Follow-up to Stitch Up 2

I've set my alarm for 5:30 AM and it went off right on time. Jan 22, 2007 is the day I go under the knife once again...

Early in the morning, I had an egg sandwich for breakfast, took a shower, and do my rituals like any ordinary day. My mom and I headed for the hospital a few minutes before 7 AM. I submitted my documents and I sat in the waiting room donning their patient's dressing gown, with a name tag on my wrist a few minutes before 8 AM.

While I was in the waiting room, another patient, probably in his mid-40's, came in. He seems to be slightly of Japanese decent. He looks like someone who holds a high position in a company. He sat a seat away from me. Then after a few moments of silence, he started to have conversation with me. I remember his first words were, "You look scared. You should relax." I almost wanted to act on defensive mode and say "I'm not!" but then I stopped myself and told him, "Yeah" and beamed a nervous smile. He's right. I was all nervous. Anything related to hospitals makes me nervous. Even the simplest task of getting my blood pressure scares the sh*t out of me. So our conversation went on, we talked about the procedures we're going to go through. He's gonna get his eyebags fixed because he said it bothers him a lot during meetings. But he won't be going under the knife, he said they're just going to do a laser treatment. That explains why he's not as nervous as I was. Then when he learned the procedure I'm going to go through, he went on and told me what happened to his mom when she was about to undergo the same procedure. He sort of assured me that everything will go fine, just like how it went with his mom. Then one of the staff turned on the TV, the segment was on people who survived cancer. He was quick to say that I shouldn't be watching it and he was kind enough to change the channel for me. His name was called a few minutes later (I think the nurse called him Sir Jay or Jake). Before he was escorted out, he wished me well and told me that he's going to pray for me. I smiled at him and said my thanks. He seemed to be so kind-hearted that I almost wanted him to adopt me. Hehehe.

Anyway, a few minutes later, around 8:30 AM, I was escorted to the operating room. They strapped me to the bed and prepared me for the operation. My doctor and two more doctors who will be assisting him are there. The anesthesia they injected was quick and strong that I almost dozed off. But the doctor seem to want me to keep awake because he always asks me if I'm okay. The procedure only went on for like 5-10 minutes and it's just the stitching up that took long. They stitched and I think, burned the wound because I sort of saw them 'welding' it (if that's the term for that).

Everything went well, the doctor advised me to have two days rest so I was on medical leave for two days. The wound stings sometimes but it's manageable. The stitch was around an inch and a half long. A bit longer than the previous one. The doctor showed me what he removed, and it was bigger than I expected. He told me not to worry, it doesn't seem harmful or anything. We'll see what the final findings will be.

Stitch Up 2

I'm maximizing my health insurance while it lasts so I went to the hospital this week. I'm scheduled to have a minor operation on Monday morning. I'm all nervous about it, like I haven't done this before (Please refer to my Oct 2004 post 'Stitch Up' on http://onthevergeofinsanity.blogspot.com).

Well, it's been well over two years since I had my last operation and it's with a different doctor so nervousness is a valid emotion. The doctor said I need around seven days of rest after the operation, but he said if my work is not that heavy, I could get back after two days. So he wrote a letter advising me to take two days rest. The doctor is a bit older than the one I had before, but he's quite nice. He seems like someone you'd love to chitchat with (maybe we can do that while I'm being sliced open). After that I'll have a sonomammogram. Before I thought of getting the sono before the operation, but when I had it scheduled, earliest slot available is Jan 31st. It's too far so I asked him if he can just operate and then do the sono. He's ok with it so that's what I'm gonna do. I told him I'm really tired of having physical exams because they always find it each time. So benign or not, I want to get rid of it for good. At least now, I can get the biopsy for it. The last doctor who operated on me died an untimely death so I was not able to get back there to get the results. We'll see what comes up...

Snowglobe Update

So far, my collection has improved... from 3 to 7, and counting! Actually, it's supposed to be 8. (Yes, Jay, I'm including the musical snowglobe that you have there... hehehe). Thanks to everyone who has contributed to my collection. It makes it even more precious that you gave them and I will surely treasure them, no matter what... Thanks a lot! (hey, that rhymes!)