It was a quiet morning as compared to the day before, where I was visited by anaesthetist, physiotherapist, assistant surgeon in the ward. It was just a normal BP checking on surgery day morning. The husband and I were still catching up on our drama on the laptop. I took a long long shower before I finally succumbed to change into my ward gown, and subsequently OT (operating theatre) gown.
A few minutes before 2pm, one nurse came to pick me up using a wheel chair. The husband followed us into the lift, into the basement, right outside the door where he could no longer follow.
The nurse pressed the bell and I parted goodbye with the husband. What was I feeling at that moment? Pure anxiety and worrisome.
Being pushed inside, transferred to a special chair where more people came to attend to me. They identified themselves as the OT specialist whom will be inside the OT room throughout with me. They explained slightly on what comes next. Gave me the cap to put on (like a shower cap). Then we walked to the OT room. The place was like a maze, there were many people working and many different OT rooms available. Like a laboratory, or like a research centre to me...
Reaching the OT room, it was a white room with some green paint here and there (ie door etc), I was asked to lie down flat on the OT bed. The bed was warm for a reason, then there's an auntie with an ID 'OT technician' who prepared me further with oxygen level clip on the thumb. BP wrap on my left hand which automatically activated in a certain timing. Some sticky labels on the body to monitor the heart beat.
The OT technician also put a warm air into the blanket for me so I would be comfortably warm throughout the surgery. And then there's this leg massager wrapping both of my lower legs which will vibrates in every few minutes to trigger massager to the legs.
Then I saw the assistant surgeon who I met the day before. She's Dr J, a very assuring lady who keeps exchanging gazes with me. She noticed my anxiety, and kept walking towards me to comfort me, although I didn't quite remember what she told me, but mostly she wants me to feel that I'm in good hands.
Then came Dr H who came to check to confirm the op site to be the right breast, and gave me a little pat on the back that I'll be fine. However I did remember I told him to "give me good stitches" and he replied as "we'll do our best!"
More and more professionals walked into the OT room, there were discussions, there were different teams of people with different roles. Came 2 anaesthetists who approached my left hand and tried to find my vein to create a drip for the drug, and boy they were really having a hard time to find a big fat to start with.
At that moment, unknowingly I started weeping for no reason, tears dropping and Dr J caught me red-handed. She came to comfort me again. After a few tries and minutes, the anaesthetists finally did it and was trying to take blood samples before putting on drip.
Probably taking too long or either seeing my lost look, I heard them talking to each other to put me to sleep instead. With the green light of Dr H who came and said, "OK everybody, let's start!" somebody put a breathing mask to me and trying to bluff me as 'oxygen' and asked me to take really deep breath. I managed to take a peek at the wall digital clock as about 2:15pm
Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out, then came an awful strong flow of smell through the mask, I looked at the bright lights above me, blink, blink and a few more blinks, and there I went passed out...
...
When I started to hear somebody calling me, "Hello xxx, your surgery is completed, you are now at the post op observation room." It was actually still at the 'maze' which I referred to. I felt really dizzy, couldn't really stand to open my eyes for more than 5 seconds. But I gathered enough conscious to ask the nurse, "Have you all informed my husband?"
Again, peeking at the clock, it was close to 5pm. I felt very uncomfortable on the throat, like a super heaty sore-throat. This was due to breathing pipe put in to assist my breathing due to the surgery, fyi. I asked for a sip of water. Sipping with care, I remembered at the back of the mind that Nurse T advised me before that vomitting would be a 'disaster' if it happened after a surgery. That would mean more drips for the next couple of hours if not days. So the warm water was the best thing taken since the fast the night before.
Nurse confirmed that one of them has called the husband to report. Nurse was asking me to rest while they waited for the drip to finish. I think they put that during the surgery too, for source of minerals. So drip finished around 5pm. They were checking if I was ready to go back to ward. Oh yes definitely, I nodded strongly.
...
Being pushed back on the bed, to my ward, I still feel dizzy like in a wonderland, on a theme-park ride. A few nurses transferred me back to my ward bed, and there I asked for more water, and understood that the husband had gone home... I asked for the ward phone, called the husband and found out that he was on the way back to the hospital with the family members.
I felt relieved, I felt 'my 1st step to fight the big C was over!', I felt victorious.
And I let my eyelid took the lead to rest the eyes and the mind as the anaesthesia effect was not worn out completely.
The next time I opened my eyes, the husband stepped into the room, with my daughter and son, mum and dad in-laws, and my niece. I felt really happy to see them and I started talking non-stop on how 'high' or rather how 'elated' to see them.
I managed to eat a few mouthful of porridge cooked by mum-in-law and a few bites on the steamed fish prepared by the hospital. And a lot of water. Damn the sore throat...
That night the husband sent the family home and I requested him to rest well at home. Wise choice it was, as it was a busy night at the ward where the nurses came to check on my BP, temperature almost every hour, with 2 doctors came visiting to check on the wound, the drain and my breathing in the interval of night to 6am the next day.
Oh and I went for the 1st urine passing in the middle of the night with the assistance of a super nice nurse from the Myanmar. That getting up left me super nauseous and luckily the nurse assisted well and quickly put me to the bed again to rest.
