It’s Over! Woo hoo!

Surgery is over and I’m home and feeling great! And in true Claudia fashion, to make it all just that much more dramatic, last Wednesday night I got slammed with what sure felt like the flu (although I got the flu shot) – fever, chills, hacking cough, stuffy nose, aches & pains – YIKES.

I literallly took to my bed for FOUR WHOLE DAYS, willing my body to get healthy enough to still have this surgery on Monday. As those of you who I called know, I did NOT take this like a trooper, but was panic stricken and absolutely distraught over the possibility that they wouldn’t let me go through the surgery ’cause of the fever/coughing.

I called my surgeon who said that if I didn’t have a fever, and if the anesthesiologist cleared me for breathing (since my nose was sooo stuffed up), that I would still be able to do it. He said “Let’s assume it’s a go, and when you get here, it will really be up to the anesthesiologist.”

So I got myself up this morning, and lo and behold, my nose was cleared for the first time since Wednesday night! According to my thermometer, I had a fever (slight) but I just figured I’m not tellin’ anyone and so Mike and I went to the hospital and kept our fingers crossed.

I kept my mouth tightly closed so I wouldn’t breathe in and set off a coughing fit and before you knew it, they had me in the pre-op prep area with an IV in (they still hadn’t taken my temperature yet) and so far no one seemed to notice a thing. I figured once the IV was in, they’d be less likely to cancel, so was glad that things were moving in the right direction. I must confess, when I got ready this morning I actually put on under eye concealer and some tinted moisturizer on my face, so that I wouldn’t look so pale and sick – I’m not joking.

And it seemed to do the trick, ’cause no one seemed to notice that just yesterday I was a fevered mess, hacking & spewing yellow/green stuff out of my mouth and nose (nice visual, eh?).

The anesthesiologist came in and said I was fine as long as I could breathe and had no fever. I got really nervous about the fever, but the nurse came in and did that quick scan on your forehead thingy that they do now, and said I was ok and we were off to the races!

By 10:45 I was on the table, where the Anesthesiologist put a mask on my face and the next thing I remember I was in the post op room asking “What time is it?” to which they replied 2:00. (It’s still always so weird to me how that time gets completely lost – where did those 3 hours go??) They asked me how my pain was, and I said it was hardly even noticeable, like a modest 2 or 3.

Let me tell you, these Surgi-Care centers are really like well oiled machines. Once they knew I was ok, they were ready to get me out of there pronto. I stayed in post op for about another half hour, then they brought me to a room where Mike came in and within another 20 minutes, they had the IV out, my directions in hand, told me to get dressed and we were out the door, and on our way home by 3:05!

And, just to add a little more complexity to an already nutty morning, when I woke up our son this morning, it turns out he had a sore throat. So…..my husband called his mom to come watch my son, called and made him a doctors appointment while I was in surgery, and right now he’s taking him to get tested for strep. It never rains but it pours. And let me tell you, that man is a saint after the last week of hacking & spewing that I put him through (not to mention the fact that he had to spend his Valentine’s Day in the hospital).

OMG – big sigh of relief – what a day, what a crazy last few days.

If I would just listen to my own advice and realize that I should just let the universe unfold – right??! But NO, I have to go into panic mode and freak myself out.

And it’s all fine.

The new implants feel more comfortable than the expanders already, which is saying something when you consider that I just had surgery, and yet they’re not that sore at all. It’s just about one year post my original lumpectomy on Feb. 18, 2010.

What a long year. I think the reason I was even more upset than usual was that somehow it just seemed important to me, to have this done, one full year after the first procedure. And now it’s done and I am truly able to start getting back to normal. Halleluiah.

It’s kind of hard to tell what these babies are gonna’ look like until a few days from now, and to be perfectly honest – I DON’T CARE! I’m just so glad it’s all done and I can be comfortable again.

So, not your typical Valentine’s Day posting, but who ever said I was normal? Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my friends. Lots of love to everyone. I for one, am so happy for today!