Pros & Cons of Life in a Hospital

Thanks for all of your prayers and kind words during this back surgery adventure. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of my experience so far:

Pros:

Incredibly skilled nurses, anesthesiologist, & neurosurgeon have me feeling better already. The pain in my leg is gone!

In the pre-op, a nurse was conducting a bunch of tests (blood pressure, temperature, etc.), told me I have great nostrils when swabbing my nose.

Debbie got to stay with me while we were waiting for the surgery since our neighbors/friends Gary & Andi watched the kids.

Nurses and Physical therapist have been getting me warm blankets, food, and water upon request.

I’m wearing socks with traction grips on them!

No complications so far!

Lots of time to reflect and pray for the other patients plus friends and family.

Debbie will spend the day with me while the kids are at school, and my parents are coming into town today from Texas.

Cons:

A nurse had trouble getting my IV in. She said I had great veins, but my valves were too strong. She bent the catheter trying to shove it deeper into my veins once on my left hand and once on my forearm. That really hurt!

After the surgery, I didn’t like how hard it was to wake up because of the anesthesia.

I hate the other catheter.

I don’t like the gown.

I had to wait for 5 hours at the hospital to have my surgery.

My back hurts a bit where they made the incision.

I didn’t sleep well because of another patient who was having a rough night. She was screaming in pain and crying. I felt really bad for her.

Once I finally got to sleep, the nurses started coming in at 5am, 6am, 6:30am, 7am, and 7:30am for more tests.

I’ve got a back brace I will need to wear for the next 6 weeks.

Worst part, no ESPN, and I can’t rewind or pause the shows I’m watching. 🙂

Actually, the absolute worst part was getting that other catheter taken out. Glad that is over!

All in all, the experience wasn’t as bad as I feared nor as great as I hoped.

Thanks for your prayers!