Okay — while I’m still more-or-less coherent, here goes the story. Warning: medical narrative follows — if you’re like me, consider skipping this entry. Certainly don’t read this post while driving.
Margaret and Terry drove me to the hospital (as I was saying). At the Ambulatory Surgery (a word-picture that will stick with me a long time) reception desk, they signed me in and send me to a room of my own. By 11:15, Terry and Margaret and I were safely ensconced in a cozy little room, I in my formal hospital best. Hospital staff kept wishing me luck, which made me wonder if they knew something I ought to find out before surgery.
We then waited till 1:00; Terry and Margaret had a good long talk, the nurse made sure I hadn’t altered my pulse and blood pressure since last week, and I napped on and off.
All was pretty straightforward, apart from — well, the medical term I was taught for me is, “vasovagal on venipuncture.” By that, my doctors mean, “I’m inclined to faint when they draw blood.” The first blood doc tried to find a vein on the inside of my left arm. Whoops! Missed. Then he tried again, on the outside. Ouch! Missed again.
By this time I was sweating profusely and if my eyes hadn’t been closed, they’d have been bugging out. Blood Doc Number One recognized that he needed help, and summoned Blood Doc Two. Blood Doc Two began probing my right arm while my surgeon (who was shaving the regions he would soon be cutting through) sternly barked, “He’s going vagal!” (If I hadn’t known what that meant, I’d probably have fainted on the spot just from the dangerous sound of the expression.) Luckily, Blood Doc Number Two had found his vein (my vein), and soon they were pumping a comforting cocktail of saline and sedative into me.
I don’t even remember them gassing me for the general anesthetic. That’s how vagal I had gone.
I woke up gradually in post-op, helpless without my glasses. I waited rather impatiently for a half hour or forty-five minutes, and they wheeled me back to Margaret and Terry.
My review of the experience: right now, I'm not quite convinced that it beats having the hernia itself, but everyone tells me I’ll be glad I had it in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’d say that if you don’t already have a hernia, you should probably skip the surgery — there are better things to do with your entertainment dollar.
Posted by AKMA at September 22, 2003 08:42 PM | TrackBackGlad you're home. Rest up!
Posted by: steve at September 22, 2003 08:51 PMExcellent news. And exactly the post I wanted to read (particularly the bit about the problems finding your vein). But... was a sandwich included in your surgical/entertainment dollar?
Posted by: Jonathon Delacour at September 23, 2003 12:03 AMAKMA,
Good news. I have to say that sitting here at my desk at 8.30 in the morning, eating my breakfast, I did wince a little throughout your report but I made it through to the end without re-acqainting myself with the aforesaid breakfast. Such is the level of courgage you inspire in people.
Sit back and read a good book or two.
Posted by: Gary Turner at September 23, 2003 02:26 AMEntertainment?? That was only meant for the hospital staff. You were just supposed to get some moderate trauma, pain and inconvenience. Sounds like you did alright!
Behave for your recovery nurse(s) now.
Posted by: Jeanne at September 23, 2003 05:37 AMBe sure to hold out for top dollar for the movie rights. Alternatively, perhaps an episode on ER - that's still on, right?
Of course, you left out the very best bits...
"...and I was instrumented to the Senso-health 5000, by YoYoDyne Propulsion Systems. It uses a P4 at 1.5 GHz (hey, how fast do you have to be to check someone's pulse?), on a mini-ATX mobo with 512MB of RAM running Linux and wi-fi networked to the nurses' station. I was interested to note they've gone to USB interfaces. Nice to see medicine entering the latter part of the 20th Century. I asked the nurse if it was hooked to an UPS and she said no, in effect the entire hospital is on an UPS..."
I mean, c'mon AKMA - think of your "geek cred!" Embellish a little!
Nice to have you back.
Posted by: Dave Rogers at September 23, 2003 06:01 AMYour aunt Harri is also vagal when confronted with a needle. I used to have to tell the doctor or nurse to let her lie down since she was going to faint anyway! Take it easy, sleep lots and you'll feel better in no time!
Posted by: NTA at September 23, 2003 07:12 AMAll in all, could have been plenty worse. Take it slow, dude; you're just fine.
Posted by: Dorothea Salo at September 23, 2003 08:03 AMWell done. And now you've earned a little convalescence... some recuperative-period pain meds, good music, a comfy spot to rest... you might even enjoy some chicken soup! Take it easy and don't stress for a while.
Posted by: fp at September 23, 2003 09:36 AMOh AKMA! Eric has to deal with that vagal response, too. I'm glad to hear you're home, and recovering. We'll keep you in prayer.
Posted by: Mary Hess at September 23, 2003 11:07 AMIt only gets better from here AKMA - rest safe and well! (And know that I really admire your ability to take such a scary situation and turn it into such a funny story - thanks!)
Posted by: Anne at September 23, 2003 12:49 PMI haven't been around these parts long, but just wanted to add my .02 of "Glad you're home and doing well."
Posted by: Sunidesus at September 23, 2003 02:39 PM