The First Surgery...Almost

It's Tuesday night and I just got to Milwaukee. My kids are with their dad. We (my parents and I along with my Aunt and her boyfriend) decided to go to a tapas restaurant for dinner, which was amazing! I definitely had to live it up since I couldn't have anymore food or water after midnight.

We got to my aunt's house around 10 and it was time for me to do my shower routine. There was a soap they had given to me that I needed to use the night before and morning of surgery.  So, first I needed to wash my hair with only shampoo (no conditioner), then use this soap which is basically a sponge  on one side, with bristles on the other for your nails.  Luckily, it didn't smell bad! I also had to put clean pajamas on and sleep in clean sheets.

My allergies were bothering me and I was pretty congested so I think that helped me fall asleep. I didn't sleep great, but I wasn't laying there all night. In the morning, I got up to shower again. The same routine except I didn't have to wash my hair again. Then, put clean clothes on again to wear to the hospital (and come home in).

                                                                 Dropping the kids off

I think now is when a lot of people start freaking out. If I wasn't so sick of being tired and having headaches, I think I probably would have been, too. But let's get the ball rolling! Off to the hospital we went.

(Let me remind you, I love my mascara.  This is one of the first times I left the house with zero on! I felt "naked" in a weird way. No makeup, jewelry, or nail polish. No acrylic nails either! It's been 5 years with no break of having those! I wouldn't say I'm a "high maintenance" girl, but I have fun with the girly things and it goes hand in hand with my job.  So, "naked"  Val, in her clean zip up hoodie and yoga pants is off to the hospital.)

We needed to get to the 3RD floor to "Same-Day Surgery." Luckily we were at the hospital so early that a parking spot was easy to find. Sometimes we would be driving up and down the parking ramp forever to find one! Same day surgery also had some reserved spots for us. My mom always wanted to park in these spots and unless I was having surgery that day I'd keep driving until a normal spot was open! Haha. So the days that we could actually use those spots were great!

Once we got inside, I got whisked off right away. I started saying goodbye to my parents and the nurse said "This is just to get you in your gown. You will see them again."

Ok great! I wasn't prepared to say goodbye yet!

Off I went with the nurse. Blood pressure, temperature, weight, and a urine test to make sure I'm not pregnant.

Then she brought me to my prep area.  It had 3 walls with a TV, bed, and monitors.  The fourth wall was a curtain.  She told me to wipe down with these antibacterial wipes and then put the gown on and hop in bed.  The wipes were warm which felt great but left my skin sticky and cool for a few minutes.  After that was finished,  I climbed in.  The nurse came back and asked me questions as she typed on the computer.

Do you wear contacts? No.
Do you wear dentures?  No.
Do you have a pace maker?  No.  (Guess it's standard!)

My parents showed up and took a seat in the two chairs next to my bed.  (The TV was on and we are watching the news about a tornado that might hit down. Not right in Milwaukee, but just outside of it.  My mom was worried the doctors and nurses may not make it for my operation!)

The nurse was putting an IV in.  She tried the back of my wrist, which I prefer because I can still bend my arms.  My veins are super visible and had been told they were "good" before.

Well. Guess again.

They look great, but the IV gets stuck half way in! She even had to get a little metal thing to push in my vein, which went in, but the IV still wouldn't. They had to give me a numbing shot, which has a slight sting and made a bump on my arm, but after that I did't feel much of them trying to get the IV in, so that was nice. I never had that before.

The nurse decided to try my other arm.

Failed again.

What is wrong with my veins!

Because of the numbing shot I don't feel the needle go in, but once it gets stuck, I can feel it! The nurse had a rule that if she tries three times and can't get it then it's someone else's turn to try.

Ok. Great.

As we wait for another nurse, a lady from a neurology team came in to hook me up to a bunch of sticky wires. Four sticky things on each foot and wrist, one big one on my chest and she put a bunch of x's on my head. I assume during surgery there will be more. She wiped with an alcohol swab,  scrubbed each spot with 'sand paper' and then put the sticky thing on.

By this time, it's probably been about 45 min without much action and it seemed a bit weird. A nurse popped in once to do my IV, but was called out.  Next thing I know, two nicely dressed ladies come in and introduce themselves.

One of them I had talked with quite a bit over the phone. They tell us Dr. Kassam has been in emergency surgery all night and would like to move our surgery to- tomorrow morning.

OMG. My heart sank. My eyes teared up.

After a bit,  I said "okay, we understand."  Of course I wanted him to be rested when he operated on me. Its hard though because I was so prepared for the surgery. This person was obviously in worse shape then me, needing an emergency operation in the middle of the night!

So it's set for 8:30 the following morning. Now all I want to do is get unhooked from everything so I can get out of there and eat and put some makeup on!

It had been such a mind game. I was mentally ready for it and now a change of plans.

The rest of the day we sat around, napped, went to a movie, did a bit of shopping, and then had sushi for dinner. I was too congested to even taste and enjoy the sushi. My congestion was getting worse and I was nervous they would cancel surgery because of that.

Ugh.

Get me back to my aunts so I can do my shower routine. AGAIN.

IV and wires

I have 4 people that were very important to me that I believe are looking down on me and helping me through all of this.
    First would be my Auntie Liana. She passed away when she was in her late 20's from a very aggressive brain cancer called Glioblastoma. She was only 7 years older then me. I always thought she was so cool, I would be in middle school, she would be in high school, always in the next step that I couldn't wait to get to. I was living in Az when she passed away and it was really hard on me. It was a battle that lasted over a year and I saw her once during that time. My parents were in Milwaukee every weekend to be with her once she moved into hospice. I think of her often and wonder what she would be doing if she were still here on earth with us

My beautiful Aunt

The next person is my Grandpa Penegor. He passed away in 2011. He is the only grandparent of mine not living today and I am so grateful for that. He was funny and great! He had many awesome stories for us and so many songs and sayings that will still say today.  We all miss him so much.

Shay and I with my grandpa

I often think of a lady we called Grandma Jan. She was not my grandma but she took my Mother's great friend under her wing.  Grandma Jan started coming to Amanda and I at the salon. I did her hair and she did her nails. We loved having her there and we always had so much to chat about. She was super caring and thoughtful. She had heart problems that she did not tell us about and one morning, she did not wake up.

Sweet Grandma Jan

And lastly, I think of my Mom's cousin Mary. She lived in AZ, so we did not see her very often, but she was an awesome lady! So fun and full of spark! She was a hairdresser too and when she was home, I'd have her do my hair. When I moved to AZ, she helped me find a place to live and my Dad and I stayed a night with her when we first got there. She was in a freak car accident and passed away.

Here she is cutting my great aunties hair