DIEP Surgery -- Day 1

Going into the surgery I was truly at peace. I did not have an overwhelming amount of nerves and fortunately was in an extremely good place. We arrived at the hospital around 6:15 where I was checked in and put into a gown. My husband was allowed to sit with me for a bit but after they wheeled me into the pre-op room he had to leave. I felt sorry that he had to be awake for the grueling hours ahead and that I was able to sleep it off. I remember both of my doctors came in to examine and mark me, they were both optimistic about the operation. After they left to prep the surgical room I found myself joking around with one of the med techs about NFL football. He is a Cowboys fan and I am a Packer fan so we had a good time razzing each other. After that I was greeted by the anesthesiologist. From there it is a bit foggy...I'm not sure if they gave me the anesthesia in the pre-op room or if they wheeled me into the actual operating room for that...I vaguely remember being rolled away but I'm not so sure if that is fact or the meds talking.

I recall waking up later that evening...I think it was around 7:30 pm. A sweet nurse brushed the hair off of my forehead and said "such a pretty girl"...I remember smiling inwardly about the irony of that comment seeing as I felt like a ton of bricks had hit me. After that exchange I dropped back off into lala land. I woke up and fell back to sleep several time in the span of the next half hour. I do remember being greeted by my husband when I was in my ICU room. I asked him if Dancing With The Stars was still on and he said "no babe, it's 9." I was bummed. I needed my DWTS distraction!
After awhile my husband went home to help my mom get the boys to bed...apparently my sons do not go to bed as willingly for grandma and they do for mommy and daddy.

That night was a rough one for me. I spiked a temperature and struggled with nausea. Battling the urge to throw up really left me hesitant to push my morphine button...if I pushed it I would be in extreme pain from puking and if I didn't push it I would feel the pain from my wounds more intensely. The nurses eventually found a cocktail of meds that seemed to have a three fold effect: It helped my pain, prevented my nausea, and it caused me to go to sleep. I managed a couple hours of sleep in a row after that was figured out. But with nurses coming in every half hour to check vitals, drains, and flaps it is hard to remain in a deep sleep. I had no desire to watch TV, listen to music, or "do" anything which is extremely odd for me. I just laid there with my thoughts. I was not in the most optimistic of moods at this point, but I was fighting through.