Successful Surgery

I arrived in plenty of time yesterday (5:30 AM) for my scheduled surgery at 7:20 AM. They did the usual "poking" and briefing before the surgery. Surgery lasted for about 2.5 hours and, of course, I didn't remember anything. It's always good to wake up in any room following surgery when you consider the alternatives. That was the first sign that all went well. I spent about an hour in recovery before they hustled me off to an Intensive Care room that was really nice, and private too. I felt bad that Josie had to miss so much work while waiting through the surgery and waiting for me to get to my room and get settled at about 1:30 PM.

The surgery was a lot more serious than any of us suspected. It is called an Endovascular Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair. I thought it was in some obscure vein in my abdomen, not the Aorta. That explains the close watch in Intensive Care and the strict follow up rules I need to follow for the next several weeks. I don't know how I am going to limit any lifting to 5 pounds for the next 4 weeks. Josie took a couple shots of my arms to show how "connected" I was:

First the right arm:

And the left arm:

I had 4 IV's for various reasons, including anesthesia, medications and in case I needed a transfusion during surgery. Nice thought. In addition to those, I had the usual heart rate, oxygen and blood pressure monitoring equipment.

I had no pain - and still don't - and I am able to move around freely with very little discomfort. The doctor did an amazing job and he is the same doctor that removed my gall bladder. He is pretty familiar with my body about now.

I am glad it is over and the next few weeks will be taken slow and easy. I also have to stay away from our pool for the next 10 days or so. I just hope that this ends the trips to the hospital for awhile...