!
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Bring on the champagne. Having just been through a hospital experience with my mother, I do feel you give yourself over to the md’s etc and often aren’t told to much. Glad all went well.
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Which reminds me, I haven’t sent your mom her card. Will do so today!
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All hospital experiences are scary and couple that with Cancer and it puts you in another league! You had a great attitude and did well!
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Yes. Saying the words “endometrial cancer” sure took some getting used to.
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Good for you for dealing with this with strength, faith, honesty and a sense of humor. Keep getting better and better.
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The humor sure helps. Cliff and I had the best time ordering food from the crazy menu.They must have had like six different kinds of chicken!
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Your writings about your surgery, Barbara, are so very helpful to women, and will continue to be as people visit your posts. You really do bring alive for people what it feels like to go through an experience such as this. And, can’t wait to hear about the “champagne” ending! ~ Phyllis
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Champagne was a ton of fun, but it’s not a good idea to drink two and half glasses after consuming no alcohol for three weeks!
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You are so brave to share your story, and with pictures, too! 😉
This has been so helpful. Your straight forward approach, both to the experience and the telling, is very comforting. And, yes, three cheers for good advice! I like what Matt said, and it seems everyone on the surgical team knew just what to say. Again, thanks for sharing, Barbara. I am so glad you are on the mend. Anxious to read about the champagne…
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Thanks, Patti. We had fun with the pictures. I wish we’d taken a few more. Not posting some frumpy ones of me apres surgery. I’m brave but not that brave!
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Brava, Barbara, for your bravery in the face of cancer surgery and for sharing it with us so articulately and compelngly. So glad it went well and all best wishes for a speedy recovery! xo
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Thanks, Ann! I miss thinking about our almost-book but am very excited about your novel!
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Thanks for helping other by being a reporter on the scene. I am glad you are getting good medical care.
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You’re welcome. I wish I could go back in time and observe even more. It all happened so fast (which is maybe a good thing!)
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Thank you for your sharing intimate details about your courageous fight to be well. There’s so many layers of lessons in there for us all to absorb. Prayers for your continued health and wellness.
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Thanks so much!A much different writing experience than writing for kids, but the process helped me in many ways!
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