Surgeries Comparied

Don't read if you don't like details and needles.

In June of 1996, I had my gallbladder taken out in the same hospital that I was just in to have my thyroid out. My cousin dropped me off at the front entrance of the hospital and I went in for surgery all by myself. Now you need to have a competent adult with you. Back then Steve had only been on the job for 1 ½ weeks and didn’t feel he could take off work. I remember having to get stuck twice before the nurse got the IV in. I remember going into the surgery room, getting on the table, and someone asking me are you asleep yet? No. Are you asleep yet? No. Are you asleep yet? No. I’m wondering when they are going to quit asking me that question. Then, Rita wake up. You need to wake up. I’m thinking no I don’t, this feels to good, leave me alone.

Fast forward to Monday, April 21. Steve and I walk go to the out patient building and up to the fourth floor to AM Procedures, wondering why there since my surgery is in the PM. No one was at the reception desk, just a sign to call this number and say that you are here. OK. We are called back to a room. I get in a lovely gown of purple. It has a nice liner inside that hooks up to a hose on the wall. So if you are cold, they can warm you right up. Two different nurses try to get and IV in with no success. I have my mother’s veins. Our worship pastor is with us and time seems to fly. I had to be there by 12:30 and surgery wasn’t until 3:00 PM. Around 2:00 I’m wheeled to the elevator and down 4 floors, through a maze of corridors to another elevator bay. Then Steve is given directions to the surgical waiting room and told to check in. I wheeled into the elevator and up one floor.

In the pre-surgery room (I’m sure it has a better name than that, but it is escaping me) my nurse gets all the info again. I have said my name and birthday two or three dozen times by the time I went home on Wed. She tries to put in the IV with no success. Up to this point in my life I have had five IV’s without problems, but you have to consider the last time I ate any food at this point was 17 hours ago, my last drink had been 5 ½ hours ago.

The nurse finds someone who might have better luck. She didn’t. So far all these people have been women bending over trying to do this. One lady did jack my bed up higher, as she was pregnant. They let my hand hang over the side of the bed and they bend over it trying to find a vein and insert a needle. They did numb each area first, but that involved a sting and a burn every time. That sting and burn was annoying, but I was glad for it. All I could feel was pressure from them probing; no numbing I think would have been more painful.

Finally, a man pulls up a chair and tries. For pulling up a chair – I give him a lot of credit. His eyes are finally at the level of my hands. He does get a vein on his second or third try. I don’t know which. I have 8 places where I was stuck to try and get an IV in and bruises. Two places were blow-outs, which makes for bigger bruises. Just this morning Steve said I look abused. I still have a bruise on my arm where they took blood when I pre-registered for surgery almost two weeks ago. It was a blow-out too! So 8 sticks and 5 people later I have an IV in and it is 2:50.

The man that pulled up the chair gave me a shot in my IV and said that this will only seem like a dream and will be funny. I don’t really remember much after that must have been pretty potent stuff. I don’t remember leaving that room and going to the surgical room. I do remember the cuffs on my legs starting to work. They help keep you from forming blood clots in your legs. I remember thinking, boy they feel good and someone saying, “She is still with us.” I don’t even remember the post surgical room.