First pre-operative shower about 10pm. Couldn't eat after midnight, drink anything after 5 am, and slept lightly between 5:00 and 7:00. I did not want to oversleep and miss the required second pre-operative shower I was required to take and did. I wanted to be ready by 8:30 when my friend would be by to pick me up. The show would begin at 9:00 and I had a LOT on my mind.
Foxy was at the kennel, things I wanted to leave out were, I was dressed and as calm as I could be. Walt and Carol had discussed plans for this day and I was fine with their decisions, since just keeping myself together and calm was a full time job!
When Walt arrived to take me to the hospital, he provided a great diversion, talking about an upcoming trip for work, projects, movies, things to help me stay relaxed and just enjoy the company rather than focus on what was about to take place. It made the drive to the hospital more relaxed and gave me less time to stew about things. He had figured all that out ahead of time since he knows all too well how I can get myself worked up about things!
When we arrived, I headed to the registration desk at Hackley, checked in, and was told to go to the Surgery admitting area. From there, it was off to my little cubicle surrounded with curtains to get ready. Walt stepped outside while I transformed myself from regular person into stylishly dressed patient! My wonderful nurse, Cindy, gave me the bag to put everything in and once again, I was in one of those high fashion hospital gowns and would soon have a cubicle full of comers and goers as they got me ready for the events of the day.
We were able to visit for a little while before Cindy came back. She filled me in on my day which was a lot to take in so it was a good thing she said it more than once. She gathered up my bag of clothes and shoes and put them in a locker for me. Next, it was vitals time as we chatted away, often pulling Cindy into our conversation. For all appearances, we three were actually having a great time. She left to get a warm blanket or two so she could get me tucked in along with some warm socks for my feet. LOVE those warm blankets!
Eventually it was time to lie down so Cindy could prepare the operative site and again try to prepare and reassure me about what was going to happen today. When she finished, another nurse came with a wheelchair to whisk me away to the first big event. I told Cindy that two other members of my chosen family, Carol and Sandy, would be here later as Walt needed to head back to work. I knew if they could, they would all be around at the end of the day. Saying good bye, I left both of them talking and was wheeled away by another great caregiver on my way to the great gray mammo machine. Rather than be worried, I finally felt secure in knowing everything was going to be fine.
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