Monday, December 1, 2008

Journal Entries!

I kept a journal from the first week of my surgery! I wrote in it everyday for the first week, and now it stays about the same so I will update my journal each week! I will post the first week throughout today so you can see what fun I had! : )
Love ya'll!
Jamie


Surgery Day
I woke up around 7:00 am feeling a little anxious and ready to get the surgery over with. I've never had surgery before so I don't know what to expect. Jon and I get to the surgery center around 9:00 am, fill in some paper work, and I pretty much get into a room right away. I give Jon a kiss and tell him I love him before going into the back. I got changed into a gown, took a pregnancy test (yep, they made me take one), and then I was able to lay down in a hospital bed. The nurse, Lisa, comes in and tells me all the fun stuff that will be happening and initials my right shoulder to acknowledge that my right shoulder is the one being operated on. Lisa was really nice and made me feel comfortable while she put and IV in my wrist. She hooks two different bags to my IV and then the anaesthesiologist comes in to explain more fun stuff that is going to happen to me. He tells me that he is going to put a nerve block in to completely numb my right arm. He gave me 3 huge shots into the right side of my neck. Those didn't feel very good but they began to work immedfiately and my arm slowly becomes numb. After the anaesthesiologist leaves the nurse comes back and brings my husband and Pastor Babin! Pastor Babin is a close friend of ours and preaches at St. John's in New Orleans. He came to pray with us before I went into surgery and it helped bring comfort to Jon and I. I was so nervous that I wasn't going to see Jon again before I went into surgery, so seeing him walk in brought me comfort and helped me relax. He gave me a kiss and then had to leave because it was almost time for my surgery. By the time he left, my arm was completely numb and I couldn't lift it at all (that was a very strange feeling). It was around 11:00 am by this time and my fluid bag was over halfway empty. I had to use the bathroom twice before surgery-which was extremely unpleasant because I had to use a bedpan! YUCK! I hope I never have to use one ever again! Anywho...I remeber the nurse and the anaesthesiologist wheeling me into the operating room. They helped move me from my bed to the operating table. I see them move my right arm to the arm table, but I can only watch them move it. It was an out of body experience becasue I couldn't feel my arm at all (so weird). The last thing I remember is saying hi to Dr. Junius and then the mask went over my mouth and nose and then they told me to take deep breaths and I was out! The surgery took 3 hours. They didn't have to do a bone graft like they origionally thought, but my ligaments were in even worse shape than Dr. Junius thought! I woke up in the room around 2:30 pm (only 30 minutes after my surgery was over) and see my husband! I can't describe how I felt seeing my husband, it made me feel relieved and at ease! The nurse checked me out and said I was good to go. Jon helped me get dressed out of my hospital gown, the nurse brought me a wheelchair, and then we went to the car. At this time I can't feel my arm still, they said the nerve block will last for 12 hours. Thank goodness, because that way the car ride won't be as bad and neither will the rest of the day! We got home around 3:00 pm and my mama was already there waiting for us! Jon and I are so thankful that my mama was able to come and help Jon take care of me! I pretty much rest and try to relax for the rest of the day. I honestly don't remember too much from being home on Thursday besides laying on the couch with Ozzie. I didn't sleep too bad the first night. I woke up around 3:30 am then woke up again around 6ish when Jon got up for work. He was going to have such a long day on Friday!
Love,
Jamie

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