Surgery (5 February)

On the last Friday in January, I had scheduled an appointment with a general surgeon to diagnose a problem that I had noticed for a while now. We had Thursday and Friday off in order to compensate us for the CFS trip going over a weekend, so now was a perfect time to go to the doctor. So I had been noticing a lump just below my belt line for a good while and never got the guts to get it checked out until now. I talked to Pastor Jones and Marie about it and I also checked online to try to self-diagnose. I could manipulate the lump and make is smaller and larger (I am sure you wanted to know that). So I finally came to the conclusion that I had an inguinal hernia. (Go to Wikipedia if you want to know the full details of this hernia.) I went to the doctor and he checked me out and concluded that I had a hernia. He just affirmed everything that I had read online, so I was more confident that he knew what he was doing. I asked him what could be done to correct it and he said that surgery was the only option, which I was prepared to hear. And he added that it should be done soon. His theater day was Thursday, so I scheduled the surgery for February 5. It is common practice in Kenya to have the patient stay in the hospital the night before an operation, so that was my case as well. Pastor Jones and Marie were with me physically and spiritually through the whole process. I checked in on Wednesday, met the anesthesiologist and enjoyed my first night in the hospital. I had a private room with my own television and bathroom with tub and shower. This was my “hotel” experience of the hospital. I was at Nairobi Hospital, a private hospital, so that means better treatment. I was very calm through the experience, up until I was in the room before the operating room. So on Thursday, I got up early and got ready for surgery. Pastor Jones and Marie came and waited through the operation. I was prepped and then taken down to the operating theaters. The first person to get me ready was the anesthesiologist. She was an Indian woman that had been working with my surgeon for over 30 years. I did my checks on her and the surgeon before I agreed to the operation, so I felt confident with the surgery. Once the anesthesiologist gave me some injections, I was out until recovery. My next memory was waking up in recovery in excruciating pain. I tried to pull my legs up to my chest because I felt a burning sensation and it hurt really badly. They gave me more medicine and I was out until I was brought to my room. The next faces I saw were those of Pastor and Marie. They were a real blessing to me through this surgery. So throughout the next day, I had some visitors from school. Pastor Chuck and Jane, spouses of employees at school, came to visit me; also Wendy and Jessie came to see me as well. I was not too drugged, so I was able to have good conversations with them. Wendy and Jessie even played some card games with me. I was released on Friday afternoon, just one day after the surgery. In the States it would probably be an out-patient surgery. The absolute worse part of the whole thing was the tube … I had a tube inserted in me above the incision. This tube was hooked to a container that suctioned out any blood or other liquid that was collecting in the area of the operation. The doctor had sewn in a mesh in the area of the hernia to strengthen the area and to prevent it from happening again. So the tube had to be removed before I left the hospital. The doctor came in a checked me one last time before I was discharged, then he instructed the nurse to remove the tube. I was sitting down. She removed the stitches that held it in and then she told me to take a deep breath. As I breathed in, she pulled the tube … and kept pulling; even after I stopped breathing in, she pulled on the tube. OUCH!! I still cringe just explaining it. But after it was out, I was fine. Besides the tube experience, I did have some funny moments in the hospital. So after the surgery and after I was more awake, I had to go to the bathroom. I could not get up so I had to go in a bed pan thing. The problem was that I could not go, but I needed to. The nurse gave me the bed pan and then asked if she could help me. I told her I was fine and she went outside the room. The thing was that every few minutes or so, she would come in and see if I went and if she could help. She even asked if she and another nurse could stand me up to see if that would help. As you can imagine, I did not ask for help and it all worked out in the end. Another experience happened on the day of my discharge. Two nurses come in and said that they are here to give me a bath. Wow! I also refused that help. I just don’t feel comfortable enough or desperate enough to have others give me a bath. Once I was discharged, I stayed with Pastor Jones and Marie through the weekend. I ended up taking off Thursday, Friday and Monday. I went back to work on Tuesday, even though the doctor said that I could have gone back on Monday! It was hard for me to get around just because I was walking slowly. I recovered quickly. I had to go back to the doctor’s office in a week to get the stitches out and that was the extent of my recovery. He only asked to see me one more time after the removal of the stitches and I have not gone back since. The only part that is left to recover is the nerves. I still have hardly any feeling below the incision, but that should come back. Thank you to all who prayed for me during that time. I am grateful for you and I was also very grateful to have Pastor Jones, Marie and my Rosslyn family.