Post-Op

Post Op

After surgery I came too in my recovery room. The hospital was running a little empty so the administration stuck me in the pediatric ward.

 Honestly, the first thing I remember hearing was the anesthesiologist tell me that he was going to remove the catheter. Of course, not having the strength to protest, I felt a sensation in my abdomen that I don't wish to discuss. I think he was under the impression that sedation was still under effect.

From there, the nursing staff took over. They got me hooked into all sorts of hospital machinery. There was the IV, which was supplying me with nutrients and an anti-biotic. Ice packs around my jaw for the swelling. A blood pressure monitor that they came and checked every couple hours. Finally, this machine that they said was to prevent blood clots in post-op patients. It worked by intermittently pumping air into a piece of synthetic cloth wrapped around my calf muscles. I kind of wished I had one of these contraptions at home. It felt like getting a massage every time they turned on.

I'd lost 1 pt. of blood. Just standing was exhausting.

It's general practice for surgery patients not to eat before going in. So by the time I had come around, I was soooooooo hungry for anything. Unfortunately, being on a clear liquid diet restriction I wasn't able to have my post -op prime rib, so I settled for a few cups of broth and some apple juice.

The most obvious question to ask a post op patient is, "how much pain are you in". I'm not sure if it's because the pain meds from the O.R., or because my nervous system had not finished re-setting itself; but I was not hurting too much. I opted from some Ibuprofen and put the issue out of mind.

In this particular surgery the surgeon will cut through the nerves that supply feeling to the mid-portion of your face. I have little/no feeling in my upper jaw, nose, sinus, uvula, and inner ear. These will all return when the incisions heal but in the meantime, it feels like the effects of Novocaine after a dental visit.

My main concern, the inside of my mouth. It was huuuuge from swelling. It made navigating my tongue quite the challenge. The other thing was that my uvula was swollen. So much so, that I thought that it was a piece of flem  caught in my throat. I'd say 95% of my effort the first few hours out of the O.R. was waging war on my poor uvula and the flem draining with the little suction vacuum they'd given me.