I arrived at the hospital at 8:50am sharp for a 9:15 am appointment to check in. As I arrived I was given forms to fill out and told to wait in the marked area until my name was called. I was quickly called and led into the back room, where I was given a pathetic hospital gown and slippers to put on. My vital signs where taken and then I was told I could wait in another waiting area and was allowed for my family members to come in with me. We sat and chatted nervously and I called my husband to say I’d talk to him later in the day. Before I knew it my time had come….an OR nurse came out and asked me to back into another room with her where she would begin to prepare me for surgery.
The “other room” was a cold and sterile environment filled with medical equipment. I was given a bed to lay on while a hefty dose of medicinal cocktails were prepared for me. “This is what you doctor order for you preop”, I was told by nurse Cratchett. Then an IV was inserted into my left hand, luckily it made it’s way in during the first attempt. The cool liquid began to flow into my arm and then I was given some Versed to ward off any second thoughts I may have been having. I was visited by an Anesthesiologist and cleared for surgery. Then at 10:40 am I was rolled into the coldest operating room I have ever encountered. It was filled with women! The entire team the was involved in my procedure were women! I joked about “women power”. I asked where the “robot” was that was the guest of honor during my surgery. It was a rather large and menacing looking device sitting in the corner of the OR.
Attendants scurried around to prepare the room for their work. The Anesthesiologist came up to my side with a slew of IV medications in her hand. She approached me in a very quiet manner and an oxygen mask was placed on my face. I kept on talking and asking questions, that’s me…can’t ever know enough! Soon I was experiencing the twilight zone start to impend upon me. Then I drifted off.
Several hours later I woke to a tube being pulled out of throat and my surgeon whispering in my ear “it was over and everything was a success”. A few minutes later something seriously happened. I heard people talking about me and alarms and buzzers going off. “I’m paging the Doctor” one nurse said. I could hear in her voice that something was wrong. I remember gasping for my breath but could not breathe, my heart was racing and I was in incredible pain. I began to moan and was given pain meds immediately. I was gasping for air and could not get any. Pain filled my body and abdomen, searing me like a knife. This episode went on for over four hours I was told. My mother was allowed to come by my side for only a moment. I remember her telling that “she needed me”. The rest was a blur.
The next thing I remember was being wheeled into my hospital room and placed on oxygen and other equipment. I was in tremendous pain, but was given pain meds within seconds of moaning. Sweat was running off my body profusely and the bedding beneath me was becoming saturated. “Take deep breaths, and try not to talk” I was told. My mother was by my side at this time. My husband was calling and was not able to get much info from anyone other than my mom. He was terrified I later learned. The rest of the evening and night became a blur. My family and friends had to leave, so I laid there and drifted in and out of a drug-induced sleep.
I did not find out what happened in the recovery room for several days. What went so wrong. What caused me to alarm everyone and cause such a ruckus? I am told that I had a “reaction” to a medication that was used to counteract the effects of anesthesia. My heart rate had gone up to over 200 beats per minute, my BP had dropped drastically low, and my oxygen level could not be maintained to over 70%. No wonder I was gasping and my chest was heaving. I am very lucky, my doctor returned quickly and acted fast to counteract this event.
Looking back over three weeks later, I cannot say that I would go through this again. I can only hope I made the right decision. Each day is a struggle to drink enough liquids and to be able to get enough protein in. I am a bit frustrated, hopefully it gets better every day. 
