First (and Second) Surgery

Today will be my first time being completely knocked out. Aside from my c-section, it will be my first surgery. Dr. Kirby thinks we should have results in about a week or so and seems optimistic about the stent placement. Here we go...

When I come out of anesthesia, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I felt really groggy waking up and my throat is extremely dry, but it could’ve been a lot worse. When I got wheeled from recovery into my room, though, I found out that the stent placement was unsuccessful. Apparently, the tumor is pressing too hard on my ureter and the urologist was unable to get the stent in. Guess what that means? More surgery! Today! Yippee skippee… This time, they’re going to be cutting into my back and my kidney and placing a tube in that leads to a drainage bag. It’s called a nephrostomy tube and it’s supposed to help my kidney drain so that it doesn’t die. They also told me that they had me scheduled for a second stent attempt on Monday (the radiology doctors work ‘bankers’ hours’) meaning that I’m stuck here all weekend! Oh, hooray.

Waiting in pre-op with Chris and asked for water to swish my mouth with since I’m still dried out from the first surgery and unable to take anything by mouth. The nurse gave me lemon swabs instead and they worked wonders! Not only did they moisten my mouth, but they also kept it that way. I asked about the kind of anesthesia that I would be getting for this procedure, and was told it was called ‘Twilight.’ Yes, I will admit it, I asked if it came with a sparkly vampire! *wah wah wah*

Nephrostomy placement went well. I was awake but couldn’t feel a thing and honestly don’t remember much except for how flippin’ COLD it was in the operating room! I now walk around with a ‘tail.’ It’s pretty annoying when it gets heavy and I have to wait for someone to come and empty it for me. I am pretty independent and don’t like this being waited on business!

Here's a pic of my tube: