Large And In Charge

That's what I called mom this morning in pre-op holding- her belly is quite sizable these days, no wonder since she's carrying around an ovary the size of a cantaloupe! Yes, that's right- eat your heart out grapefruits, she's moving up in the world.

Coco and I drove her in the early morning darkness. It's almost comical how opposite she is going in to this surgery based on her last experience. This time- NOTHING goes to the hospital that will have to come back home for fear of carrying home any delicious buggies. We've even been instructed to bring tilex spray (apparently the most potent and only bleach-containing spray), gloves, dry wipes, and disposable toiletries. That's it. And we're too wipe down the things in her hospital room whenever possible. Do you think her last experience with c.diff has put her a bit over the edge? Sometimes knowing "too much" can have it's benefits though- she used Nair hair-removal lotion on both of her arms yesterday because nothing was more painful, then having tape ripped off her arm hair. Genius!

And I have a Howard development! Remember the miserable post-op nurse Mom had who made her cry??? He still works there! To every person we encountered, Mom plead her case: "I had such a bad experience last time, can I please please please have my daughter with me in post-op?" It's usually a very big no-no because it's a busy place with lots going on, but after hearing it enough, they relented. After she had her IV's placed (yes- two- ouch), we met her OR nurse, Jeff, who has been the nurse working the da Vinci robot since it's arrival to St. Frannie's a year and a half ago. He snuck me in to the pre-op holding area (also a no-no) so I could meet all the other bodies who would be in the OR with Mom. He gave me all the answers to my "what-ifs" and spoke to the nurse manager about making sure I can be right there when Mom is rolled out.

The all-star line up includes Jeff, her fantastic da Vinci OR nurse who's also proved to be Mom's best advocate right off the bat. Dr. Spark, the anesthesiologist who's ID was so worn thin I had to believe there's no one more experienced to be at her bedside. Jim, the nurse anesthetist (hooray, another NURSE) who will be at her head managing airway, vital signs, medications, fluids, etc. with the help of Dr. Spark. Dr. Boyle is Dr. Kennedy's partner who will place the stents in her two ureters from Lil' Lefty so everyone can visualize and protect the little buggers during surgery. Last but not least- Dr. Nelson. I have to admit my eyes welled up the second I saw her! She immediately puts those around her at ease, and I can see why Mom loved her so much when they met two weeks ago. She just listened to everything Mom had to say with a hand on her arm, completely zoned in despite the group of doctors standing at the bedside talking to one another.

This is a really perfect example of many different disciplines in medicine and nursing coming together to help one person. They're communication with one another, and each person's ability to fill in the blanks based on their experience caring for Mom will play a huge part in the outcome of this surgery. What do I mean you might ask? Well, you can imagine our surprise when her anesthesiologist didn't seem to know she'd already had a kidney and ureter out less than a year ago! Enter Dr. Boyle who filled him in and then they were all on the same page again.

The surgery will be anywhere between 3-6 hours depending on what the ovarian biopsy indicates. I'll be hanging waiting-room style by 10am since that's the earliest possible time she will be out.

Best be getting back to St. Frannie's now! Will post as soon as I'm able this afternoon.