waiting for surgery.

Surgery
I was two years older than you are now when i had my colon resection. It was a very interesting experience. I remember telling the aenesthesiologist that i was tolerant to verced, then he gave me a shot of it to "prep" me for the aenesthesia, then they wheeled me into the OR (i remember noticing those three huge lights up above that you always see on TV), and next thing i know, they're wheeling me into my room, and i felt stiff all over. The first thing i did was touch my tummy. I felt the tight bandage they had around me, and i was thankful for that thing. I was very groggy and in and out of consciousness, but i remember seeing my family members walking around the room getting situated. I saw the outline of a huge pink elephant above my Mother's head, and several other strange things over the next day or so. They took the nasal tube out of my nose the day after surgery. All the other tubes stayed in for the duration of my stay which was eight days. You'll have a drainage tube on one side of your abdomen with orangish pink stuff draining out, you'll have a catheter in your bladder, and if you're like me, you'll have an ostomy on the other side of your abdomen. The ostomy was gross. I had an ileostomy, and wasn't allowed any food, so the bag filled up with a dark green muck all the time. The nurses emptied this for me for the first four or five days, then expected me to do it. That took some getting used to.

They will try to get you up out of bed to walk around day two or three. This was worst for me because i had a broken back at the time and didn't know it. My incision site wasn't too bad at the hospital because of the tight wrap. At home it was always very sore. My incision went from the bottom of my sternum bone to the top of the pubic line. They go around your belly button rather than through it, so that was a relief. Your incision probably won't be as long. I had my gallbladder removed while they were in there. Make sure you pack plenty of warm socks, and i always bring my own blanket and pillow. Hospitals are very cold, especially when you're the patient. You won't need but one pair of underwear for when you check out.

I also wasn't able to shower for the first six days, or eat for the first seven. I was there for eight days, your stay may not be that long. Let me know if there's anything else you need to know. I remember a lot about it. Are you getting an ostomy?

Many hugs,
Krista