Brokeback nose brokeback no more
I was a nervous wreck yesterday morning. I went on the treadmill for almost an hour to try to burn off the nervousness. Had a few more phone calls from people (one was a huge surprise, but I was glad I got the call), then Robin came to pick me up to take me to the hospital.
She works for the post office and they get a 2-hour lunch break, but work from 8 am - 530 pm, so it's a long day for her. We went to her house first to let her dogs out and talk about what's going on in her life, my life, etc.
She dropped me off at the hospital promptly at 130 pm. I had two magazines and a book with me. I'm glad I brought them. I had an EKG done; my previous blood work, which was done in late April for my life insurance, was accepted, so I didn't have to have blood drawn. I was weighed and it turns out I've lost over 40 pounds since Chris died. Wow.
Was asked to change into hospital jammies and put into my own room in the "Short Stay" (outpatient) area. Many nurses in and out. Very nice folks. Turns out most are from York and they all knew Robin from the post office. She's a celebrity at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, ha ha! The doc had asked me to bring in a photo of me, so I'd brought in my book cover photo. Everyone thought it was wonderful and they all said they were going to the local Barnes & Noble to buy my book. I have new fans!
The doctor came in, was very funny and said since all the operating rooms were occupied (by now it was almost 430, an hour past my original surgery time), he was going to do the reset in the recovery room. He called Robin to tell her he was running late (she said later she was shocked he called and not a nurse). I told him if he did a good job on my nose, he was getting a free copy of my book. Afterwards, I wondered if that was a good thing to do, ha ha.
"All I need is an anesthesiologist and me," he declared. I called him SUPER DOCTOR in a superhero like voice and he burst out laughing. I like him.
The anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself and injected some drugs into my IV. Yay!
I was then wheeled into the impromptu operating room and was given more drugs. Yay again! I told them all a really bad joke:
Grasshopper goes into a bar.
Bartender says, "They have a drink named after you."
Grasshopper replies, "Really? It's named Bruce?"
(drum roll please)
Then I was out like a light.
I woke up just as the doc was putting the bandages on my nose. I thought they were going to throw a party. They were all thrilled (by now the nurses had all come in) my nose slid right back into place. Hooray!
The post op nurse was a sweetheart. She and I talked for a long time about everything: Chris dying, my online dating experiences, our dogs, her house. She was wonderful. I was given apple juice, crackers and told to go pee. She called my mom to let her know I was okay and everything went well. My cell phone and wallet were brought back from the hospital safe and three messages were on it:
My sister
V2
Rob
Rob? Hmm. I called my sister to let her know I was okay, V2 also, then left a message on Rob's cell that I was in the hospital. I hadn't expected him at the house until today at the earliest. He sounded worried because he saw my car was home, the dogs were home, but my mom wasn't dogsitting.
How sweet.
I called Robin to come get me, talked with the nurse some more. I was still woozy, but not as bad as I thought I would be. She gave me a Tylenol w/codeine.
I was wheeled out to Robin's car. She took me to the drugstore to get more pain pills, then through Wendy's to get some quick din-din for me and the dogs (two cheeseburgers for them, a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings for me, french fries for Robin). Don't get the onion rings from Wendys. They were horrible.
She dropped me off at the house at 730 pm and made sure I was okay before leaving. Called my mom, talked to some more people, ate my dinner and went to bed before 9 pm.
Bandit decided to play doctor. He came into the bedroom every hour and bumped the bed to wake me up. I think he was making sure I was okay. I took him out a few times before realizing this. He finally let me sleep through for three hours straight when I had a little talk with him at 530 am. "Nurse" Guin slept between my legs all night, keeping me warm.
I woke up once, my nose was itchy and before I thought of it, rubbed my nose. OUCH! Took a pain pill.
Finally got up at 830 this morning, had my OJ and coffee, gave the dogs their cheese. Rob left me a note. On a large piece of wood. Silly boy. Wrote he hoped I was okay and was going to come by today or tomorrow. He staked my tomato plants in the garden for me. Hmm.
I have a hair appointment at 11 am. I was going to cancel it, but Robin and V2 encouraged me to keep it. After all, I'll just be sitting or lying back and won't have to worry about getting the bandages on my nose wet. Speaking of, they're flesh-colored and other than a little swelling the bruising going down from last week, I look almost normal. I am so relieved. If wiped out.
She works for the post office and they get a 2-hour lunch break, but work from 8 am - 530 pm, so it's a long day for her. We went to her house first to let her dogs out and talk about what's going on in her life, my life, etc.
She dropped me off at the hospital promptly at 130 pm. I had two magazines and a book with me. I'm glad I brought them. I had an EKG done; my previous blood work, which was done in late April for my life insurance, was accepted, so I didn't have to have blood drawn. I was weighed and it turns out I've lost over 40 pounds since Chris died. Wow.
Was asked to change into hospital jammies and put into my own room in the "Short Stay" (outpatient) area. Many nurses in and out. Very nice folks. Turns out most are from York and they all knew Robin from the post office. She's a celebrity at Portsmouth Regional Hospital, ha ha! The doc had asked me to bring in a photo of me, so I'd brought in my book cover photo. Everyone thought it was wonderful and they all said they were going to the local Barnes & Noble to buy my book. I have new fans!
The doctor came in, was very funny and said since all the operating rooms were occupied (by now it was almost 430, an hour past my original surgery time), he was going to do the reset in the recovery room. He called Robin to tell her he was running late (she said later she was shocked he called and not a nurse). I told him if he did a good job on my nose, he was getting a free copy of my book. Afterwards, I wondered if that was a good thing to do, ha ha.
"All I need is an anesthesiologist and me," he declared. I called him SUPER DOCTOR in a superhero like voice and he burst out laughing. I like him.
The anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself and injected some drugs into my IV. Yay!
I was then wheeled into the impromptu operating room and was given more drugs. Yay again! I told them all a really bad joke:
Grasshopper goes into a bar.
Bartender says, "They have a drink named after you."
Grasshopper replies, "Really? It's named Bruce?"
(drum roll please)
Then I was out like a light.
I woke up just as the doc was putting the bandages on my nose. I thought they were going to throw a party. They were all thrilled (by now the nurses had all come in) my nose slid right back into place. Hooray!
The post op nurse was a sweetheart. She and I talked for a long time about everything: Chris dying, my online dating experiences, our dogs, her house. She was wonderful. I was given apple juice, crackers and told to go pee. She called my mom to let her know I was okay and everything went well. My cell phone and wallet were brought back from the hospital safe and three messages were on it:
My sister
V2
Rob
Rob? Hmm. I called my sister to let her know I was okay, V2 also, then left a message on Rob's cell that I was in the hospital. I hadn't expected him at the house until today at the earliest. He sounded worried because he saw my car was home, the dogs were home, but my mom wasn't dogsitting.
How sweet.
I called Robin to come get me, talked with the nurse some more. I was still woozy, but not as bad as I thought I would be. She gave me a Tylenol w/codeine.
I was wheeled out to Robin's car. She took me to the drugstore to get more pain pills, then through Wendy's to get some quick din-din for me and the dogs (two cheeseburgers for them, a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings for me, french fries for Robin). Don't get the onion rings from Wendys. They were horrible.
She dropped me off at the house at 730 pm and made sure I was okay before leaving. Called my mom, talked to some more people, ate my dinner and went to bed before 9 pm.
Bandit decided to play doctor. He came into the bedroom every hour and bumped the bed to wake me up. I think he was making sure I was okay. I took him out a few times before realizing this. He finally let me sleep through for three hours straight when I had a little talk with him at 530 am. "Nurse" Guin slept between my legs all night, keeping me warm.
I woke up once, my nose was itchy and before I thought of it, rubbed my nose. OUCH! Took a pain pill.
Finally got up at 830 this morning, had my OJ and coffee, gave the dogs their cheese. Rob left me a note. On a large piece of wood. Silly boy. Wrote he hoped I was okay and was going to come by today or tomorrow. He staked my tomato plants in the garden for me. Hmm.
I have a hair appointment at 11 am. I was going to cancel it, but Robin and V2 encouraged me to keep it. After all, I'll just be sitting or lying back and won't have to worry about getting the bandages on my nose wet. Speaking of, they're flesh-colored and other than a little swelling the bruising going down from last week, I look almost normal. I am so relieved. If wiped out.
Comments