One week post-op: Reflections on surgery day

I've been busy doing absolutely nothing, so I have zero excuses for not posting sooner! My surgery went VERY well and I'm extremely thrilled with the results so far. For the sake of not writing one giant long post about everything that's happened in the past 7 days, I'm going to break things up into themes and write separate posts. This post will be about my reflections of the day of surgery.

I had simple meta with Dr. Bowers on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at San Mateo Surgery Center. I arrived at the surgery center at 8:30am, where a rude and short-tempered receptionist had me sign a bunch of forms that I already signed and questioned me about my insurance coverage. Luckily things got sorted out quickly, and a nurse brought me back to the pre-op/recovery area. It was a small room with three beds, separated by curtains. The nurse had me change into a gown, booties, and a hat. She started the IV and then I waited for maybe 30-45 minutes. Luckily they let my fiancee come back, so she kept me company and we took some silly pictures. Dr. Bowers and Dr. Nicole came by, and then the anesthesiologist (can't remember her name) came and asked me about drug allergies and told me what to expect. She explained that they will give a sedative via IV, pain meds, then propofol (general anesthesia). She also explained what to expect post-op in the recovery room- they would wake me up, ask about my pain, and give additional pain meds if needed.

I walked into the operating room and climbed onto the operating table. I remember the nurses strapping my arms down, and the anesthesiologist giving me the sedative. The last thing I remember is asking why there was only one stirrup for my legs. They explained that the other one was under the table. In my head I was thinking, "I hope you put both of those things up, you need a good view of my junk!" At this point I felt very comfortable and relaxed, and then I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes and the nurse asked me to rate my pain - it was a 6 on a scale of 1-10. They gave me more pain meds via my IV. I was very aware of a throbbing pain between my legs and I had a sore throat from being intubated. At this point S. came back to the recovery room and apparently I was blinking a lot trying to keep my eyes open. It was SO hard to stay awake! But I knew from top surgery that they would want me to wake up and try to drink some water and communicate about my pain. I think it was about 30 minutes before I could get out of bed and pee - that was the test I had to pass before I could leave. I needed S. to come to the bathroom with me because I was pretty wobbly on my legs. I got to take a look at my new package, and WOW! I could already see that it was pretty awesome :) Everything was bandaged up and swollen and ouchy, but at least it was MINE.

Shortly thereafter, S. pulled the car around and the nurse brought me out in a wheelchair. We sat in the car for a few minutes, and S. told me that I got a text from my supervisor at work while I was under, and told me to read my messages... Apparently the interviewer from a job I'd applied for/interviewed for earlier that week called my supervisor for a reference, then told her that she was going to offer me the job! I was so overwhelmed with joy, I started crying. (It was totally not the narcotics talking!) I got this surge of happiness - it just felt so incredible to have this life-changing surgery and get an (unofficial) job offer all in the same day! What good news all around.

We made it back to the hotel and I took a nap almost immediately. I skyped with my parents later that night, and they seemed relieved that I was OK.