| | Wow, I guess this is going to be my very first blog instead of a rant! Anyways, I decided to write this in case there is someone else out there whom is getting this surgery, and is a bit nervous. Hopefully it will be useful to somebody. About three weeks ago, I noticed a golf-ball sized lump on the right side of my groin. Being a teen that had never had surgery before, my first reaction was to absolutely freak out. I kept it a secret for that week, but decided if it didn't go away, I would tell my parents on Friday. I scheduled an appointment with my doctor at the clinic just to verify that it is what it appeared to be, and she confirmed it. I had a right inguinal hernia.
For those of you that don't know what a hernia is, it is where a tear developes in your abdominal wall and your intestines start to push out through the hole, and it can get bad very quickly, so I recommend you see your doctor ASAP. My doctor referenced me to a surgeron at St. Francis Medical Hospital, and I went in for my surgery consultation about two weeks ago on a Wednesday. They also confirmed that it was a hernia, and gave me some packets of information, and scheduled my surgery for September 17, yesterday to be exact. The lump bothered me over the weeks, and despite my fear of needles, I wanted it gone. At 5:30 yesterday morning, I was taken to the hospital, hungry and thirsty as I wasn't allowed to eat or drink since midnight. I got to sit down for about 10 minutes and waited for them to call my name to be registered, and I was lead into my pre-op room about 5 minutes after getting registered. They got a bag for my clothes, and had the IV and whatnot laid out on the bed, and I was told to take my clothes off and put on the gown. It took me a minute or two to negotiate the gown, but I got it on, put my clothes into the bag, and laid down on the bed. They would come in, asked me basic information such as if I had allergies, my birthday, etc etc etc. I closed my eyes as they put in the IV, and as they hooked up the bag, they would fumble around with my needle, which made me uncomfortable, as they apparently couldn't get my blood out. They put in another needle into my right elbow, and drew a vial of blood, and I was laying there, shivering and very uncomfortable. Finally, they gave me a remote and I watched cartoons until the anasthesiologist came in and talked to me about what would happen and the possible side-effects of the anasthetic. Finally, the doctor's assistant came in, gave me a medicine that made me relax, and after I said goodbye to my mom and dad, I was carted into the OR. It was the steriotypical room you see in the shows, and I remember the nurse screw two syringes into my IV. She injected the first one, which I felt pushing into my veins, which felt wierd, and then they injected the second one. All I remember after that is waking up, the nurse telling me that my surgery was over. I didn't feel much pain, and eventually I was carted into the post-op room, which was pretty much the same as the pre-op room, just a different number. They gave me juice and crackers, which I slowly ate as my mom and dad came in. After a minute, I stood up and got dressed, slowly, and was sat in a wheelchair and moved out to the car. When I got home, I immediately crawled into bed. When I woke up, I wanted to get up and move to the living room, which was okay, as the local anesthetic had not worn off yet, but after I moved back into my bed, and the local wore off, any kind of movement really hurt. The Percocet they gave helped, and so far, I've taken it every time I can, after 4 hours. Come day 2, I developed a low grade fever, and as of this moment, I have a fever of 101.6. The doctor says I need to drink more fluids, and it may be an infection, but that will only be confirmed if my temp goes over 102.5. I'm still in alot of pain, and there is a painful burning sensation when I walk, which from what I hear is my nerves regenerating. I'll keep y'all updated. By the way, tomorrow is my b-day. I have no idea what I want. Joy. Bagels |
