I got sliced and diced yesterday, but I got so dehydrated waiting for my surgery that I got held up from leaving post-op until I was hydrated enough to pass urine which was about 2 hours and 2 liters of water and IV fluids later. As I wrote, part of the issue was I was restricted from food and fluids from midnight before the operation but did not get into the OR until between 1130 and 1145. The last thing I remember was transferring out of the gurney to the operating table and then getting woozy from the pre-op drugs. Next thing I remember is waking up in post-op from the nurse shaking me gently.
Anyway, getting back to the dehydration, I was denied fluids for 12 hours before the operation so that I wouldn’t throw up during the operation, and I was given very dry O2 during the operation that dried me out even more. After the operation I had about 1500 cc of oral fluids (water and coffee) and 500cc of IV fluids and I managed to get a trickle of urine about 2 hours later.
After I got home I had iced tea and water pretty much solid for another 4 hours, until I was passing urine normally. Then I just hung out with my Peeps.
Mrs. the Poet was able to get a good picture of “Chris Christie” after removal.
I should tell you that this doctor does not have small hands, if anything they are larger than normal.
I was told that there would be a dent left behind when Chris was evicted from my neck, but I was not expecting anything like this dent.
That is a friggin huge dent, especially when you compare the “before” shot.
And a lump that large takes a large incision to remove.
With all that the relief in pain was immediate, from about a 2 or 3 to maybe a 1 on the 0-10 scale. And that was with no post-op pain drugs. I was forced to take 1 Hydrocodone after the operation because maybe I would have some pain after the shock of the operation wore off, or the last of the anaesthesia wore off or something like that, but I haven’t needed anything for pain at all. I feel less pain now than I have in months.
The only thing I regret is I will have to miss the Ride of Silence tonight because I can’t let the incision area get sweaty.
PSA, Opus the unkillable badass Poet