My medical team and my family have all been absolutely wonderful and the whole process has been absolutely perfect. I didn’t even have to wait for surgery, everything happened right on schedule and I always had someone with me so I wasn’t scared. This has been a literal dream come true 💜
ONE LAST THING
I was very nervous about surgery, but by the time I think I would have been genuinely panicking about it, my incredible nurse had already given me sedatives. She had also been chatting and joking around with me a bunch during the whole process of getting ready, and kept my mind off if
I also, surprisingly, don’t seem to have any memory loss. I can remember clearly up until they put the mask on me in the OR, and mostly clearly from the moment I woke up after, only very minor forgetfulness.
The whole thing was such a positive experience from start to finish. I am so so grateful to everyone involved 💜
Update on what the physical experience has been like, for anyone interested:
I was pretty sore when I immediately woke up from surgery, but it was only maybe a 4/10. Quite bearable, more like strong discomfort than genuine pain.
Woke up for meds and now I can’t sleep because I am overwhelmed with JOY 💜💜💜
I was able to walk around very soon after I woke up (they made me wheelchair out of the hospital but I didnt need to!!), and my range of motion in my arms has been surprisingly good, though I’m being very mindful that I can’t feel pain right now and taking it easy
They gave me pain meds (Oxy) as soon as they were confident I was awake and not having complications, maybe 5-10 minutes later. I’ve taken my meds as directed since them- Oxy every 4 hours, Tylenol every 6. I was also given diazepam, which I haven’t taken at all, and nausea meds which I took twice
ALSO
My sweet wonderful parents got up at 4:30am so they could make the long ass drive from their place to be there for me. They got lost and still managed to get there just a couple minutes after me 😭💜
I only barfed once on the car ride home hahaha. I haven’t been very nauseous at all. Pain wise, I’m at a 0-1/10 until right around when my meds wear off, and then it’s only a 2-3/10. Mostly the drain sites are sore. Occasionally the incisions feel a bit sore or my chest feels like it’s been punched