Lucid Moment

Finding a lucid moment when not doped on narcotics for pain management has been challenging, but I am going to take advantage of one moment now to update my blog. Where were we...?

The day of my surgery was a blur. My aunt and uncle came to my apartment to pick up my bigger suitcase while Tawny picked up and small suitcase for the hospital. Tawny drove the two of us to the hospital with my aunt and uncle following. It was a bit tense in pre-op where I was prepared for surgery. Having my aunt and uncle there by my hospital bed got a bit emotional. Soon the anaesthetic drugs tookover and I just remember bits and pieces.

In the recovery room, I remember blinding pain and being so chilled my teeth chattered. I also remember asking what time it was so I could ascertain if my ovarian cyst was benign or cancerous. The nurse told me it was 4:15pm; I was in the operating room around 11am. That told me that it was not good.

Eventually I was wheeled to my own private room. On the way to the room, the ceiling lights passed too fast making me nauseous that I immediately closed my eyes. I heard familiar voices in my room where my aunt, uncle and Tawny had been waiting with smiles and kisses.

Tawny stayed the night to keep vigil over me, making sure she was a whisper away. I kept moaning all night and kept apologizing to her. She fed me glasses of ice chips to hydrate my mouth and throat. I couldn't believe how dry the medications made my mouth feel. That night was the first of six nights Tawny stayed overnight with me.

I was told by Tawny and the doctors that I had Stage III cancer. My surgery involved a complete hysterectomy, all my fallopian tubes taken, a portion of my belly taken and a portion of my intestines taken as well. The intestines are now re-attached via titanium staples for my flesh to grow over. It will be a permanent installation. A long row of staples up and down my abdomen gave proof to the severity of the surgery.

During my stay at Moffitt, I was woken up by nurses, patient care techs and doctors all hours of the day and night. Being hooked up to IV for nourishment and pain medication was surreal. Did I mention the catheter I had to carry around? Everywhere I went for the first four days involved juggling these things.

I ate ice chips for the first four days then eventually being allowed gelatin. When the hospital food came, I really didn't have an appetite for it but I tried to eat as much as I could. My appetite didn't return until I came home to my aunt's house where she fed me food to my taste.

The most incredible part of all were the texts, facebook messages, cell phone calls, room phone calls and the alarming amount of visitors I had during my hospital stay. There was an incident with my cell phone midstay so I may I have missed some calls. There were flowers everywhere. The medical staff had to bustle their way in through everything. It was quite funny. I think they were surprised themselves at how many visitors they saw in my room. They did accept Tawny has my nighttime angel. She went home during the day for showers and some rest. I know her husband missed her much during that time.

I was eventually discharged on Monday the 18th. I'll write more about everything since then later. My laptop battery is signaling 13 more minutes of typing time. Thank you very much for keeping up with me and also for the lovely blog messages you've left me. All in all I am very blessed. Until my next lucid moment....

Love,
Sarah xxoo
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Lucid Moment