Oh the never ending onslaught of doctors appointments! For those curious about the entire process, I decided I would continue documenting up until I am fully recovered.
I spent a partial afternoon (from 2:30-4:30) at St. Joe's, running around for various tests. My afternoon began with a consultation. I met with a nurse who explained where I will check in, what I will be hooked up to, how long the operation is (3 hrs), and what happens afterwards. After the operation, I will be moved to recovery, where my vitals are checked every 15 mins and I am closely watched. Once I have woken up fully from the anesthesia, I will be transferred to my room. She also gave me a handy device that I am supposed to suck air into every so often once I am awake and out of surgery to get my lungs strengthened again. Not sure what it's called or the real purpose, medical professionals, feel free to comment on this if you have more info!
What else? Hospital stay is 2-3 days. First day will be clear liquids only, and only after they have done a few tests to confirm that there are no leaks. After that I progress to a liquid only diet for 2 weeks. Then soft foods for 2 more weeks. Around 4 weeks I can expect to return to work, and ease myself into a more normal diet. It was recommended to avoid meats and breads for a while, as those may be uncomfortable until my esophagus is fully healed.
All in all, I had a nurse consult, an EKG, blood samples, urine samples, and an x-ray. 2 hours later I returned home and took a nice nap. If anything odd shows up on the tests, they will let me know, otherwise surgery is still on schedule for 5 days from now and I cannot wait! At this point I am down 12 lbs; so while it would have been nicer to recover during a month when the average temperature is slighter higher, I would much rather have the surgery ASAP.
In closing, I have to say, the seriousness of the surgery is really starting to hit me. Signing forms that specify "and DEATH" as one of the side effects is pretty daunting. No, death was not capitalized, I did that for dramatic effect. Stay posted for more updates. I am curious how much I will remember after the anesthesia and other drugs wear off. I will try my best to take notes for others out there who are dealing with this and want to know what to expect. Comments and questions are always welcome. Thanks!
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