Yesterday I had a 20 minute interview with the assessment team at the hospital where I’m having surgery.
Questions were pretty standard and included:
- Verifying the surgery I was having
- Medications I’m taking, if any
- Transportation and post-24 hour care
- Scheduling pre-surgery blood work
- Verify my post-op appointment
- And they asked if there was anything I would need after surgery of that they should know to improve patient care
I was a little surprised about that last question because patient care is crucial but not always bluntly talked about. I let them know that I’ve never had issues with anesthesia, but I’m already a crier, so I notice it makes me more tearful than it probably does to most people. If you’ve never had anesthesia, then you‘ve never experienced how it actually makes people more emotional and tearful. It’s a little funny, but also a little embarrassing. Oh well.
Prepping for this surgery is also pretty standard:
- No food or drinks after midnight
- Remove jewelry (I have my nose, flat and nipples pierced so I called my piercer to ask if they had retainers for me to wear in surgery)
- Shower, but no fragrance – deodorant is fine
- Light to no make up
- Drink a gallon of water the day before to help with fluids the next day
- Bring loose fitting clothes for the hospital
I’m excited and it still feels not real. I remember the first time I talked with my doctor about not having kids. I was 22 and she was supportive, but warned that insurance companies aren’t always supportive of young woman doing this.
Throughout dating, I’ve also learned that men also can experience the same conversations women do – “oh, you may change your mind” “let’s wait until you’re 35”. They don’t experience it at the same rate women do, but it’s still there.
Society still has a belief that family is biological and everyone wants or should want to create their own family. This also fails to recognize how two people can be family or how friends are family. I love that I get to be an Aunt to so many of my friends kids. I get to see so many grow up. I also get to live a life where I can pour my love, time and energy into myself, into travel, into many others.
5 days out.
