Two Down, Two To Go...

Today I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Chief. While waiting for my name to be called I realized that The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery office at Mass General must be one of the nicest waiting areas. Just after we arrived, three beautiful flower arrangements were delivered for the waiting area; a large one for the reception desk, and two small one to sit by the magazines in two different areas.Unfortunately I could not fit one of the small arrangements of pink gerbera daisies, snapdraggons, small pink roses and lemon leaves into my purse. The decor and lighting in this area is very comforting. I think the soft lighting is to hide the reason we are at the plastic surgeons in the first place. I was amused by the pamphlets on the table sitting next to the TIME magazines. For example, there are two different pamphlets on male breast reductions - didn't Seinfeld do an episode on this subject with the mansiere? Anyway....When I got into the office, they removed two drains, and left two in. I could possibly get them removed by Friday, but if not Friday, probably Monday. This is the first time that Chubba met Dr. Chief. He was too thrilled with him because Dr. Chief doesn't seem too serious/attentive, he talks fast and then moves on. I, on the other hand, really like his funny, sarcastic and flippant demeanor. When he asked how I felt, I told him that I felt like crap. (I had an episode with a barf bag on our drive into the hospital. So much for the time I spent on my make-up.) His response to me was, "It doesn't really matter how your feel, but how you look. And you look really good." I think this is a mantra that they teach all young inspiring plastic surgeons in medical school.

So the roommates...Ugh.
My hospital room was on the burn and plastic surgery floor. In my double room, I got the outside bed, by the door.. My side was quite small, with only a curtain as privacy that I had to keep asking to be closed. The other bed had a view of the Charles River! Maybe if my surgery didn't take the extra 2 1/2 hours, I might have snagged the bed with a view, and more importantly, closer to the bathroom. If you have ever had abdominal surgery, this being my third, then your know that those first trips to the bathroom are like walking miles through the desert with a 500 pound pack on your back, all the while someone is constantly poking you in the gut with a sharp stick. Nice imagery?

My first roommate was of Chinese descent. She and her husband talked (in Chinese) NON-STOP! Justin asked the nurse for ear plugs, and they sent them up from MRI. The nurses kicked her husband out at midnight, but it took many efforts to get him to leave. I think the woman had a lumpectomy. The next day her two middle/high school aged kids and several others came to visit. (One wore an Andover High lacrosse sweatshirt.) They all chatted loudly NON-STOP all day! Not even the morphine could help this pain. However, I thought it was sweet when her son - about 8th grade - took his mom by the arm to help her go for a walk in the corridor.

Roommate number two was a total pain in the ass. She was a 25 years old WASP who was having some difficulties with her implants. Her implants were not due to cancer, but from wanting something bigger than her God given size. Here parents were really this issue, not so much the girl. They showed up with two big bags of food from Whole Foods and set up a buffet in her section of our room, describing everything they are eating. All during this, I am completely nauseous, trying my third medicine to quell the nausea. I kept thinking I would pay anything right now for some Bose noise reduction headphones. The father was full of bravado, and felt it necessary to step outside the room to talk loudly on his cell phone about self-important matters. Stepping outside the door meant his was closer to me and now I got the privilege of listening even more clearly to his conversation. I don't know why this family didn't walk down to the lounge area to have their mid-day feast because the girl was perfectly capable of walking around. Yes, the next morning before she left, they brought in another bag from Whole Foods with assorted breaskfast-type items. If they keep feeding like this, she might be back for liposuction.

Number three was a very sad situation. I actually prayed for her a couple of times. She was in her twenties and had some terrible infection in one finger that I heard her say she got from a nail salon in Lynn. Ick. They made her soak it a couple of times, and she was in excruciating pain. She would hop around when she had her 20 minute soak and whine out some words in Spanish. They hospital wanted her to go home the same day as me, but she said that she had no one to pick her up. I heard her speak to her mom and dad, and later someone else. She told the nurses that no one would have a car until the next day. One nurse even snappishly suggested she take the bus. They hospital ended up driving her home in a wheelchair van. Poor gal.

I'm feeling so, so. I am trying to not do too much and stay rested. I still fight the nausea thing all the time. My left underarm, left chest, and stomach are in constant ouch, not necessarily pain. My appetite is just beginning to come back - stay away! stay away appetite!

Whacky thought for the day...
Keval's philosophy on cell phones: There are only two people that need cell phones 24/7: someone waiting for an organ donor, and the surgeon performing the transplant.