Woke up WAY to early on Friday since we had to be at the hospital by 6am. I let my Mom get pretty before I even rolled out of bed. What did I have to get pretty for? I wasn’t even allowed to put on eye or face cream, wtf?! Hello, dry skin. When my Mom & I left the apartment at 5:30am it was still dark and I was somewhat concerned if we’d even get a cab since 2nd Ave was deserted. But NYC cabs never fail and within a minute or two at least were barreling down the street. Got to Tische at 5:45am (always early) and was called in to the patient holding stalls (aka Pre-surgery consulting room) by 5:50am to start the magical day.
*My note to NYU 10th floor day surgery folks: put some magazine in those stalls and give better directions after changing into those awesome gowns. I sat in that room totally bored and confused because I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do next for about 20 minutes before the first round of nurses/doctors came to visit me. A magazine or something besides the poster on the wall on relaxation techniques would have been a nice. I did watch the sunrise though.
OK, back from tangent. My Mom was finally allowed to come keep me company around 6:30am and then the fun began. I met with nurse one, my Doctor’s intern, the Anesthesiologist, my Surgeon and then one more nurse (Jeanette, I think) who walked me to Operating room # 10. Mom finally got to ask how long the surgery would take, 3 hours—give or take. I never needed to know I was going to be asleep.
Once in the OR I met all the other nurses and they were hilarious. They asked if I was taking time off school for the surgery, that’s what I get for not wearing my glasses or any makeup. Anyways, I mentioned that I worked in Marketing/Advertising at Lord & Taylor and they went crazy. As usual, L&T is their favorite store (I really need to start traveling with coupons)! They mentioned last year’s Fashion’s Night Out and the Fire Fighter calendar signing. I laughed because I have the same calendar in my office. We chatted about FNO & L&T for a while till my surgeon came in and I’m sure he felt a little out of place when we were talking about all the cute Fire Fighters, lol. IV in, oxygen mask on, compression socks massaging my calves, dreaming of a far away beach & I was out. Apparently according to my Anesthesiologist (can that not be the hardest word to spell, geese) I’m a typical redhead, I needed A LOT of drugs to keep my under and I woke right up after the surgery. My surgeon found my Mom in the waiting room and informed her that he was really pleased with the results. Well, that’s good to know.
Woke up in recovery and had the nicest nurse, Frank. Can I just say Frank was AWESOME! I was totally loopy (a given) and every time I told Frank my Boobs hurt he pumped me full of drugs. Could a girl ask for more? Frank was my protector, he made sure I stayed put in one of his recovery bays. Everyone else around me was moving from their bed to the chairs on the other side within an hour or two, not me. When it was time for me to move to a chair he brought the chair to my bay & told the orderlies to be careful with me since I just had a very painful surgery. I was in recovery from 10:30 till about 4pm, and within that time I got a rainbow popsicle, graham crackers, gingerale, lots of painkillers and sleep. While totally loopy, I kept telling Frank he was the best nurse I’ve ever had. I’ve had a few surgeries and by far Frank stands out as a totally awesome guy who really cares for his patients (or at least the ones the really likes). When Frank had to take his lunch break he switched off with another nurse and gave her the rundown and he made sure I was in good hands. I asked for Frank’s contact information, since I want to send him a letter and a Friends & Family coupon so he can continue his obsession with sneakers and his wife can get a new purse too.
Cab ride home was a little rough, not that the cab driver didn’t drive very safely and made sure not to do the standard stop/go routine of an atypical cab driver (I think he figured he should be a “good” drive since he picked up his fare at the hospital) but it was all the pot holes on 1st that really killed me. I had to hold my new boobs for the duration of the ride.
Once home I felt like a narcoleptic, awake for 5 minutes and asleep for 30. Mom was ensuring I had my vicodin every 4 hours and my antibiotic every 6. Shelly stopped by around 8pm to see me & she stalled in the front entry when she saw me. She said “they’re so small!” then we held up my mold and realized there is a BIG difference from before and after.
I woke up Friday morning a 34FF and ended up going to bed at 34D, they took 500 grams (roughly 1.3lbs from each boob). I got some small tatas now (for me at least).
