Update

My hernia repair surgery on Friday went well. In fact it went very well. They told us that they always save the first general surgery appointment for ER admissions the night before that might require surgery. Well, there were no ER cases the night before that required surgery.

So they were moving all the appointments up. Originally, my surgery was scheduled for 2:30 PM which meant I was supposed to be there at 12:30 PM to allow two hours for the pre-op work. We got there a little after Noon and they took me back to pre-op right away. Betty was with me.

I had a sweet little Philipino nurse and we shared our experiences of the Philipines as I was there in the Navy. The anesthesiologist, Dr. Castillo, came in right away. I had previous experience with not having any kind of pre-med to ease my anxiety about the surgery and it makes the recovery so much easier. He agreed and that was the plan.

I had two surgical nurses come in, Craig and Michelle, and they both were a lot of fun. Instead of spending two hours in pre-op, they were wheeling me back to the operation room after only 30 minutes. The three of us joked around while they prepared me for the surgery and then I was off to sleepy land.

A short time later I woke right up. The pre-med sedative is an IV that stays in your body a long time and that can make recovery longer and more comfortable. The surgery anesthesia is a gas and that has little effect once you wake up.

So, I popped right awake and 15 minutes later they brought Betty back to be with me. The recovery room nurse was named Donelle and she was a sweet, mother of two and we all shared parenting stories. 15 minutes later I was released. We walked out of the hospital at 2:30 PM which was the original time for my surgery.

I'm still pretty sore, but the initial recovery is going as expected. I'm supposed to walk (with a cane) 5 minutes every hour that I'm awake. I can't do anything strenuous or lift anything for three weeks which means Betty gets to do the manure clean up all that time.

All in all, it was as good an experience as I could have hoped for. The surgery went quick and the recovery has been as expected. I got a chance to show God's love for the people taking care of me and showing an interest in them as real people. Plus it makes it a more enjoyable experience for me when I can do that.

Thanks to everyone who threw up a prayer for me.

Posted with Blogsy