Surgery Day, part 2 - Finally in the room and the first night....

The view from Lena's 10th floor room

First look at the incision

2nd and CLOSER look at the incision

Trying to eat ice cream....
(explanation of nose/mouth bubble below..)

Finally some shut eye,
explanation of arm "floatie" below....

8 May 2019 - Surgery Day, part 2 -

• Finally made it to tenth floor
• The first attempts at eating
• Bleeping Betty and the arm floatie
• Sweet rest and feeling antsy

Jen's ELABORATION on the series of post op events.....

Finally made it to tenth floor - We finally got a transport to her room.  They ordered a full on hospital bed for me to sleep on..  The hospital is older and so the bathroom is slightly larger than an airplane bathroom!  The tile and style remind me of elementary school so it's gotta be late 60s or 70s era.  She has a huge window that overlooks the surrounding area....close up the mid to late 19th and early 20th century victorian style 3 story houses look pretty run down...but nonetheless quaint...but the 10 floor ariel view is stunning.  Looks like a painting or early american history book.  The miniblinds made it super hard to capture the feel of it, but it's pretty and quaint.

Once we got to the doorway of her room, her first nurse (who seemed a bit frazzled and rushed), stopped us from going in and insisted that "the hospital likes to have the post surgery recovery patients walk to the bed from the doorway."  Um.  THAT wasn't happening.  She could barely make a sentence and she was still in pain.  This assertion cause the nurse to do what I call, "the duck squabble".  That is where the miffed individual mutters under their breath their disdain for whatever you aren't complying with and they sound a bit like how ducks sound when you get too close to them.  You know what I mean, right?  "Well.  They make such a big deal abou having them WALK but whatever.  You know I AM just trying to comply with my training ....squabble/SQUABBLE/SqqquuuaaaaBLE."  

We rolled on in and transport and frazzled nurse (By now it was becoming clear that it was a BUSY night at St. V's Hosptial....) proceeded to work on lifting Milena from stretcher to bed.  (Squabble squabble squabble)... I do transferring in my job so I helped with her feet.  They didn't count to 3, which is like the standard in transferring so that bugged me.  But we got her on the bed (she looked like a weeble wobble when we moved her it was funny) but she sunk in and was good soon.

Then fnally peeled back the gown and got a good look at her scar!  It was much shorter than expected (some go all the way into breastbone area.  It was clean, no drain, and no oozing.   It reallhy looks great.  It's glued wih no dressing to what you see it what you get.  I think Lena is kinda proud of her battle wound...

The first attempts at eating,  She ordered a chef salad for her first meal.  I ran to the car to get our overnight bags, and in the process also ran to the store for a few essentials (ICE CREAM.  Its 

essential.)  She'd eaten some of the salad by the time i got back.  (Even in recovery she had said, "I am in pain BUT no MALS pain!')  She even had some of the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream before bed that night.

Oh I almost forgot.  The hospital SHUTS DOWN for visitors at 8pm SHARP and security was tighter than the airport so when I got back from my jaunt to CVS and Whole Foods (ima Yerba Mate junkie and I got the yummiest Italian Wedding Soup that I was "gonna share" but oops she'd already eaten sooooo mmmmmm)...But crackin back into the St. Vincent Medical Center safe was quite the interesting adventure.  Luckily I had been photographed prior to leaving and was "in the system"... but I'll explain how I figured out WHY the security is so tight in another post....

Bleeping Betty and the arm floatie- You probably see extra "equipment" on Milena you may have questions about.  First is the nasal cannula that looks like it has a clear circular peice over her lips.  It IS a clear puff of plastic!  The unit is attached to a machine; it measures EtCO2 or "tidal output".  Becuase Milena is on a "PCA" pain pump, delivering a heavy narcotic (Dilaudid) ever 15 minutes, the have to measure her respiratory (or CO2 output) function as a safety precaution.  If her level gets abobe a "50" and if she breathes in less than 7 times a minute - an alarm goes off to alert for "respiratory depression'.  Thus the not-so-affectionate term:  Bleeping Betty (breathes can get lower than 7/min ALOT when you are drugged up and reclining most of the evening....Lena's bleeped quite a bit whenever she was sleeping...argh.  But I'd just have to "remind" her to breathe and she was ok.

The blue "arm floatie" was put on about an hour after she got to her room.  Her main IV is in the crook of her left arm, and so whenever she bends that arm, it occludes (the flow is cut off like a bent garden hose...) and yet ANOTHER alarm goes off.  Since she was pretty sleepy and drugged up - she was absentmindedly bending that arm alot.  The blue, puff floatie just was a reminder to keep that arm straight.

Sweet rest and feeling antsy- With almost all meds going through the IV..and no real reason to stand until the next day (catheter and IV meds...) she dozed off by 8:30 or 9:00pm.  Her super soft blankie and "Hsu-nicorn" close by.  I settled into my own hospital bed until.....

"......hey mom, I'm up.  I'm antsy...."  3am.  So coloring, hanging out, etc.