Surgery

This is the post from Loni's blog about my surgery day, since I don't remember much.  My additions are in italics.

It takes a village to care for a Mama. And Mama has the best village ever!

My role this week was to was mainly get Mama C to/from the surgery center for her shoulder repair on Monday. Since she had been told to arrive at the surgery center between 10:30 and 11, for a surgery at noon; I arrived at her placed around 9:30. Shortly after my arrival, she received a phone call from the center asking if she was already there since they had her arrival marked as by 9...

So the timeline for Surgery Day then went something like this:
9:40am - Departed Home

10:10am - Arrival at surgery center  {I would later discover from various waiting-area discussions with other families that pretty much the center's scheduling skills must have been way out of whack for that day; since one patient was told to be there at 6:30 and when he arrived was told, "No, you are too early; your surgery is at 2". Another arrived at 8 and was told, his was not until later (but they had a voice-mail to prove what they had been told). The doc had 2 knees and 3 shoulders to repair that day; apparently all the shoulders were tedious and time consuming.} I hate being late to anything and I was really upset that they considered me late.

11:30am - They had finally called Mama back to get changed into the hospital gown, IV started, etc.

12:30pm - They let me back to pre-op to sit with her; we turned off the depressing TV coverage of the Japan earthquake, tsunami, nuclear power plant stuff. In my first room they had the tv really loud and they were showiing horrendous pictures, every time they took my blood pressure it was higher.

1:10pm - The anesthesiologist came in to do his pre-op questions, shoot her up with happy juice, and the nerve block shot in her neck (I was out of the area for that part). Shortly, thereafter, the happy juice kicked in and Mama's mind was struggling to stay connected I think; as she alternately dozed off a bit and had interesting commentary about how the pattern in the ceiling tile would make a nice quilt square; Very stark pattern with vibrant colors would be a great pattern. to not buy her any ugly towels that were apparently a hideous combination of red and blue;No they were beige with blue and red squares very ugly and cheap looking,  that the picture was so pretty (which turned out to be one in her mind because all we had was beige hospital curtains); just swirling pretty colors, and a neat orange substance (also in her mind) that was like blown glass, but flexible like plastic and very interesting.. i wonder vaguely if she will recall any of this? That was the best of all very artsy fartsy orange bubblish substance that could be molded. 

Ceiling tile would make a good quilt block in other colors....

2:15pm - The Surgery Nurse comes in to do her set of the same pre-op questions - what's your name, your DOB, why are you here, how are you doing, blah blah blah.

2:30pm - The anesthesiologist returns.. by this time, Mama's left ear has gone numb; her right leg has gone numb; and I had earlier make some kind of crack about well, either it didn't hit the right spot -or- she is as true as the new sign gracing her patio that says "God Bless The Freaks"    The anesthesiologist wants to give the pain block another shot; the Surgery Nurse is looking at him like we are already so off schedule, are you kidding me?... they wheel Mama off and that's the last I will see of her for a while.

At that point, I went in search of a soda machine to learn that there isn't one on site; so I opt to leave and go to Sonic for a burger and orange slush.  Though I had packed a JC chicken salad kit... and Mama, even doped up, was fussy about me needing to have some lunch.   I warmed up in the van, sunshine, and fresh air; and then head back into the waiting room with my knitting bag and kindle.

3:54pm - Dr. McConnell comes out to talk to the wife of the shoulder patient that he just finished; so this would be the one right before Mama.. and he had another surgery after Mama's.   Hmm.. and here I had thought she had been being worked on since around 2:30pm'ish.. guess not.

5:15pm Surgery center reception staff gives us the remote control to the TV and wishes us a good evening.

6:00pm Most of the other family in the waiting room leave to go back to their hotel, get dinner, etc. leaving just the wife of the patient and me in the waiting area.  We had nice chats about surgery, waiting, rehab, etc.

6:10pm - Whilst fiddling with the remote and trying to get it off of the depressing, unending news of the Japan tsunami and aftermath, I hit some button that makes the TV channels go blank; aww fooey.

7:00pm - One of the tech guys is able to fix the TV situation, so now we have channels again and we watch Cake Boss.

7:23pm One of the nurses finally comes out to tell me that Mama is out of surgery and in recovery and that the other patient just went into surgery and that Dr. McConnell will see me after he is done with that surgery.

8:08pm A nurse lets me know that it will be at least another hour or so in recovery before they let me back there to see how Mama is doing.

8:30-m - We start watching Mike & Molly

8:54pm - Finally back to get first glimpse of Mama who is looking fairly out-of-it and proclaiming an 8 on a painscale (1-10 with 10 being the worst).

From that point it is just a sit and wait and monitor; get the discharge orders; get instructions on the bag of Rx that was delivered direct to the surgery center, etc.  Debra the post-op nurse asks if this is my best friend and I answer "Not really, she's a good friend, she's just my Mama."

9:30'ish- Dr. McConnell came to report out that what he found was pretty much as expected the SLAP tear and the rotator cuff tear; that it takes a bit longer on people of shorter stature and females simply because there is less room in which to work; that an ideal shoulder patient would be a giraffe with 3 feet of room in which to work.   And that the shoulders that day were just tough; the guy before Mama just had scarring and tight everything; and the guy after was have corrections done from a prior Open procedure... but that he expected things to go well for Mama provided she follows the post-op therapy regimen and so forth.

9:45pm - She's coming out of it enough now to wrangle her into clothes and for a trip the the bathroom.   She stares at the 2 nurses trying to help her like Who are you people and I'm not going anywhere with you... Stranger Danger!   So I step into line of view with a firm "Mama, come here" and if I didn't already know I was one of her kiddos, I did then because she looked at me with relief and trust and toddled right to me.

10:00pm-- She's very concerned about the time of day when she's been under anesthesia and is distressed to learn it is 10 o'clock AT NIGHT??!!!   Apologetic that I've had to be there all day (no worries, that was what I signed up to do)... and that Mom-part of her is so ingrained, she was even apologizing to her post-op care nurse Debra for having to be there so late because she must be tired and want to go home... to which Debra replied that she still had another patient coming from surgery so it was ok.

10:23pm - Loaded into the van and homeward bound; not too happy with decelerations and ocassional bumpy roads; but otherwise hanging in there. 

11:03pm - A stop at Sonic for grilled cheese for me and the younger boy; shakes for the 3 of us; and a regular coke for Mama.

11:20pm-12:20am - Getting Mama wrangled out of the van; got the boys to unload the bags and Sonic; got Mama wrangled into clean jammies for the overnight in the recliner.  Gave post-op care Rx info to the boys; got first round of pain meds on board along with some peach yogurt.  Ate my grilled cheese and shake; did a bit of post-op at-home observation before I left. 

It is not easy for the Mama to accept that much care.  It is quite embarrassing.  Loni was great though and I could not imagine a more attentive care giver.  (Well, me, but I was out of commission.)

Thank you Loni!