Port-plexed

"Aahh! Milkshake!" - perfect surgery treat

1/13/11 – I almost wrote 2 blogs yesterday.  Last night I lay in bed for a good hour trying to fall asleep.  All I kept thinking about was that I was going to get a port put in tomorrow and that port was going to have to stay in me for several months.  I have problems with getting IV’s because they have to stay in for hours.  Can you imagine how badly it bothered me to know the port was going to have to stay in months?  Months!  Kenton had Kristina call me Monday to let me know that the port wasn’t a big deal.  He was sedated when they put his port in so he was able to feel pressure but basically got a good nap.  He said that it didn’t hurt and it has been covered with gauze since the surgery.  Ok, here’s the problem – I’m a diva.  I kept thinking “Kenton was semi-awake during the surgery. What if I’m semi-awake too?”  It is important to remember that I almost passed out when my staples were removed.  What would I do if I knew that a port was being put into my body and I was semi-awake while that was happening? As I’m lying in bed I start to get a twinge in my back where the epidural was put in during the last surgery.  I’m starting to freak out.  Then I start to worry that I will freak out after the surgery because this thing is left in me.  To review, I’m freaking out because I have to get the port, because I might not be fully asleep during the surgery, and I’m freaking out because I might freak out! I was truly port-plexed.

Sometime during the night I finally fell asleep.  I woke up and got ready for the hospital.  I like to dress cute when I go to the hospital for surgeries because they don’t let you wear makeup or hair clips.  How depressing.  The only fun I get is clothing.  You may take away my makeup but you will never take away my style! – Braveheart moment again.  Tara Thomas was my driver for the day.  Yen drove me out of the subdivision to meet Tara this morning – Thanks Yen!  Tara and I then headed to the hospital.  We made it there without much slipping and sliding and were exactly on time.

Like always I had to get an IV when I got back into the pre-op room.  Why? Why?  I hate IVs.  My vein is still not the same since the surgery so I did ask if they could not use that vein.  They found one they liked and started trying to get a blood sample.  Did you catch that?  I said “trying”.  Apparently I am not a free bleeder, so it was very hard for them to get a blood sample.  There was a moment where I was squeezing my hand into a fist while another nurse was hitting my arm.  Guess what happened then?  I nearly passed out.  Yep.  I once again nearly passed out.  I don’t know if it was the irritating pain, the blood, or the fact that I hadn’t eaten in over 12 hours but I started to see those fuzzy little ants again and everyone sounded very far away.  I think I just wanted to scare Tara.  I’m relatively certain I succeeded.  I am happy to report that I did not actually pass out.  Around that time they got enough of a blood sample and were able to stop hitting my arm.  As soon as that stopped I felt 100% better.  Tara and I then watched I Dream of Jennie and Kristina came downstairs and hung out with us until I had to go to the holding room.

When I was in the holding room I felt like a rock star.  Nicole must have talked about me because I met a lot of wonderful people.  I just really love Emory Johns Creek.  Everyone there is so nice and makes you feel like they care about you as a person.  The real test of this is what name they call you when you don’t go by your first name.  Think about it.  If you go by your middle name what do colleges, doctors, and government agencies call you?  Your first name.  Generally I don’t correct people.  It’s just easier to go with it.  Everyone in the holding room called me Shea (Shea is technically not even a part of my legal name anymore).  I knew that they had a little deeper connection to me than just doctor/patient. 

I went through the surgery without a problem.  I was x-rayed afterward and everything looked good.  Before the surgery my surgeon had to tell me that there was a possibility that I could start bleeding or he could puncture my lung when the port is put in – now THAT is scary.  I did tell him that he was scaring me but it is something that he had to tell me before the surgery.  I was glad when he heard that the x-ray was clear because that meant that everything went in properly and I shouldn’t have any problems.  My surgeon is pretty awesome.

Once I was released from the hospital Tara and I headed to McDonald’s and got a milkshake and cheeseburgers.  Yum!  The cheeseburger made my day.  When we got to the house we watched Selling New York.  It’s amazing how large the apartments in downtown New York can be.  Some of them have more square footage than my house.  No wonder they are so expensive.  I took some Percocet for the first time in 3 weeks.  I think it’s a little funny that my colon resection was on December 13^th and my port placement was on January 13^th – exactly a month apart. 

Tara made me some yummy baked ziti tonight.  I would love some dark chocolate! Dove has some of the best dark chocolate bars.  That would be the only thing I would want to eat tonight.  My song of the day is Motley Crue’s “Doctor Feelgood” – “He’s the one they call Dr. Feelgood, He’s the one that makes ya feel all right, …”  I start my chemo tomorrow at 9:00. Since I won’t need to be stuck for an IV anymore it should be smooth sailing.  A huge “thanks” to Tara for dealing with me all day.  Night y’all!