Check in at 6 am on Thursday morning came to soon.
My mother and I had to drive up Wednesday night in order to be able to check in on Thursday morning. We stopped in Provo to spend the night at my Aunt and Uncle Edgington's house. Because we weren't able to find out the time of my surgery until Wednesday around 2 pm, it made it difficult for us to fly up and find a hotel that was cheaper than $249 so we drove. I remember being very uncomfortable on the drive up cause I was so nervous with every passing mile. The surgery was going to cost more than we had first initiated, the time was hard for us to get make and finding a place to stay was ridiculous. We ended up just winging it and everything worked out. I arrived and checked into the kiosk at 6 am at the Pioneer Valley Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. We talked to a lady quickly about some of my information and then she walked us down to the surgical wing. I was then taken into the bathroom to get a urine sample. It is very difficult to go to the bathroom when you are so nervous! I then changed into a very large purple gown that was way to big for me and sat in a large chair. I felt like a queen (NOT AT ALL ACTUALLY)!
From there a lovely lady named Valerie got my IV all set up. Problem was that she got the valve on my left hand so the needle wouldn't go in all the way so she had to switch hands to make it stay. The right hand was a success! :) I had to fill out some paperwork and wait until my room was all prepped and I had met all the guys helping out with my surgery! Dr. Dan Richards performed the surgery, Dr. Chen was my anesthesiologist, and Craig who was the PA. I was wheeled into the surgical room while I was still conscious, and man, it was full of equipment, it was almost intimidating! Soon enough, I started feeling that the room was spinning and I couldn't remember what Dr. Chen had asked me.. Then I was out!
....3.5 HOURS LATER....
I finally woke up! Well I attempted to wake up. I had been under so much anesthesia that it took me a very long time to wake up and gain consciousness! I kept asking the recovery nurse if she was okay and if she wanted to share some of the blanket with me. She asked me if I wanted some juice or water and I told her that my mom wanted some juice even though I hadn't seen my mom since before I left for the surgical room. Needless to say, I was definitely still on the drugs. After that, I became very dizzy and sick to my stomach. They tried to get me to sit up but I couldn't do it. The whole room was spinning and wouldn't stop. This feeling lasted for a very long time. I finally got to get dressed in my own clothes (which the mean red headed nurse made me do all by myself) and take a trip to the bathroom. I ended up throwing up instead. My leg also gave out on me, thank goodness I had a nurse right there with me to catch me. I made it back to my bed and laid there for many more hours. Smells would make me nauseous, too much talking would make me dizzy, and I was just wore out after taking a sip of water. I felt like I was on my death bed.
6 pm rolled around and I attempted to go to the bathroom once again. It took some encouraging but I managed to accomplish the task. I was now able to leave the hospital and head home. Once I got all situated in the car, we headed south back home to St. George. Without fail, we had to make a pit stop every hour to get up and move and take a bathroom break, I had wayy too much liquid in my body! (They pumped me full of 2 large bags of liquid and one small bag of liquid, plus I had drank about 24 oz. of water) Once we hit Cedar City, I was completely miserable. My mom would not allow me to take any pain medicine because I had not eaten anything, but due to my pain level in Cedar, she made an exception and let me take a loritab with a nausea pill. I ended up going to the bathroom 3 different times in Cedar, which was quite the chore but it wore me out enough that I could sleep in the car for the last hour we had. I was never so excited to see my house! I got home and all settled in and was asleep before anyone could say goodnight!
6 pm rolled around and I attempted to go to the bathroom once again. It took some encouraging but I managed to accomplish the task. I was now able to leave the hospital and head home. Once I got all situated in the car, we headed south back home to St. George. Without fail, we had to make a pit stop every hour to get up and move and take a bathroom break, I had wayy too much liquid in my body! (They pumped me full of 2 large bags of liquid and one small bag of liquid, plus I had drank about 24 oz. of water) Once we hit Cedar City, I was completely miserable. My mom would not allow me to take any pain medicine because I had not eaten anything, but due to my pain level in Cedar, she made an exception and let me take a loritab with a nausea pill. I ended up going to the bathroom 3 different times in Cedar, which was quite the chore but it wore me out enough that I could sleep in the car for the last hour we had. I was never so excited to see my house! I got home and all settled in and was asleep before anyone could say goodnight!
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