Gallbladder Adventures

Well, I'm alive. I'm alive and having a muffin and coffee for breakfast, so this is good.


Let me tell you something. I am so glad that I only had one gallbladder to remove. And I hope to hell that I never have to have another abdominal surgery, laparascopic or otherwise, because dude, it sucked ass. It feels like I did 5000 sit-ups in one minute. Oh, and you'll never believe how often you need to use your abdominal muscles to move.

My big worry for my surgery was the anesthesia...for some reason, the thought of general anesthesia and intubation just scared the shit out of me. So imagine my relief when I met my (cute) anesthesiologist and found out he graduated only 7 years before me from the same medical school that I did. I said, "Ahhhh, well at least I know you got a good education!" He was funny and comforting and I was so proud of where he and I came from, because that'swhat kind of doctorswe were taught to be. It was awesome. He let me know he'd be giving me Versed before intubating me, and all I could think to say was, "Man, I have control issues. That's going to be so hard." That's the last thing I remember saying.

When I woke up I wasn't crying or swearing like I was when I came out of twilight anesthesia after getting my wisdom teeth removed. I was grateful and as gracious as possible because I wanted these folks to take good care of me. I think I said "thank you" twenty times, even if it wasn't warranted. "Nicole, you're all finished, honey." "Thank you." "You did great." "Thank you." We're going to get you back to your room now." "Thank you." I think they probably felt very appreciated. LOL

My surgeon was surprised when I told him before my surgery that I kicked Hubs out of the hospital. The guilt I would have harbored knowing that he just sat in the waiting room for hours would have been insurmountable. Hubs reluctantly agreed to leave and get some things done while I was in surgery even though he thought it would be better to stay in the waiting room. I appealed to him by saying, "Why? It's not like you can help, right?" LOL So we agreed that the surgeon would call him when I was finished and in the recovery room, and wouldn't you know when I returned to my same-day surgery room, there was Hubs, waiting expectantly. He sat and held my hand while I slept for another 90 minutes and then we came home.

I came home to a gift bag full of good stuff - magazines (Us Weekly, Maxim, Women's Health, Food), 3 boxes of gourmet chocolate, a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels, a card, monkey stickers, and a bracelet. That's Hubs for you. :) He catered to me all day and all night, and this morning when he left for work he tied a rope to the footboard of our bed so that I could get in and out with leverage. LOL Seriously, how awesome is that? And I did use it, too. But now I'm safely planted in our sunroom with my laptop, a book, and more magazines than I can read in a day. Oh, and a muffin and coffee.

If any of you ever have surgery, let me know. You can borrow Hubs, because I promise you'll never be better looked after.