Well boyz it's done.
I told myself that I would post up my experience in as much detail as possible so that others can read through what my experience was like. I know that reading other peoples posts has helped me tremendously, so I would like to contribute to this site as others have done for me.
Details:
Doctor: Dr Fielding
Location: St-Joseph's Health center Toronto
Date: October 5th
Consult date to Op date: 10weeks
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October 4th, me and my girlfriend head out for Toronto right after work to stay at the Four Points Sheraton on Lakeshore. We arived around 8:30pm. Drove from Ottawa, so the drive was good, little traffic and wasn't held up anywhere. I decided I wanted to eat some pizza as a final meal before fasting for the surgery, so I ordered some chicken Cury pizza from the restaurant.. It was pretty good, thin crust and all. Watched some TV, and next think you know, it was 11:45pm, almost time to fast. I decide that I want to injest alot of water to keep me going for the next day, since my surgery was unfortunately scheduled for 2:00pm. SLammed back 2 bottles of water and hit the sack.
Next morning, woke up at about 8:00am, and turned on the tv and just watched some shows for a couple of hours. took a shower and hopped in a cab to St-Joes.
Cab ride was $6.00, with tip, was 10$ so it's very close.
Once at the hospital you do not go in through the emergency entrance, you enter on the opposite side of the hospital in the main entrance. Then take the elevators to 2nd floor and head over to the pre-admission desk.
There they will take your health card, and ask you for emergency contacts and give you a hospital card etc. Once this is done you head through some doors and over to the sugery day clinic/center. Talk to the receptionist (who was not friendly) and she'll take your papers and hand you a bag with 2 gowns in it.
You then need to change into them and put your clothes in this bag. Since my girlfriend was with me, she just held onto this bag throughout the whole stay.
You then wait in an area where others are also waiting for day surgery.
Then a nurse will call your name and you go to a room and she'll interview you with some questions like, have you ever had sars, have you left the country in the last 6 months, allergies etc etc.
Then tags you with a hospital bracelet and you then proceed back to the waiting area. From this point it was about 11:45am.
Saw Dr Fielding come by and take another patient around 12:45pm and then like clockwork, he came and got me at exactly 2:00pm. I had just went and drained my blatter a few minutes before he came.
I then walk to the OR with him, and sit outside on a chair and another nurse and the anaesthesiologist come to ask you some more questions.
Questions like: Do you have any dental crowns, bridges etc, because on rare occasions they can get damaged etc.
Have you ever been under General Anaesthesia? etc
Few minutes later, your in the OR, and given an IV needle in the upper left hand.
Dr Fielding takes a digicam picture of you sitting up, and then marks you with a sharpie and then lays you down...
If you have any last words about special requests, now is the time.
Then the anaesthesiologist put in the injection into the IV stream and an oxygen mask over your face.
about 1 minutes goes by and you feel normal. Then all of a sudden, wham! you feel a dose of something hardcore, and within 5 more seconds, Wham! another dose, and then 5 more seconds and lights out.
I then woke up in the recovery room, which only felt like maybe 10 minutes later, but I was checking the clocks as I went in the OR and when I was awaken in the recovery room at 3:28pm
My surgery commenced at exactly 2:10pm,
and then I asked the recovery room nurse how long I has been waiting in this room for, and she said about 20 minutes.
So my surgery took from the time I was knocked out to the time I arrived in recovery 1:08 min average.
I really wanted to know how long it took him, this was something that I specifically had been telling myself to do for a long time while waiting for my operation date.
So there you have it in case others are wondering
Shortly after waking up in recovery I immediately felt pain. More of a burning sensation on my left lower chest area. And a bit on the right side. But alot more on the left. Thr nurse asked me if I wanted something for the pain, and I said "Please".
She brought over a full dose of morphine, and I told her that I would probably only need half a dose, so thats what she did.
About 3 minutes later she asked if I still had any pain, which I did, so she gave me the rest of the dose. This took care of probably 90% of the pain.
At this point I would also like to mention that my throat was total raunch. Got some crushed ice and that helped a bit. Within a few minutes later I was wheeled out past the Family waiting area, where my girlfriend saw me and they wheeled me to my room.
I got to admitted to a semi private room for free.. Bonus!
The rate was 185$ per night for this room, but that was one of the only places they could put me, so there I stayed overnight.
It was aprox 4:00pm, and my throat was really bothering me and the nurses brought all types of juices, jug of water and food came shortly after. I was never so hungry in my life. 19 hours with no food.. lol
The meal was meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I hate meatloaf. But damn this was good when you don't eat for a long time..lol
I felt much better after eating, and my girlfriend said that I was starting to regain color in my face, because I was white like casper
Nurses game me some Tylenol 3's to take. and then a couple more hours passed.
The nurses came back and asked if I was able to urinate yet. And of course my answer was no.
My biggest fear of this whole ordeal just kicked in.
If any of you remember me talking about this before, last time I went under General my blatter would not respond for almost 24hours, so they had to give me a catherder when my appendix was removed. So this time I was determied to fight it at all costs.
By this time it was almost 10pm, the guy next to me was admitted about 30 minutes after me, and he had already gone, when the nurse asked him, so I was getting really worried, and the nurses were kind of hinting on that If I dont empty my blatter soon, they would have to do the nasty deed.
Sat over the toilet for 20 minutes and during this time I prayed to god (not kidding here) and moments later I let it all loose. Seriously I was almost in tears and saying "thank you God" "Thank you God" "Thank you God"
I felt soooo much better after this, my girlfriend was also kind of cheering me on..
Ok enough about this blatter issue, Im just being specific here like I said I would be
Around 11pm my gf left to go back to the hotel and then my night began.
I attempted to sleep, but those beds are extremely uncomfortable. My upper back was killing me, no matter how hard tried to get comfortable. So needless to say I didn't sleep much. At about 2:15am emptied my blatter again.. Yeehaw! took about 10 minutes this time.
didn't fall back asleep till about 3:30am, then woke myself up because I was snoring so loud, this was at 5:00am.
Then I stayed awake the rest of the time. So all in all I got about 2 1/2 hours sleep all night.
Popped some more T3's, at 8:00am the staff brough my breakfast that I had eagerly been waiting for, which was a 1 microwaved egg with this white cheese sauce on it = YUK.
Passed on it, and left thre hospital to go feast at the Four points Breakfast Buffet. Hopped in a cab, and went to meet up with my girlfriend. Ate like a king, and then she drove me home, which Is where I am now.
Today my pain is slightly more than yesterday because the side (kind of under the armpit chest area) feel swollen. Took more T3's and it has helped. still sore though.
My gf just took a couple of snapshots of me with the bandages on, you can see some drainage on the left side. The right side has none.
If someone has a url where I can post some pictures, I will do so.. I do not have any web hosting myself, so I would need some help in that arena.
My comments on the hospital:
Staff is generally nice, some are not too content with their job such as the night nurse, some staff too, she was not very friendly and it always felt like I was bothering her when I asked for water or T3's etc.
But all the other nurses I talked to were great. Very nice people.
The bathrooms were all completely unnaceptable.
Especially the ones in the room where I stayed, there was urine on the walls that had been there for a LONG time. Caked on.
The seat was covered in dry urine and the floor as well.
My gf went to scout out a few other bathrooms as well, and they were slightly better but not clean in any way.
I am so disgusted by this I want to write to the hospital about it.
anway, dont let this last part ruin your experience, it's just me being over analytical about everything as usual.
For those contemplating getting the surgery, I am only 1 day post op, but this is nothing to go through so far.
I will post more details as I have them.
Thanks for listening!
Raven~
Topic: The other side... (Read 14105 times)
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