Friday was a big day! It came both quicker and slower than I expected, but I was more than ready to get Sparky 1.0 replaced so I can get the MRI finally and hopefully get a firm diagnosis to what is going on with me.
As procedures go this was fairly straightforward. Reported to registration, and I never really had to wait much. Mom, Dad and I had a bit of a heated discussion the night before with taking my wheelchair so I could wheel myself, but I lost that battle, though I would like to think that if we had to do it again, Mom would have relented and we would have taken mine, if for no other fact that I can push myself in it.
The hardest portion of the morning was getting an IV put in, no less than 5 pokes, and they had to call the PICC team because I was proving to be a hard stick being so dehydrated. I am pretty sure I am going to end up with a “needs PICC team” note in my chart soon as a lot of my veins are just not as friendly as they used to be. But soon enough I was all in my garb and ready to go.
They let me keep my glasses on for this procedure which I appreciate, once the IV was placed I went straight back, they were running early! The operating theatre as usual was very cold, but they gave me toasty warm blankets which helped. They then scrubbed the old scar site (they went through the same scar) layered on the operating dressings and covered my face, and gave me a mix of versed and fentanyl and I was off into a semi-awake lala land. I did not treat my care team to any singing this time, but apparently I was talking about my cats.
The procedure itself took about a half an hour, but was over in a flash for me, the most I felt was some tugging and pulling and some pressure. My doctor only really woke me up once. My leads were in pristine condition which made everyone happy so I wouldn’t need new leads. I requested ahead of time that I wanted to keep Sparky 1.0, and I was able to keep it! Right now since it is not hooked up to anything it beeps twice a day, but I know eventually that will stop. Still it is a neat momento that will become part of my desk flair at my new home.
Procedure was ultra quick, and after I had a diet shasta cola and some peanut butter crackers, they discharged me very quickly. My procedure was 11am, they took me about 20 minutes early, we were home by 1pm. Very fast. I had a grilled cheese sandwich, and then promptly took a nap to sleep off the rest of the versed and fentanyl.
The bandage is ultra cute. It is a heart shaped bandage over my incision. I haven’t been in too much pain, mostly some burning and itching with my incision and I can feel my skin pull if I push moving my left arm too much. As you can see there has been a bit of bleeding the last couple of days, but not too bad. I am also swollen and bruised a bit, but nothing a bit of Ibuprofen can’t handle. I have to keep this bandage on two weeks, and that means no water therapy for at least that long. I have my follow up on June 14th.
I’ve been passing the time doing some knitting, I am now on the third strip of the Owl Blanket, and I hope to maybe finish the third strip of it today, if I can sit down without any interruptions.
More Later…
Bratschetech Baroque 