And thus my journey begins...

The morning of my surgery, I was finally over the freaked out stage of my decision to move forward with surgery and was more than ready to get it done. I awoke early took a shower, kissed my children goodbye and headed off to Rockville General Hospital for what I was praying would become a positive change in my condition. I arrived to be prepped at the surgery facility and was surprised to learn that almost every surgery scheduled that day was cancelled but mine.I was sent to change into my hospital gown and mark the area on my body where the surgery was to be performed. When the nurse (Mary) saw my abdomen there was immediate panic, you see the nurse at my general practitioner recommended that I shave my body hair off before I arrived so that I wouldn't get hacked up in the operating room by a dry razor shave. Turns out this was greatly frowned upon because the 2 days of growth caused razor burn / rash. I was informed that I would have to wait until all the medical staff saw it and agreed to proceed otherwise they would have to reschedule my surgery.

After being oogled by multiple Dr.s I was given the okay to proceed. I was a little frustrated by the whole ordeal but at the same time I felt like my situation was the highlight of the day as I became the subject of conversation to everyone who made their way through the pre-op room. Moral of the story is don't shave anything before going in for surgery, they use fancy little clippers now no more razors!

 I made note of the pre-op nurse earlier, her name is Mary and her presence made me feel even more at ease. You see she was the nurse who prepped me for my gall bladder surgery 2 years ago. Why would I remember her you may ask - well as a married man there are very few women that would demand I get naked and my wife wouldn't get upset when I did! As soon as the approval was given to proceed everything went into fast forward. I began my normal nervous chatter and mentioned that I was sad I wouldn't be getting a blueberry muffin when I came out of the recovery room. When I had my gall bladder out I was so hungry despite not being a fan of muffins I was presented with one and 2 cups of cranberry juice. Now these aren't your average every day muffins they get them daily from a local bakery and they are amazing. I was then given the chance to kiss my beautiful wife and quickly found myself being moved from the gurney onto the operating table. The Operating room was as cold as I remembered from my last surgery and to keep myself calm I made small talk with the different people in the room which included a few medical students. I felt the heat of the anesthesia injection from the IV in my hand and quickly lost consciousness. It seemed like only moments later that my eyes opened and nurse Kim was standing at the end of my bed smiling back at me, the scariest part of my journey so far was over!

I don't remember what we said but a short time later Kim was wheeling me towards my room. My surgery started around 08:00 and Rebecca was notified they were finishing my sutures just before 14:00. I remember looking at the clock and it was just after 15:00 and my wife was walking toward me with a look of relief. Nurse Kim seemed energized by my excitement. I sat in awe of being able to feel my feet and toes without numbness or pain which had me giddy with joy! It was at this point she handed me a care package from Nurse Mary in Same Day Surgery  - not one but three beautiful Blueberry Muffins! It may not seem like much but my experience at this hospital has always had moments like these, moments that just seem to lighten the mood time and time again.

Now you have to understand I was initially informed that it could be a day or two before I would be able to eat solid food because of the displacement of my stomach and bowels. A step that was necessary to access my spine from the front but is known to put these organs into a coma like state. I was in and out of consciousness until around 17:00 when I asked if I could empty my bladder. The nurse came into the room and assisted me onto my feet and let me go into the bathroom with a urinal. I was surprised that they sent me to my room without a catheter and was eager to show them that it wouldn't be necessary!  I felt like a superstar - most people don't recall the praise from their parents when they finally became potty trained but I imagine it was much like the experience of handing over my almost filled bottle like a big boy!

The nurse helped me back to my bed and after taking some vitals and listening to my stomach informed me that I no longer needed to wait and handed me the room service menu to order my first meal of the stay. Rebecca went over the menu multiple times with me and despite her efforts to help me make a decision I was more interested with sleeping and her voice was like that of an angel lulling me to sleep. I finally sat up enough to make a decision, Chicken Stir Fry, a Cup of Green Jello, a Fresh Fruit and Cottage Cheese salad and 2 prune juice and 2 cranberry juice cups to wash it all down. 

Menu Cover

Breakfast options  - served all day!

Lunch/Dinner meals

Grill / Deli / Pizza/Pasta Bar / Sides and Beverages

I would love to tell you that I finished everything on my plate but I didn't. I ate a few strips of chicken and most of the carrots, I finished the fruit and cottage cheese and the jello without any regrets and sipped my juice cups till they ran dry. It was a good day and I was thankful for how mobile I was and gracious to have my legs and feet feeling normal again.

Rebecca sat by my side till the end of visiting hours and went home knowing that I was in good hands and though I would be in for some new types of pain never experienced before I felt better than I had in over 3 months. I would go through the night with constant attention from the nurses, aides and students and despite just meeting many of them I could tell that they sincerely cared about me and my well being. I was feeling like Spongebob Squarepants and quietly I kept repeating to myself -  "I'm ready" - ready to start the new day.

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