Surgery is Over

Abby had her surgery on Monday. The surgery itself was quick - about 45 minutes - and all went well. It was everything else that went wrong. First, they gave her an IV instead of using her port. We will never allow them to do this again because she kept trying to rip out the IV. She is so used to ports that she hates IVs. Then she was awake in recovery for about 20 minutes before they allowed us back to see her. She was very upset. We are usually back there almost immediately after she wakes up. Then she just kept asking to go to her room (the oncology unit). She wasn't being admitted, so she had to stay there, which she is not used to as she's never had an outpatient procedure. Finally, she would not cooperate with vitals. When this happens, we ask that they come back in 15 or 20 minutes to give her time to calm down. This almost always works. However, the nurses in techs in recovery would not do this. They tried over and over to get her blood pressure. They were taking her last vitals before we were released when she decided that she'd had enough. What they think happened is that she held her breath. She held it long enough that she turned blue and was completely stiff and became unconscious. Then she was blue and limp. They called a code blue and came running with the crash cart. She was bagged several times before her color returned and she regained consciousness. It was a terrifying experience and I hope Leonard and I never have to witness that again.

Abby is now on a liquid only diet for two weeks. She had recently begun to eat a little more and she is not very happy about this, especially because that means no cheese. She will go for a follow-up in a couple of weeks and then will hopefully have her sleep study in about a month.