Surgery Day : Part 1

I remember being woken up by the nurse around 5.50am to prep me for the surgery. Blood pressure and body temperature were taken and later was told to empty my bowel! Some sorta liquid was nozzled into my anus and I was told to hold it for 10 to 15 mins before going to the loo. Omigosh! It was the worst 10 mins ever! And seriously, I could only hold it for 5 mins I think, before I let it all go! What the nurse did was actually called enema - the procedure of introducing liquid into the anus for the purpose of regulating the bowel in order to empty it. Empty bowel is necessary prior surgery in order to avoid complications when tummy contents may go up the lungs during surgery later.

Anyway, after Subuh prayers and reading pages after pages of the Holy Quran, I put on my surgery gown and cap and waited for the nurses to come and wheel me to the Operating Theatre (OT). MIL and FIL came early that morning around 7.30am to see me. Around 7.50am, the nurse and a hospital aide came to ask a few questions .."are you wearing any contact lens? dentures? allergic to certain medications..bla..bla..bla.." After answering No to most questions, they said I was ready for the operations and wheeled me to the OT on the 1st floor. I took out a card under my pillow before going outta the room. It's for Hubs. He looked pretty surprised with the gesture. I bought a book of Starbucks vouchers and a Thank You card for him. I just felt that it was appropriate to thank him in advance for the trouble that I will cause him after the operation. And what can be more appropriate than those vouchers while I'll be in the hospital as there's a Starbucks outlet on the ground floor :) He can always go down to Starbucks to grab his favourite Venti Green Tea Frappuccino and do some internet surfing if he ever gets bored of taking care of me in the hospital room, ay? Of course, will have to think of something bigger to give him when everything's all right. Okay Hubs?

Reaching the 1st floor and when I was about to enter the OT, MIL, FIL and Hubs kissed me. Omigosh, I had never felt that scared and sad before. The nurse kept saying that everything will be fine after this. The OT nurse waiting for me was a Filipino from the way she spoke. Again, she checked my stats and asked the same questions asked earlier and then transferred me to another smaller bed. Then I was blanketed and wheeled to a small room in a corner. There, I waited and waited until an older looking nurse came and wheeled me to right outside the OT. "Hold on, we'll wait for Dr. Nora and Dr. Das" she said. While waiting, I could hear the nurses getting the OT ready. Minutes later, I was wheeled and transferred onto the OT bed. Gone all my anxiety as I was starting to feel excited at that time, thinking that it was my first ever time going into an OT. Thanks to Grey's Anatomy :)

I started to look around the OT trying to absorb everything, from the surgical equipment, to the big bright lights above me. The big digital clock showed 8.51am when the Anesthetician, Dr Das, started putting in the needle for administration of intravenous fluid on the back of my palm. Some liquid spurted out while he was doing it and I could hear him swearing "Shit, shit, how could this happen? Who took the cap out?" I was trying to understand what was happening while at the same time trying to stand the pain as the fluid started to go into the back of my palm when another nurse came and placed an oxygen mask over my nose and mouth. Within seconds I was out.

To be continued