The room I had for my little ‘getaway’ last week had a wonderful view. It was quite deceptive because it was not as restful as I had hoped! My hosts were in my room every two – three hours checking on me, which was a wonderful service however a eucalyptus scented aromatherapy and a simple pillow fluff would have been more cozy!
Evidently I was the only one thinking this was just a little ‘procedure’ not real surgery! Once the anesthesiologist came came to go over my choices (lack of choices lol) and that I would be intubated during surgery the dots started to connect….hmmmm this is real stuff! I reached out to my husband for an old fashioned hand holding to calm my nerves.
Have you ever watched Youtube videos of people coming out of anesthesia and the crazy things they say? Well, let me introduce myself as the “Christmas Tree” lady – though thankfully there is no video, just a very supportive recovery room staff! It was difficult to make sense of ‘my dream’ but it appears that here is an explanation:
Why did I dream under anesthesia?
The results of the present study suggest that dreams during anesthesia are probably the result of episodic memory consolidation of events immediately preceding anesthesia
I woke up thinking I was in the way of my anesthetist and my surgeon, plus trying to convince them that I was really ‘awake’ and kept asking them if they could see the Christmas trees hanging above my head! Evidently they weren’t in the recovery room BUT there were handcrafted paper Christmas trees hanging from the ceiling so at least I was partially right. I think I spent days trying to explain myself! I read on my notes that I woke up ‘agitated’ – that must have been the dream.
While I do not yet have results from the biopsy of the tumor, my recovery has gone well. So well in fact that I was home in my chair within 24 hours of being wheeled into surgery. Don’t think the dog is worried, he wanted the blanket!
The staff at Swedish Hospital was amazing. I hope I have everyone’s name, I asked the recovery room nurses to write their names down so I wouldn’t forget. I guess it starts with the emergency room visit in June for my kidney stone and their referral to Dr Chapman and his staff, especially Cynthia and Denise at Seattle Urology Group. Bing in preop was so helpful and calming as I slowly caught on to the seriousness of my surgery. My anesthesiologist, Dr Erjavec, was very thoughtful balanced with a good sense of humor. Thank goodness for the recovery room staff, Kaylene and Paul who made me feel like I was having my procedure right in West Seattle – it was like a reunion when I learned Paul knew of the Swinery and I’ve been admiring his ambulance conversion for years!
The nurses in my room were so kind, I really believe their attitudes gave me such a lift and made the experience so much better then it could have been. I hope I remembered them all – Sara, Tobi, Aileen and Tatiana. And again, while it wasn’t a night at the Four Seasons, I am grateful.
I am especially grateful to my family and next time I feel like I need a shower of affection and love, I will just elbow them and give them a look instead of scaring the bejesus out of them! I love you guys.
Our New Neighborhood 2023 