Operation : Detail~

Sunday, March 1, 2009

I’m going to waste some time here, blogging about my experience undergoing a major operation in December 2007 to correct my spinal curvature.

…Then again, maybe I’ll just copypasta what I put in my LJ. I really should update my LJ.

Right, was admitted on the 21st. The room was quite nice. It had its own bathroom. And cupboards and tv. But the tv only had normal cable channels, no Astro. So it was kinda boring, but better than nothing I suppose. Kept me quite entertained, because it was Christmas season and they were showing Christmassy movies. Sis was there with me, because we picked her up from the station before we went to the hospital.

I did all my tests on the day, and they wheeled me around in a wheelchair even though I didn't need it. I got to get a hang of how to use a wheelchair though. It was kinda fun, but ultimately rather disgusting, because I imagined that I would be touching whatever was on the floor because I was handling the bars close to the wheels. Hm. Had an okay night. Went to sleep, and the anaesthesiologist (is that what you call him?) came in and woke me up to talk to me. Stayed up a bit, realising that it wouldn't make a difference if I didn't sleep, because I'd be sleeping the whole next day. But went to sleep anyway.

The next morning, woke up and took my Lexapro, then got on the bed and the nerve conduction lady came in and prepped me by sticking the electrodes on me with very sticky stuff. Then they wheeled me to the operating theatre in my bed. I still wasn't panicking, strangely. I lay in the waiting area and they told me to take off my sarong, so I just had the top gown which was long enough anyway. After a while, they wheeled me into the OT, and it REALLY DOES HAVE THOSE BIG LIGHTS. Ehem. but anyway, the anaesthisiologist was there and he put a plastic IV into my vein, and he was really happy because my veins were very visible. Kinda freaked me out. Then he put a gas mask on me and told me to breathe, it was just oxygen. I didn't know whether he was lying, but I breathed anyway. He told me that if I wanted to say a prayer, I could say it. Then he said they were gonna put me to sleep. Within a couple of moments, I was out like a light.

The next moment I woke up to him telling me to move my legs. Then they wheeled me back to the ward into the ICU. For the rest of the day I woke up and slept, and felt hungry because the extra strong anti-emetic they gave me was supposed to empty my stomach. (I sort of vaguely remember waking up and seeing Dr Kwan and my mum at the end of my bed talking. I’d heard from my 2nd Aunt that the stuff they give me, can make me well.. you know, the first time I wake up, I’ll talk and everything, but the next time I wake up I won’t remember a bloody thing.) In the middle of the night, I woke up for a moment, and the boy/girl next to me... I think he threw up. Either that or he belched really loudly. His dad walked past me with a kidney dish though, so I think he did throw up. I got scared anyway, and pushed the call button for the nurse, and she said he was just coughing. She eventually called my mum, who was sleeping in my room. She came and sat with me, and I listened to my mp3 player.

The next day they wheeled me into my room.I slept quite a bit that day, and tried to take in some toast but was unsuccessful. It was very dry. The next couple of days were a haze, and I didn't really keep track. I think on day 2, they took out everything. The self giving morphine, the catheter, my second IV and the drain in my back. Pulling out the drain in my back was agony. It was like he was bloody pulling out my spinal cord. Ouchies. On a good note though, I had a very successful operation because my spine was very supple. I did not become paralysed or lose feeling in my legs. I obtained 75% correction on my curve, so I stretched quite a bit. Taller by 2.5 cm. When they changed my dressing, they found that I didn't sweat at all, so my wound was clean and dry, and healing nicely.

I had to have ...3 packets of blood methinks. After that, my mum said that my lips looked so red. Lol. (The doctor later said that during the operation, I wouldn’t stop bleeding. They applied pressure to my wound for ten minutes, and I still hadn’t stopped bleeding.) They gave me morphine by injection after they removed it from my IV, and that was agony as well. I had pain medication as a suppository as well. They sponged me for the first day and the third day, then after that I cleaned up myself. After they removed my first IV as it made my hand swell, they gave me my antibiotics orally, and they made me very sick. So sick that I got panic attacks.

On one of the days, I had a panic attack, and became suicidal. My mum was angry at me because her friend came, but I was feeling so bad that I needed her to count for me. I was ruining her life. I said it would be better if I died. She didn't say anything, except that it was my choice. I climbed out of bed and left the room, and walked around the 10th floor. It wasn't really very high, well... at least, without me making some dramatic plunge in front of several patients. I went downstairs to the adolescent and child psychiatry unit and burst into tears, and they recognised me, and were panicking because I told them I wanted to die. I was crying so hard, I thought I would throw up. I did not. They phoned the ward, and apparently they'd seen me walking around but did not pay me any mind. They didn't notice I was gone. They sent a nurse down to get me. It was the nice Indian nurse who had talked to me the first day. Soon I was back in my room. Mum came back too. She didn't say anything. They called Prof Stephen, the psychiatrist who was supposed to see me but didn't. I started reading my new Artemis Fowl book, and he came a while later and prescribed Zentex. I think it's spelled like that. (It’s spelled Xantax.)

I got my period the day before I left the hospital. Very troublesome. Dr Kwan came in after I complained at length about the antibiotics making me sick. I had taken them for 5 days including op day. He said that since it was just for prevention of infection, 1 to 5 days was enough and I could stop. Besides, my wound was nice and clean and dry when they changed my dressing. But I should wait for Dr Deepak to come in and have his say. Dr Deepak said he wanted me to take it. I rather didn't want to take it, and he said that I should take it for 2 or 3 days more at half the dose. I still refused. So he didn't give it to me. I got rather worried, but now it's said and done. Yesterday I worried my ass off about getting an infection, but I guess if I didn't get some bacteria in the first couple of days, it's a little safer now, since my wound is starting to heal. Besides, the second dressing they put on, was a spray that hardened me thinks. Rather cool. Waterproof as well. With another plaster over it. I smsed Dr Deepak about it because I was so worried, and he said that it didn't really decrease the risk of me getting an infection if I took it for another 2 days. Was gonna call Dr Kwan today, but my mum totally threw a fit so I didn't call. Admittedly, I shouldn't be bothering them. It was my choice after all. But still a bit scared.

So now we're here. Alot of people visited me. Some brought food and chocolate. Mostly family. Kit, Marc, Brian, Kent and another dude came and saw me right before I left. Hisa, Nao, Elder and Hisa's friend came and visited me the day before, and Christine came and visited that night. It was a bit difficult to put on a brave face, but it was okay. I was very glad. My mum's pissed like nobody's business though. On the way home, my dad lashed at me for being suicidal. He was all, out of the tens of thousands of people that have panic attack, YOU want to kill yourself. How come just you want to kill yourself? What about everyone else? and It doesn't matter me if you die, and you should have told me before the operation, then I wouldn't have wasted my money. Also you're just using your panic attacks to control us. Ma says he loves me that's why he said those things and besides, they're true. BULLSHIT pardon my French. I got really upset and cried a lot. He had to pay extra 5000 ringgit because he didn't prepare the check earlier to pay the company for my rods. The people estimated it would be 40 000, but we had to pay 48 000. My health insurance was supposed to cover up till 40 000 methinks, but my dad was lazy and didn't renew. So he renewed it a bit late so he had to pay out of his pocket first. And now he's all pissed because it's messing with his comfortable retirement plan.

Whatever man.

Anyway, thanks to all the people who visited, you really made me feel loved!

Yeah. So that’s what was in my LJ. In hindsight, I am really glad they didn’t pull out the tube that they put down my throat while I was awake. The tube was to help me breathe or something like that during the operation, and to keep me under. I mean, I had all that crap pulled out of me while I was still awake, if they tried to pull a tube out of my throat while I was awake, they’d watch me go into cardiac arrest right before their very eyes. A few days later,

Today I have to go back to the hospital for a review. They're gonna look at my wound and check that it's healing properly I guess. I think they will remove the dressing and my stitches. Glory glory hallelujah, I can (hopefully) finally take a bath. A proper shower, not just sponging. I've been getting infections in my skin that pop up as acne because I haven't been able to clean my back properly. I hope they'll go away soon. Not to mention my entire back is itchy, but it's all numb anyway so when I scratch, it's still itchy. -_-''' Also, yesterday I woke up because I dreamt that I felt nauseated. This is the second time this has happened, and it is most distressing. I must ask the doctor about this.

Something rather... amazing happened to me a while ago, when Mariya, Daniel and Annette came over to see how I was doing. Right, FYI, I have Artemis Fowl the first book and the fourth book which I bought in Singapore a while ago. Then my eldest sister asked me what books I wanted while I was recovering, and I told her Artemis Fowl, and she got me the latest book which is the fifth book. I was reading the fifth book when Annette came over, and she saw it and said she had two Artemis Fowl books that one of her backpacker friends had left with her about 3 years ago. He stayed at her place for a while, and he loved Artemis Fowl too. But he didn't have enough space in his backpack, so he left the books behind. She asked if I wanted them, and I was like.. yeah, sure. The kids bring em over, and BY THE GODS they are the two exact books missing in my collection. The second and third book. Such foresight her backpacker friend had, to have left these EXACT books behind! If he ever comes again, I must thank him for helping me complete my collection.

And that's my life~

Very fascinating. I will have to update my LJ now. It’s been ignored since last year, poor thing. On Monday, my monthly assessment starts. I’m so dead. But then again, not really. I’m sort of prepared for Chemistry and Math. I’ve got one whole day before Physics to study. But on Monday I have PA and Math. PA I have to study two frigging long chapters on Malaysian.. um. Government? Just to answer 10 objective questions. –_- Kinda not worth it. Anyway, that’s it for tonight.

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