My Second Brain Surgery, day 1

I want to write as much as my surgery as possible as I remember so much more this time around. Like my last surgery I went out to dinner with some friends the night before the surgery. Yet unlike my last surgery I did not plan out end of life decisions as much. I felt to numb about the surgery. I am not sure if it was because I was confident that I would be okay or because I just couldnt deal with the surgery at that time. Denial can be a lovely thing, but being numb was so unsettling.
The next morning I had to be at the hospital at 6am. I was half awake and just sat around like a zombie as my family talked around me. I was called into the prep room when they used a sharpie to mark the right side of my head so that they operate on the correct side. There was some paperwork issues, as I somehow have two records at the hospital. The next thing I knew they were walking me into the OR without my glasses. They did not give me any drugs at this time, which was odd. I nervously asked the resident to help me get there, but he seemed unsure how to deal with patients. So I blindly walked into the bright, cold OR. ORs do not look much like the ones on TV. There were people walking around getting their stuff together as if I was not even there. I hopped up on the OR table as the nurses and residents made jokes about blankets and were listening to Michael Jackson music. They began poking and prodding at me and I was hoping they'd knock me out soon. I did not want to be awake when they put in the catheter. After they put some IVs in my arms, they had a mask over my face and I was out in 3, 2, 1.
I vaguely remember them extubating me, as I felt as if I was gagging. Yet I was way too out of it to remember anything else.
Next thing I knew I was in the recovery room. The room was so bright and loud. The nurses kept telling me I did great, but there was no ICU rooms open so I had to stay in recovery. The recovery room is set up for patients who have "same day surgery" and go home after they awake. I was not in the right place at all. I needed ICU where I could be closely monitored. I was annoyed because the room was awfully packed with over 20 beds. I was in a lot of pain on the right side of my head. They asked me for my pain scale which I told them was a "7" and that I was so nauseous. At that point they gave me morphine and some anti-nausea medicine and my memory goes out.
A few hours later I was thirstier then I have ever been, so I asked for ice chips. Since I was not in ICU only two family member were allowed in at a time (10 minutes each hour). I felt more alert then last time, which I guess is from getting less drugs this time. I even ate dinner a few hours after I awoke from surgery. Everyone was surprised at how well I seemed. Yet I know I looked to small and fragile laying on the hospital bed. I had tape and gauze what seemed to be all over my body. I had 3 IV lines in my arms hooked up to various drugs, fluids and "just in case" they needed a line. The wires made it impossible for me to move as they were coming from all oer and were so tangled. I had on a blood pressure cuff, which would constantly check my blood pressure at the worst time. The fact that the blood pressure cuff was on my right side did not help with the pain and pressure. I also had in a catheter, which was taped around my leg. I had three heart monitors over my chest and sides. There was a pulse meter tapped to my finger which was hooked to massive wires. I had oxygen in my nose, which could not fit around my head dressing. My head was wrapped in a soft padded dressing. But unlike last time they made it a full helmet, where there was even a chin strap. The dressing went to low on my eyes I could barely see. This made it difficult for my surgeon to check my vision and for me to process my surroundings. I also had to attempt to stretch my glasses over my massive head wrap.
The time in the recovery room annoyed me more then anything, all I wanted was peace and quiet. Every hour a team of neuro residents would come in shine a light in my eyes, check my reflexes, and motor abilities. I could squeeze their fingers, touch my nose, and raise my arms and legs half asleep at that point. The nurses would also wake me up every hour to check my temperature and blood pressure. Checking my blood pressure is always fun since it is generally low and when they check it when I am sleeping it usually causes them minimal alarm. Since I spent the night there I asked for codeine so I could sleep in peace. All everyone told me was to sleep and relax, but there is no time for that in a hospital.