Unseen from the operation
Home again, just in time for supper, although we did stop to eat along the way. It’s psychological. Fasting from midnight for an afternoon day-surgery amplifies the hunger pangs. NO real risk of starvation, but the belly wants to know who forgot who.
After sorting out the usual first name/last name confusion, I was in to the surgical ward. Lose the shirt, don the gown, stretch out on the roll-a-bed and wait… for close to two hours due to congestion. Time to consider all the things that could go wrong, while trying to relax.
Multiple eye drops (this is eye surgery), a prickly encounter with a saline drip, attaching of the various monitors (the Mercury astronauts had less leads, and the arrival of the surgeon with support staff. Even a second, visiting specialist, in to watch the action. Something the patient doesn’t get to do, just to be clear.
If you’ve ever returned from a dental visist with the jaw frozen, consider me. Right now the whole superior anterior quadrant of the noggin is still devoid of sensation. Toc Toc. I spent 80 minutes completely awake but never felt a thing.
Instead, I listed to excerpts from Swan Lake, got some tips on good restaurants down by the harbour, learned that doctors can afford sailboats, if they want and still have to take the kids to skating practice. Doctors in the workplace are every bit as chatty as anyone else. Even if I wasn’t invited to share my life experience, I was along for the ride.
And now I’m home, wondering if it’s going to hurt once the freezing wears off.
