January 11, 2011
Olex, Jess and I got up at 7:00am because I had to be at the surgery center at 9:00 to check in and get prepped. I chose to wear a button-down, Superman boxers (for bravery), shorts and flip flops. Jess had a bit of breakfast while Olex made a coffee run, and while I wasn't hungry, I was very aware that I was thirsty.
I had called the night before for a cab to arrive at 8:15 but the fare counter had been disabled when it pulled into the hotel parking lot. The driver made feeble attempts to get it up and running, and he kept asking in different ways if we'd ever been to the surgery center before so maybe we could give him a rough estimate of what the fare might be. Each and every time we had to say no since we hadn't. After ten minutes we still hadn't left the hotel parking lot so I started to stress out from the back seat and Olex made the driver go on anyway. The guy offered to call in another cab, but by that point we would have been late to the surgery center. We finally got there around 9:15 and I finally got to check in. The person at the front desk told Olex and Jess that there was a mall nearby so they could do more than just hang out in the waiting room while I was doing my thing. Maybe ten minutes passed and I was called into an office to fill out paperwork (consent forms and all that). I remember being pleasantly surprised that the nurse got my sense of humor and even fired back some snark. It was cool!
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I went back to the waiting room to chat with Jess and Olex for a bit but before I could even sit down I was called back to get prepped. I had assumed that my friends could come with me, but I was told that that would not be the case. I was a little bummed, but I quickly got over it (Olex told me later that I could have asked them to come with, but the staff said no because they had assumed Olex was my partner). I went into a room to sign some more stuff and take a pee test (I was surprised because I didn't feel like I had to go before then). I was then escorted to a gurney and changed into a hospital gown. Someone snuck a paper cap on my head Ninja-style, and I confirmed both my surgical procedure and that I hadn't had any food for a couple people on my surgical team (seriously. You can't even chew gum or have breath mints).
I kept myself otherwise entertained by watching other patients and nurses interact. Everybody was really warm and friendly with each other. One nurse even sang a Christmas song, which amused me to no end because I still hadn't adjusted to dealing with 80º weather in the winter and it was January. A nurse came by to start an IV of saline and antibiotics, and as she swabbed my hand, she explained that she was going to use a 20-gauge. The needle hurt a lot going in, but I thought it was awesome that it was replaced with a catheter so I could move my hand if I needed. We both noticed that the IV wouldn't go and I worried that she'd have to get another needle. It turned out that she just taped the line in an awkward way, but after an adjustment the saline dripped and I went back to waiting.
Around 10:45am, Dr Garramone came over, closed the curtain and had me stand up so he could mark my chest. We chatted a bit and he said that he wanted to eventually exclusively do top surgery, which I thought was awesome. He also explained a little bit about what my chest would look like. He had explained it at my pre-op appointment, but it was easier for me to visualize what he was talking about as he marked my chest. My nipples would be moved about an inch above where they currently were, the areolae would be the diameter of a US nickel, and my nipples would be the diameter of a pencil eraser. I was relieved because I had seen a video on Youtube where a surgeon said that he made areolae the diameter of a US quarter, and I figured that that would be too much for me. When Dr Garramone finished, I got the gown back on and lay on the gurney again. In a couple seconds a nurse wheeled me into the OR. I read the clock above the doorway and it said 10:55am (I'm so proud of myself for remembering that). They parked me next to the operating table and I scooted onto it and lay down. Suddenly a mask was over my face.
It felt like I had only been asleep for five minutes when a nurse called my name. The first thing I noticed was that my throat hurt and my mouth tasted like plastic (from the tube they put down my throat after I fell asleep). Then I noticed that my chest hurt a bit, and my back. I asked if I could see Olex and Jess and the nurse said that she had just called them. My memory was truly craptastic from pain killers and anasthesia, so I kept repeating questions that I couldn't remember asking maybe minutes before. When the nurses were fussing with me, I noticed one of them pinned my drains to the bottom of the ACE bandage wrapped around my chest. In my stupor, I was certain that the drains weren't secure and I voiced my concerns. The nurse responded, "But if we pin them any higher, they'll look just like what's just been removed, and you wouldn't like that!" I'm pretty sure we must have had this conversation a few dozen times. I'm so glad she was a good sport about it, all the same! Eventually I drank a small cup of water and got a strawberry freeze-pop to help my throat (it didn't, but it tasted good). I was pretty out of it at this point so I must have dozed for a bit before suddenly Olex and Jess were standing next to me and grinning at my post-anesthesia self. I tried so very hard to pay attention to everything going on around me, but to no avail. Apparently I kept asking Olex if he knew how to empty my drains half a dozen times... as the nurse was trying to explain how to empty my drains. Go me.
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Olex got the rest of the post-op instructions and signed something for me since I was completely useless. The nurse wanted me to use the bathroom before I left and I tried to tell her that I didn't need to, but I guess Olex and Jess convinced me so I went. It took a while for me to remember that part, and I was really happy that I didn't need to ask for help with getting myself sorted out again! We called a cab and I climbed into the front seat because that seemed easier. I don't remember if I fell asleep, but I kept my eyes closed while my friends made conversation with the cab driver. As it turns out I kept assuring everyone every so often that I was not asleep! Eventually we got back to the hotel and Jess ran to the front desk to get me extra pillows. Olex changed me into my pajama bottoms and out of my button-down and the guys took some pictures to post on Facebook. As I started to fall asleep I heard Jess taking some pictures with his really fancy camera.