4:30 AM Surgery Day
The Chlorhexidine scrub went well. This is to disinfect skin. I had to wash all over in a specific sequence then let sit on my skin for a couple minutes before rinsing it off in a warm (not hot) shower. I will have to do this again before going to hospital. My skin feels really clean! Also sleeping on clean bedding and have clean, brand new PJs - thanks Donna for those 🥰!
My last food was breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and blue berries day before yesterday. I feel hungry and have slight headache. I suppose this is from hunger and lack of sleep. Only taking in water and white grape juice. That ends at 7:30 am. With the cleanse, my insides feel pretty empty!
Awake too early. Got on Facebook and noticed an east coast friend sent me a reminder that she is praying for me. That gives peace! Maybe I can sleep a bit more now.
At the hospital I check in and they outfit me with a special gown that has attachments for a heated hose. I am told they want me to sit with this hot air filling my gown which will keep me warm and help prevent infection. The idea is to be warm enough to fill comfortably hot, but not so warm to start sweating.
After sitting for a while with Donna in this pre-surgery area the anesthesiologist comes to me and asks me to follow him to another private room with only me and him present. I asked why Donna was not included and his response was that he wants to hear my response with absolutely no one influencing my decision.
In fact he gave me a choice on the type of painkiller to use in my lower region. I chose the spinal block because that's what I had when I had my ankle operation four years ago and it is faster recovery than other types.
When he returns I say bye to Donna and follow him in my paper gown and hospital socks. I was a little surprised because in all the TV shows I had seen they always wheel you to the surgery area on a gurney, but no I walked with my anesthesiologist.
Of course I am nervous but comfortable with the decision to have this surgery.
At the doors to the surgical suit we paused and were told they were not quite ready for us. We stood there for a couple of minutes and then were asked to come in.
My impressions were that that room was much larger than I imagined and not near as much equipment as I expected. There was a table for me to lay on and some tables covered with cloth that I suppose were instruments.
It's kind of morbid to say this but my first impression of the bed was from pictures I've seen of the bed they put a condemned criminal on to administer the fatal dose LOL 🤪. It is just a regular rolling gurney type bed. The difference is that your arms are on supports sticking out at right angles to the gurney. This is to lay your arms on. This puts you laying there in the shape of a cross. This is so they have easy access to your veins for sticking all the different things they need to do the anaesthesia. The difference is they do not have the velcro straps going over your body and around your arms to hold you down that was a relief LOL. 😀
We waited again and I asked what was going on. They told me we had to wait for the surgeon who never started a surgery without talking with the patient first. They helped me up on the table and attach lines into my arms, and we wait.
When my surgeon arrive he said to me:
"so, what am I doing today for you?"
I was not trying to be snarky, but my response was:
"I figured you know better than I what you are doing."
He responded:
"of course I know what we are doing, but I want to make sure you know what we are doing."
That made me feel good that he is extra careful that we are all on the same page.
So I said:
"You are doing a Radical Prostatectomy."
His response was:
"You are mostly correct. I am doing that and removing the seminal vesicles and a few lymph nodes."
He and I talked a few minutes about what he was going to do I was mostly concerned about how much nerves they were going to take out and he said they would save what they could from the side with cancer. I was reassured to hear that he would save the nerves on the side that had no cancer. Then he asked if I was ready and as I think about it now I guess I should have said are you ready.
He looks at the anesthesiologist and almost instantly I was out!
My last food was breakfast of oatmeal, peanut butter, and blue berries day before yesterday. I feel hungry and have slight headache. I suppose this is from hunger and lack of sleep. Only taking in water and white grape juice. That ends at 7:30 am. With the cleanse, my insides feel pretty empty!
Awake too early. Got on Facebook and noticed an east coast friend sent me a reminder that she is praying for me. That gives peace! Maybe I can sleep a bit more now.
At the hospital I check in and they outfit me with a special gown that has attachments for a heated hose. I am told they want me to sit with this hot air filling my gown which will keep me warm and help prevent infection. The idea is to be warm enough to fill comfortably hot, but not so warm to start sweating.
After sitting for a while with Donna in this pre-surgery area the anesthesiologist comes to me and asks me to follow him to another private room with only me and him present. I asked why Donna was not included and his response was that he wants to hear my response with absolutely no one influencing my decision.
In fact he gave me a choice on the type of painkiller to use in my lower region. I chose the spinal block because that's what I had when I had my ankle operation four years ago and it is faster recovery than other types.
When he returns I say bye to Donna and follow him in my paper gown and hospital socks. I was a little surprised because in all the TV shows I had seen they always wheel you to the surgery area on a gurney, but no I walked with my anesthesiologist.
Of course I am nervous but comfortable with the decision to have this surgery.
At the doors to the surgical suit we paused and were told they were not quite ready for us. We stood there for a couple of minutes and then were asked to come in.
My impressions were that that room was much larger than I imagined and not near as much equipment as I expected. There was a table for me to lay on and some tables covered with cloth that I suppose were instruments.
It's kind of morbid to say this but my first impression of the bed was from pictures I've seen of the bed they put a condemned criminal on to administer the fatal dose LOL 🤪. It is just a regular rolling gurney type bed. The difference is that your arms are on supports sticking out at right angles to the gurney. This is to lay your arms on. This puts you laying there in the shape of a cross. This is so they have easy access to your veins for sticking all the different things they need to do the anaesthesia. The difference is they do not have the velcro straps going over your body and around your arms to hold you down that was a relief LOL. 😀
We waited again and I asked what was going on. They told me we had to wait for the surgeon who never started a surgery without talking with the patient first. They helped me up on the table and attach lines into my arms, and we wait.
When my surgeon arrive he said to me:
"so, what am I doing today for you?"
I was not trying to be snarky, but my response was:
"I figured you know better than I what you are doing."
He responded:
"of course I know what we are doing, but I want to make sure you know what we are doing."
That made me feel good that he is extra careful that we are all on the same page.
So I said:
"You are doing a Radical Prostatectomy."
His response was:
"You are mostly correct. I am doing that and removing the seminal vesicles and a few lymph nodes."
He and I talked a few minutes about what he was going to do I was mostly concerned about how much nerves they were going to take out and he said they would save what they could from the side with cancer. I was reassured to hear that he would save the nerves on the side that had no cancer. Then he asked if I was ready and as I think about it now I guess I should have said are you ready.
He looks at the anesthesiologist and almost instantly I was out!
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