What Could Be Worse than a Fractured Pelvis: Part 2

So on 1/7, I began my hospital stay. It started with me watching hockey on the TV.  With the lights on in my eyes, I didn't sleep a lot.  And the nurses came in every few hours to take my stats. Mostly I watched TV, and played on Facebook.  Around 7:30am, D texted that he was running late.  With the amount of people in my room, going over my chart and my roommate's chart, as well as bedpans, vital checks, getting medicine, etc., I told him there was no rush.  The cafeteria brought me food.  What no one realized was that I couldn't sit up.  With the food tray sitting over my head, I could basically feel my food.  The first morning I had half a biscuit and a slice of bacon. When D arrived, he ate the rest of the bacon. The cafeteria lady came in and took my lunch and dinner order.  She realized I couldn't eat, and automatically ruled out any soup.  The nurses mentioned surgery on Friday.  When D came he brought me a smoothie from McD's.  We talked most of the morning.  At 11, the nurse said I couldn't have any food.  D went to lunch around 12.  Of course that's when the nurses came in and said they were taking me to surgery.  So a quick call to D to get him back to the room.  And stupidly, I threw my contacts on the floor.  So I couldn't see anything.  D got back to the room, and we wheeled down to the OR.  I had just had my 3 hour dose of morphine and Percocet, when they got the call, so I was a little loopy.

So the anesthesiologist started talking to me.  The nurse who had yellow hair (I didn't have my glasses on) put some tabs all over my torso.  They were moving quite rapidly.  Then the anesthesiologist asked, "When did you last eat?"  Because I had barely eaten in the past 2 days, I said,
"I finished my smoothie at 11."  There were some whispers, and then she said, "I'm sorry but you can't have surgery.  I'm afraid you'll aspirate."  And she pulled off her gloves and left.  Now remember I just had those meds, and I have no idea if I got more during that initial time in the OR. I also am blind as a bat.   So  Yellow Lady tells me a man will be by to take me back to my room.  I'm laying there for what seemed like 10 hours.  Finally a man comes in the room, because I can hear his voice.  I see a large black blob.  So I go, "Black Man, are you here to take me to my room?"  He's like, "Excuse me!"  I go, "Yellow Woman said you would take me to my room."  The Yellow Woman came and they talked, with me going, "We have to go to the visitors' center to pick up the Red Man."  They both came over and asked why I was calling them colors, which was duh to me. What I didn't realize was that Black Man was actually black dressed in all black.  Anyway, they finally realized I couldn't see, and Yellow Woman figured out the Red Man in the visitors' center was D in the waiting room (he had on a red sweatshirt). Yellow Woman and Black Man had a good laugh at me.  I apologized for calling them colors.  I told Black Man he'd laugh about my craziness at happy hour, and to have a drink for me.  I'm sure he rolled his eyes.  Anyway, we picked up D and were back in the room.  D said that the total I was down there was 25 minutes.  Like I said it was like 10 hours.

The meds started wearing off when back in the room. I was angry and yelled at the nurse, Lu,  to get out.  Then I started to cry out of sheer frustrating.  She went and got me tissues.  Already knowing this was kind of serious, I was quite shocked when my dad showed up from South Carolina.  That's when I really started to get scared.  I am not one to google medical things anymore, and I still don't know where I got surgery in my back, but seeing my dad scared me a lot.  He is a 2 time stroke survivor and doesn't like to drive in Atlanta, so this was big.  We had a doctor come in.  He talked to D and my dad, since everyone had long figured out, I didn't really care about much, as long as I had my medicine.  D went to the McDonald's next to the hospital and got me another smoothie.

Another Devil Drink

  Mostly my dad and he were as bored as I was.  My friend from A Well Fed Life sent me flowers.  And we waited.  Lu came back and said that I may get surgery on Friday, so they would stop foods at midnight.  Since I wasn't eating much anyway, it was more like 9pm, which is when D and my dad left.

1/8: The next day they came back with another smoothie.  They stayed about 90 minutes, when my dad said he was going to be sick.  So D took my dad home, and took 2 of the dogs to daycare.  A new nurse Glenn said I wasn't going to get surgery today.  I really missed my dogs. Later in the day, D came back.  My friend J texted me asking what I wanted for dinner. I told him a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger. I think he was majorly disappointed.  Of all the restaurants in Atlanta, and I pick McD's.  He obliged and got D a sandwich as well and fries.  They sat with me and watched me eat a burger for about 2 hours.  I really don't know what we talked about, but I do remember that that cheeseburger was the best burger ever.  Wow it was good. Hot, the cheese was gooey and pulled.  Those little onions.  A good amount of ketchup.  Really. McDonalds at the hospital.  I think D and J were amused by this.  So visiting hours were over.

Another awesome view (TV and nurse extensions)

The nurse turned out my lights that night.  He said it was nice to finally see me sleeping.  I knew D would be late on Saturday because it was My Friend's Growler Shop's 2nd Anniversary.  I had asked him to go and get some beer (not for that day) but for the future.

1/9: So I was left to my own devices for awhile.  (again, I might be out of order on things).  Now during all this time, I was on a bedpan.  So I had to call someone whenever I needed to pee (being on that much pain medicine and not eating, I didn't need to do anything else).  The nurses always left their extensions written on my wall, but I really couldn't figure out why.  There was just the "Call" button.  That Saturday seemed to be an "every hour on the hour" type of day.  It was to the point the call would go into the nurse's station, and they'd just ignore it.  So finally about to wet my bed at one point this lady comes in.  I was like "Thank God!" and pointed to the bedpan.  She did it with no objection and cleaned everything. Then she introduced herself as the Director of the Floor.We chatted and she asked how things could be improved and I told her that her nurses could answer my need to pee a little more fast.  That's when she noticed I didn't have a phone in the wall.  The jack had been stolen.  It occurred to me, she probably hadn't changed a bedpan in a few years.  She smiled, and we talked about my lack of appetite, and I showed her pictures of my dogs.  Then she left.  About 20 minutes later, a technician came in and hooked up a jack and a phone.  Nurse Lu and Nurse Glenn both apologized that they hadn't realized I didn't have a phone.  It was ok.  At least I never wet the bed. D texted me pictures.  Scuttlebutt didn't want his Christmas Collar off.

SB waking up

SB at My Friend's Growler Shop 2 Year Anniversary

Scuttlebutt got to go to the Anniversary.  He had a good time.  Surgery was a no go for Saturday, and they were looking at Monday.  I was getting frustrated.  They had explained to my dad and D why it was getting pushed, but it was getting old (and I was too high to understand the reasoning). The offers of food started coming in.  I felt like a complete bitch saying, "No thank you."  It wasn't that I didn't want any, it was I couldn't eat it (and I wasn't hungry). I was flat on my back and not allowed to bend my spine.  So the food tray looked like this from my view.

Doesn't my food look appetizing?

I'm not sure when D came back to stay with me, but he did.  Later in the night, my friend T came.  He brought me cookies and fudge.  So for the day, I ate 2 bites of a Clif bar, a tomato slice, 1/4 of a biscuit, a cookie, a piece of fudge and 6 Chicken Nuggets.  I won't lie that I was beginning to wonder if I was losing weight. 

T makes really good cookies

 I think I had a good conversation with T.  I know we talked about beer and beer releases.  D is amused that I have no idea my conversations, but I remembered the food.  It was a surprise to me to see T, so it made me happy.  He left probably to go to a concert (he really likes music).  D stayed with me until about 9 when they kicked him out.

Then I went to sleep.