Trip to the Operation Theater ~ Day of the Surgery

It was the first surgery of my life but I was exceptionally calm; my mind was blank, I think, so I wasn't reacting. I woke up at five thirty in the morning to eat something before my fasting began in preparation for the anesthesia I would soon be given. Abbie brought me my breakfast (a date and an omelette) and I was troubled to see her worried. She was panicked because she would soon be driving her baby down to be cut up under anesthesia. It made me a little nervous to see her stressing out but I was still not horrified with what was going to happen to me soon. I slept till late and then quickly showered and got dressed for the hospital; they had told me no make up, no body lotion, no perfume, no nothing so I didn't have anything to do. 

The ride to the hospital was awkwardly long and silent for me. Mama and Abbie were speaking and so was I but there was silence in my head, I was still not feeling scared even though I wanted to because, after all, it was the first ever surgery of my life. It felt wrong not to be freaking out. We arrived at the hospital's parking lot, found a good spot to park, marked our lot number and floor, and headed for the elevator. The hospital was a huge maze to navigate around but we had done a test-run last evening (when I was told I would be coming in for surgery the very next day) so we knew where to go. I went ahead and signed in for my surgery, the waiting room was full of people waiting for their loved ones with pagers (blue things that'd start blinking to alert them the surgery was over) and there were other sign ins before my name on that sheet. A stern looking lady called me for further details of the sign up process and I found myself seated at her desk. She made me slightly angry for she was the kind who decided when a joke was cracked up in the conversation and if you smiled against her self-determined cue she'd give you the who-told-you-you-could-smile look. But it was finally sinking in ... I was going to have a surgery and nobody mattered right now.

I started feeling very light as if my body was not there and all I could see was Abbie and Mama. The lady called someone up to ask if I could go in and then told me to wait since they were getting my room ready for me. Mama wanted me to sit down but I couldn't; if I had sat down to wait I would have probably started trembling. Then I heard, "Sara Ali" and my throat started feeling metallic. Another lady directed me through a set of double doors and asked my folks to wait outside while they took me in. She noted down my weight first and then told me to go to room fifty two. I did as was told and walked my way up to room fifty two with feet that felt very heavy. Another lady was sitting there with her computer ready to start shooting questions at me. 

The right and left side of the bed

Room fifty two had a single blue bed in the center which was propped up into a sitting position. To the bed's right side was unknown stuff that was ready to attend to a heart patient's emergency it seemed; a long white pipe connected to a blue something and a pale pink pipe connected to a white oval shaped machine that looked like a speedometer. On the left side was a blue machine connected to lots of wires of varying thicknesses that would soon display my vitals. A table lay beneath the machine empty, along which were two chairs. The lady introduced herself as Debbie and asked me to be seated in one of them. I had requested an all female staff for my surgery and the first thing Debbie did was assure me that it was exactly what I would be getting today. She then continued to press a few buttons on her computer, not looking at me, who had started bouncing in her chair with nervousness. "I'm really nervous," I confessed and Debbie smiled and told me she understood. She tried to calm me down by telling me that it's really all just scary looking when it is not. She said, "You'll be numb and sleeping and won't know a thing .. it'll just be very cold in there, don't know why but they keep it freezing!" She then asked me lots of questions about my health, when had I last ate or drank anything, what had I taken, how tall I was, and etc. 

Next I was asked if I wanted to change in the room or the bathroom and Debbie gave me a bag to put away my clothes in. Along with the bag she handed me two blue gowns, a pair of blue socks, and a funny looking underwear that looked like men's boxers rather than something a woman would wear. I was walked up to the bathroom, Abbie was called in to help me change, and I was given a bottle to pee in (I hate giving pee samples, it's just insane peeing in a bottle!). Next second, Abbie was with me and was telling me I was taking my grand time in the bathroom and that I should hurry up. She helped me change after we had had a good laugh at that underwear and then we walked back to my room where Debbie took the sample bottle from me and asked me to lie down and wait.

While I tied my hair in a ponytail and gave Abbie my glasses, hair clip, and shoes to pack away the nervousness seemed to increase. Then an adorable looking smiley lady walked in and introduced herself as Sara with an h. She gave me the bad news that marked the beginning of my surgery: she was there to set up my IV. Let the poking begin ...

Click to read My Pre-Surgery Thoughts or proceed to The Surgery!