I seriously did not think I would feel up to this already, but if it weren’t for the two gaping holes at the back of my throat, I would think that I didn’t even have my tonsils out today! And no, I’m not currently on any medication other than liquid Motrin, and only an appropriate amount. As cool as I thought it would be to just drink out of the bottle with a crazy straw, my mom is old-fashioned, against gratuitous drug use, and wouldn’t let me. So here’s how it went just in case you were wondering.
When I checked in the center (Austin Surgicare), the woman behind the desk was really impressed that I had already filled out all the appropriate paperwork and had all of my cards ready to go and stuff. When I informed her, “This is not my first rodeo.” She laughed and asked, “Oh have you had surgery before?” It’s always fun to watch their reaction when I say, “Yeah, eight!” It’s like an expression of disbelief and then a lot of squinting as they examine my face to see how old I actually am.
I had a cool surprise waiting for me when I got there. My grandfather showed up! My mom’s dad is 85 and not in the best shape of his life. When I was little he went to as many activities of mine and Hallie’s and Jacob’s as he possibly could but as he’s gotten older it’s gotten harder for him. Example: He came to my graduation party but wasn’t able to stay for the actual graduation part due to bleachers and climbing and probably the fact that graduation is pure torture, even if it’s your own. He lives in South Austin (close to where we were today) which is why I think he was able to make it. It was really cool to walk in and see him there waiting for me and we got to chat for awhile before I went back.
Anyways, the surgery went great. It was really fast- i.e. only about twenty minutes my doctor estimated thirty. Dr. Yium had just come back from vacation and he said he was well rested and relaxed. I took this as a good sign and prayed that he was but had left the hang loose island mentality back on his vacation. The hospital was running slightly behind so we did have to wait for a tiny bit. Nothing like Hallie’s ten hour waiting saga we went through for her surgery though so I’m really not complaining.
There was a young girl across the hall from me who was nervous so they gave her some “happy juice” as one of the nurses called it before she went in. She was HIGH as a kite and super hilarious. I didn’t realize it was surgery and a show but the hospital definitely provided! When the girl left to go have surgery it only went downhill from there. They replaced her with a guy who only spoke Spanish and was getting a colonoscopy. I know enough Spanish and enough about the procedure to almost completely understand what they were talking about. It was not good. I gave him two thumbs way down.
I managed to spend the time I was waiting around well, and I kept very busy harassing the nurses over my IV. When my first nurse Ann put it in she placed it too far forward in my hand which prevented it from dripping correctly. She moved it back but when the numbing shot started to wear off it still felt like it was way pushed into my hand and really hurt! I had my mom track down a nurse to tell them it was bothering me. When the nurses (she found two) came in, they examined my arm and then tried to talk me out of it by saying, “Well, stop holding your hand funny. Just relax, it’s an IV!” When I informed Nurse Snooty that this was actually how I normally hold my hand she then tried to tell me that it was because the solution going into to my hand was colder that the inside of me. I told her that I knew that but what was bothering me was the tube part. The nurses replied with, “Well nothing we do to you today is going to feel good.” I had many replies for this but the one I went with was, “Oh no worries, I suddenly feel totally fine!” My mom got a little mad at this later, I’m assuming because she’s much nicer and classier than me, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say. It was obvious to me that the nurses weren’t going to fix it for me, so I just went for obviously fake reassurance so they could go back to their jobs.
One of the nurses, and I will refer to her from here on out as Nurse Snooty, came in later to chat with me as I think she could tell how ticked off I was. Her idea of conversation was asking me where I work. When I told her that I work for a school which is part of the reason why I’m having the surgery today and when I told her that I was looking for a teaching job and working as an aide, her idea of pleasant conversation was to tell me all about her daughter who just got a job teaching at a school that I worked at in college. Her exact words were, “It just worked out so perfectly for her.” From that moment on Nurse Snooty was dead to me.
So now I’m home and restricted to cold soft foods, even though all I want it something hot. I took a short nap and I haven’t really been in any pain at all. My throat was sore after waking up from the surgery but that was it. The nurse (a different and much nicer one this time) and my mom kept trying to talk me into taking my liquid pain medication but I hate the way it makes me feel so I’m just going to go for the Motrin. It’s currently more than enough and I feel almost totally fine. I can tell, and actually see, that my throat is incredibly swollen and I can also tell that my body is still trying to fight the effects of anesthesia. I hope I don’t have a miserable night! I usually get pretty nauseous from them anesthesia and I know that’s where the fun stops for everyone at the Taylor house. J
Thank you everyone for the prayers! I felt super protected at the hospital and not anxious or worried at all. Now I just feel super happy and blessed that God answered mine and everyone else’s prayers that they made for me. He is GOOD and Jesus really is the ultimate healer! I’m praying for and looking forward to Him doing some more work on me. Thank you Lord!
