Having three surgeries in four months makes for a lot of pre-op testing. Today was pre-op day for surgery number three in 2016-placement of the Pipeline Embolization Device for my aneurysm.

The day began far too early. I went to bed at midnight because my first appointment was at 8:15 am. Unfortunately, I woke up at 3:30 am and couldn’t fall back asleep. I tried going upstairs at 5 am to snuggle with my black kitty Luna on “her” bed, (anyone else have a queen-sized bed their cat has claimed as their own?) but still I lay there awake. I almost cried when my alarm went off at 6:45 am. And of course, I still managed to be late getting out of bed. I ended up getting up when I wanted to leave. Oops. But I just barely made it in time by speeding and parking in a different parking garage than I was planning to, which cut out a 15-minute walk.

Labs first. Took 10 vials of blood, the vampires. That’s a new record for me. I’m sure I had a BMP, CBC, PT/INR, type and screen, and then the aspirin/Plavix resistance panel, but I don’t know what else. And of course, can’t leave the lab without peeing in a cup.

Then I had a joke of a physical exam with a doctor. He spoke maybe two dozen words to me the whole time, listened to my carotid arteries and heart, and that was it. Nice guy, but not very verbal.

Then came registration. Same old stuff, although I officially got my Healthcare POA scanned into my record. Then my anesthesia clearance. Same old stuff. At least the anesthesia nurse was pleasant. She said I was too much of a “sweet, young thing” to be having these kinds of health issues. I really wish I could control what my body does, but unfortunately that’s beyond my pay grade.

Then I was done! Well, almost. It was 10 am and my next appointment, with the neurovascular surgeon, wasn’t until 1 pm. I had thought about hanging around the hospital during the wait, but since that place pretty much gives me anxiety attacks now, I decided it would be a better idea to just go home for an hour and 45 minutes. So I did.

I just climbed back into bed when I got home. I didn’t fall asleep, but David made sure I was awake when he left for work. But as soon as he left, I began to doze…then snapped awake at 12:20 pm, five minutes after I needed to leave. Again. More speeding ensued. If the elevators hadn’t been so slow I would have been right on time, but things were fine as it were.

Easy appointment. Dr. Bain and I signed the consent. My labs looked fine. He said they had just finished looking at their internal data from using the Pipeline, and in 88% of the cases, the aneurysms were occluded at the one year mark. Only a 5% complication rate. And out of over 200 cases, there were ZERO recurrences of the aneurysm. That’s pretty darn phenomenal. I think I’m in the best hands I can be for this sort of thing. He also reminded me, “Do NOT stop taking the aspirin and Plavix for ANY reason until we say so. Or you WILL have a stroke and die.” Sounds good to me, doc! Then his nurse went through the logistical stuff and wound care. Basically they superglue the femoral artery shut and put a Steri-Strip over the puncture hole. (At least I have plenty of backup Steri-Strips from my plethora of pelvic surgeries.) I’ll call on Friday to be sure, but I’m probably first case Monday morning. And another reminder to NOT stop the aspirin or Plavix or I will die. Yes, ma’am. And I will remain on 325 mg of aspirin the whole time. They’re not messing around.

After that I just barely made it on time to my appointment with my counselor. We talked for a full hour, especially about how my anxiety has really ramped up this week. And how I hate daylight and feel much less anxious at night. And music. We’re going to dig into that over the next few weeks. I have a lot of writing and self-analyzing to do, hehe. I’m actually looking forward to it.

And now I’m home. And I can’t believe the procedure is five days away. Didn’t I just have surgery? (Yes. Yes, you did.) Six surgeries in 3 1/2 years. I think I’ve met my quota now. Hopefully this means I will be the healthiest old lady to ever walk the earth. All the crappy stuff happened to me when I was in my late 20s/early 30s!

?ribbonrx