Paula's Surgery Day
The day started out a little normal. Paula had set her alarm for 6:00am. Her plan was to jump in the shower at that time and I would get up and start getting my clothes ironed and take Phileo out to potty. By the time I got done with that stuff, I would jump in the shower and we would be out of the front door by 7:15am to arrive at Presbyterian Hospital by 8:00am.
Just as you might suspect, it didn’t happen quite that way. Paula’s alarm did indeed go off, but she decided she needed a few extra minutes of slumber. She nudged me and asked, “I need a 15 more minutes, do you mind getting your shower now?” I sluggishly half-asleep mumbled, “Ok.”
“WAYNE, ARE YOU GETTING UP!!?” I pulled my tired self from the bed and walked to the bathroom with the grace of a pregnant elephant.
Fast forward about an hour, we leave the house at about 7:25am. Traffic was horrible. We got to the hospital at about 8:20am. Paula was nervous all the way to the hospital. She was afraid that if she was late, they would send her home and not do the surgery. I, being of rational thought and composure, knew that we’d be fine. Paula was just stressed and nervous about the surgery. We got her admitted and prepped for surgery and her dad said a word of prayer. The three of us (me and my in-laws) went to the waiting room.
The first thing we were waiting for was to find out that they started the surgery. In the waiting room, there were volunteers who kept the families informed about what was going on. Basically, they were little old ladies who knew how to maintain order. So we went and found a seat.
Across from us sat a family of rednecks. Yes indeed. They got on the subject of telling stories about themselves and people they knew who had driven nails, drilled screws, or drilled drill bits through their hands. They talked about just ripping them out. My stomach was flipping!
Finally, one of little old ladies came and told us that the surgery had started about 10 minutes ago (it was about 10:15 at that time) and that it would probably take about 2 hours. I looked at my mother-in-law and told her my stomach was sick and I needed to get something to eat. The three of us went down to the cafeteria just to find that it closed from 10:00-11:00. We got a snack and a soda from the refreshment cart and headed back upstairs.
We weren’t there long until a little old lady came and told us that the surgery was over and that we were to go into conference room #3 to meet with the doctor. We did. Dr. Melkonian (I think that is how you spell it) came in and said everything went fine and that it took just under an hour. He said that Paula is now in recovery and it would be at least an hour before we could see her.
We decided to go back down to the cafeteria because it was time for it to re-open. You would have thought there was a cattle call. As we were walking down the hall, a ton of interns busted past us, practically throwing us into the wall. They were headed, like a heard, to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was great. It had a ton of selections. I had a slice of pepperoni pizza. It was very good.
We get back up to the waiting room at about 11:45. We actually didn’t get to go up to her room for about 2 hours. We got to her room at 2:10pm. While we were waiting, a couple of ladies came to sit a few seats away from us. One was very loud and quite uncouth. Her language would have made a sailor blush. She kept talking about how she was “getting two checks this month.” Something about her kid’s father. She was then talking about her food stamps. Ok, so there really should be no shame in financial assistance if you need it. However, one should not talk about their personal finances in a public place. Just not appropriate.
Anyway, she borrowed a dollar from her friend to get something to snack on. She goes over to the vending machines and comes back with a bag of Ruffles’ Cheddar & Sour Cream Potato Chips. Please someone tell me why she had to smack her mouth and suck her teeth as she ate the chips. Not a few accidental smacks… no she smacked with every chew and every bite. Sometimes, even a follow up smack after she swallowed the chip(s). I love Cheddar & Sour Cream Ruffles, but smelling them and listening to her smack and suck turned my stomach.
There was a young guy wearing a firefighter sweatshirt sitting across from us. He fell asleep. The little old lady came to tell him something about his family member who he was there for and had a hard time waking him up. “Lady Smacks-a lot” chimes in with, “He sure is out cold,” as she smacks before she speaks and sucks her teeth after. Yes indeed!
Well we got up to Paula’s room. Right as we got there, her IV blew. That was the third IV she had. It took them about 45 minutes to find another vein they could get another one in. I felt so bad for Paula, because during that time, she wasn’t getting any morphine. She said she was in pain. She may have thought she was in pain, but she was still so doped up from the anesthesia that she had no clue what was going on.
She started getting nausea and heaving up a little bloody spit. Paula’s mom was laughing at me because, as Paula was vomiting, I was in the corner gagging. I am such a weiner when it comes to blood and vomit.
Anyway… it was so hard to watch Paula lay there. She wasn’t herself obviously. Knowing she is in pain and still unsure about what she just did, I wanted to cry. I didn’t know how to help her. I didn’t know what to say. You would think, having been a pastor, it would be second nature knowing what to do. It’s not when it’s your best friend and love. I can’t wait to see Paula tomorrow because she should feel a little better. Her pain will probably be a little more uncomfortable because the anesthesia will have totally worn off. I wish I could swap places with her.
As I sit here and type, Phileo is trying to push under my arm. He wants his daddy to hold him. I think he is confused about where mommy is. I better hold him and get some shut eye.
Wayne
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11:01 PM
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