Tickle, Tickle

I was the second person checked into surgery today and the second to last person out. Time wise, that would be 8:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m, for what was initially supposed to be a 30 minute procedure. I had a "feeling" about today, but didn't want to jinx myself, so I didn't say anything to Tony. First off, the nurse that checked me in was the same one that couldn't get my IV in the last time. Then, the two nurses that were assigned to me laughed as they tried to look for a vein. They said my veins were super tiny (no, duh...that's why I'm getting a port). They joked about how the needle was bigger than my vein. I couldn't believe they were actually finding humor in this whole painful ordeal.

I come to find out that my surgeon's first case was running late because there were "findings." They had to bring in a second surgeon for that person. I was afraid that my surgeon wouldn't be on his "A" game for my procedure as Tony put it, since he was probably a bit frazzled by his first surgery. He is human after all.

My anesthesiologist was this really nice, soft spoken man. He said that because I'm so small, the port needed to be inserted at a steeper angle. It was a good thing I was going to be asleep. When I woke up, I was told that my EKG readings were irregular and I might need to go in for another surgery. It turns out the catheter was tickling my left ventricle. My understanding was that the catheter was inserted too far into my heart. Basically, in between regular heart beats, I felt some serious fluttering and it showed on the heart monitor as a cluster of crazy spikes. The flutters were so strong that I could feel my body move. The anesthesiologist said they take something like this very seriously and it was up to my surgeon to make the next call. They brought in a mobile X-ray machine and did a chest X-ray, while I was still very groggy. I couldn't even sit up on my own.

Dr. Morton came in later to tell me that he was not sending me home like that and I needed to go back into surgery. I thought it was going to be a local anesthetic this time with sedation, but nope, I was fully asleep again. It must be the only way he was comfortable doing things. About an hour or so later, I woke up, did another chest X-ray, and was finally cleared to go home. He ended up cutting 4 cm off the original  length of the catheter. No pain, no gain, baby. Went back to my mom's for some good ole' pho. The best post-surgery food.

The simplest surgery so far ended up to be the longest and most stressful one. Go figure. At least I won't be laughed at about my veins anymore. This baby is hooked up straight to my heart one of my large veins for the infusions. The nurses better be able to find the port though. I met a lady whose nurse missed her port during an infusion and she said it felt like a knife went through her chest. Come on, people. Get your game on.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend!
Chinh