The second surgery was done at Geisinger in Danville, which is a great facility. However, disappointed with the outcome, we were redirected to Dr. Yavorik, a general surgeon with experience in this type of surgery that Kellie, super-PA-student, did a rotation with. She described the man as a no-nonsense type who resembled Santa Claus (or Jerry Garcia, depending on who you talk to!) Yesterday was Gabe's surgery...
1. The surgery took place in Shamokin. Anyone who grew up in central PA probably has a negative reaction to hearing about "Shamokin"...especially in regards to surgery. Gabe returned from his pre-bloodwork appointment last week reporting that the hospital looking like "an insane asylum". Kellie and Morgan assured me it was a very nice, state-of-the-art facility. And they were correct.
2. The staff was great. I cannot express the difference in the experience from the perspective of the "emergency contact" aka wife of the patient (ME.) At Geisinger, I said good-bye to Gabe at 7 am and didn't see him again for three hours. No one spoke to me (although I was able to check his status on a computer in the waiting room.) I was not allowed to leave the waiting room without signing out, and was only taken back to sit with Gabe post-op right before he was ready to go. The kicker was that the surgeon refused to come down and talk to me. After watching surgeons enter the waiting room for 3 hours to speak to families about their loved one's surgeries, I was beyond pissed about this.
This time was totally different. I was able to hang out with Gabe pretty much until he was wheeled into surgery. I had brought along 2 books and 1 magazine for the wait, but it was unnecessary as I was only alone in the waiting room for about a half hour. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and personable, explained every step of everything to us. Dr. Y came to the waiting room immediately after surgery to sit and discuss things with me, and then again I was taken back to hang out with Gabe while he recovered. Totally different experience.
3. Gabe made some new friends. Aside from adding one nurse to his Facebook friends over a shared love of the Mets (before anesthesia I think Gabe was a Yankees fan...but I digress) he is now also contemplating a vegan lifestyle thanks to the advice of his vegan, raw-diet consuming, Jamaican anesthesiologist. He shared his love of the Grateful Dead with one nurse, our common geographical location with another, and humbly accepted compliments of his resemblance to Dave Matthews from a third. The day ended with Gabe telling the nurse removing his IV that he had "come in with a positive attitude and made friends with all the nurses!"
4. Gabe also had a few crazy moments. He asked for as little pre-operative drugs and as little sedation as possible. Having been with Gabe through just a few medical procedures, I can attest that Gabe + Drugs = Out Of Control. He was a lot more lucid this time around, which was nice, but he still had his moments. He informed me that he watching "Twilight" on PPV and loved it...in fact, he "needed more!" We also had a long heart-to-heart about our roommate/nanny, Morgan. At one point he tried to chew off his ID bracelet (not sure if he was attempting to be like Edward Cullen, or a wild animal.) When the nurse asked if he was feeling the mild sedation, he responded with, "I feel like I'm at a Grateful Dead concert!"
All in all a good experience. He was discharged within 2 hours of surgery, and the rest of the day was laid-back but nowhere near the level of previous procedures. Here's hoping for a successful outcome and fast healing...and--positive as our experience was--no more surgery!
No comments:
Post a Comment