I want to apologize for my lack of photographic evidence of my procedure. I neglected to take pre-op photos, but I will be begging Dr. Veitia to share the ones he took so I can share them with you guys at some point.
This process could not have been smoother. Once we got the approval from my insurance company on the portion they were going to cover, I paid everyone else over the phone with my debit card. A little more than a week prior to surgery, a nurse from Paoli Hospital called with my instructions. She was absolutely awesome! She advised me that with the recent renovations at the hospital, the rooms were all private, and Jim was welcome to stay overnight with me. There was room service, instead of just the regular hospital meal delivery, and she said the hospital itself was bright and lovely. I told her I might be willing to cancel my summer vacation and just spend it there with them if things were THAT good, and she said I was welcome to do so, as long as she could take my vacation. She was really a nice person to talk to – very reassuring, extremely informative, and tremendously helpful.
I got a call the afternoon prior to surgery telling me to arrive no later than 6 AM. Russell was going to be taking us to the hospital, so in case the weather was bad, as it was predicted to be, I’d have a way to get home if Jim couldn’t drive. He dropped us at the front door to the hospital at just about 5:45, and we were in the first group of people to go back to the pre-op prep area (I don’t know what the official name for this area is, but that works for me).
Kim was my nurse, and she was awesome. She rolled her eyes appropriately at Jim’s bad jokes, and managed to get my IV started on the first try – which in my world is some sort of record (it took 8 tries when I had Granuaile). She happily informed me that I was not pregnant – thank you, menopause – and was blessedly helpful with everything else.
The nurse who worked with the anesthesiologist – AMAZING. Calm, friendly, nurturing. Loved her, and wish I could remember her name. Her surgical cap was WAY better than mine, too, so I totally could have gone into the OR with a serious case of cap envy, but she was just so nice, I couldn’t get my jealous on.
Dr. Veitia – does the man ever have a day where he isn’t smiling?? – came in to do my marking. I stood up, oh so thrilled yet again to be naked in front of an audience, while he drew smiley faces, hearts, and daisies all over my flabby ass self. Okay, they may have been more technical markings than smiley faces, but it helped put my focus in a happier place to think of the OR team taking off my clothes to see a big old smiley face drawn on me!
I recall being wheeled out of this area, kissing Jim, and then honestly, virtually nothing else until I woke up in recovery. I have no recollection of anything in the OR – which I’m happy for, I think. I hope I wasn’t too much of a pain in the butt, but I am so grateful that no one afterwards told me that I was.