My plan was to get a good sleep the night before the surgery... HAHAHA That plan was about as realistic as unicorns!! My mom was picking us up at 5am so I went to bed at 9pm ish... Wide awake and a million thoughts running through my head, I did not fall asleep until about 3:30am. Surgery is certainly srtessful for anyone, but I was about to have part of my cranium removed, my brain exposed and moved, a patch of my dura (the membrane around the brain) removed, somme artificial something-or-other put in my head to replace the dura removed.. oh yeah & my C1 vertebrae removed... to top that off, we were advised that there was a chance of menegitis or I could wake up a paraplegic! Nothing to worry about at all! lol
It was probably a blessing that I didnt get much sleep the night before. I was too tired to be nervous at first. Neal took a picture of my hair and me prior to leaving at 5am. My mom cracked jokes the whole way to the hospital. I know she was trying to take Neal & my minds off of what was about to come, but I also think she did it to help herself too, afterall I am her daughter and I'm sure its stressful for her too.
When we arrived, they prepped me for surgery. Since I was alone during this, I suddenly had time to think about what I was about to face. I was especially nervous about being intabated. I had a fear of waking up during the surgery too! Thank you producers of the movie Awake!! My mom & Neal joined me once I was prepped. I couldnt take my eyes off the clock. I think I watched every minute pass for half an hour. I think I was hoping that somehow time would miraculously stop lol. Finally the porter came & I begged for my mom & Neal to be allowed to come with me. The porter was wonderful! He made the exception and even "hid" me in the OR waiting area until they were ready for me hehe. This allowed a good amount of time with my mom & Neal. At one point, I wondered if he hid me too well and maybe they forgot about me lol. While we were waiting in this area, my nerves kicked into high gear. I knew there was no turning back, but I didnt want to go through with it. I tried to keep a brave face, but Neal could see right through me. My mom gave us some time alone & this is when I really broke down. Sorry, but I cant share this moment with you as I feel it was a special moment between Neal & I, I will share that it was really encouraging and I knew everything would be ok. Finally the time for me to go came. I said goodbye and off I went. My surgeon, the anesthesiologist and approx 4 nurses met me inside the OR. I remember seeing the weird looking table they would transfer me to (I had to be face down for the surgery, so it wasnt your typical bed) and the nurses prepping everything like busy bees, my surgeon smiled and cracked a joke, and then I was given an IV. Next thing I knew, I was being told some med was being given & it would feel cold.. yep it was... then I was given the anesthetic and I was out cold! The surgery was 4 hrs long. I woke up about 5 hrs later in PACU.
