A Scary Day

November 30, 2011....a routine day for most people. I woke up at 2:30am with a very nervous husband that was to go in for surgery at 7am to repair an umbilical hernia. Now, from everyone we had talked to up until this point, the surgery is fairly routine and there are rarely any complications. Still, he was nervous. I was nervous for him, but tried to reassure him constantly that he would be just fine. I think I prevented myself from being nervous because I was so focused on him. My dad came to the house around 6:15am so that we could leave for the surgery center. It was time.

We got there and they took Stevenb ack within no time. They prepped him and gave him his IV, then let me come back to sit with him. My mother had come to sit with me in the waiting room so that I didn't have to sit there alone...thanks Mom! I got back to see him and he was in pretty good spirits...laying back on the bed with his little blue stretchy hat on that everyone gets to style during surgery :) He was more upset that he was in a hospital gown....JUST a hospital gown....than anything else. The nurses were great and came over to let us know that the surgeon was running late and that there was 1 surgery in front of Steven's, so it would be awhile. Great...more waiting.

Finally at about 9am, the anesthesiologist and nurse came in and told him it was time to take him back. They were ready to begin. I gave my husband a kiss and told him I would see him in what would would seem like the blink of an eye for him. That's when it happened. My heart sank and I was the one getting nervous. What if there were complications? He has severe sleep apnea...what if he couldn't breathe when he came out of surgery? What if....what if.....? By this time my mom had to go to work because she had to be there by 9am, so there I was, sitting by myself in the waiting room....doing just that. Waiting. Wondering if everything was going okay...talking to a friend of mine about the horrible experience she had with an umbilical hernia repair by the same surgeon. Yikes. Probably didn't need to hear all of that, but I did ask :) The surgeon had said it would be about an hour. 9:55am rolls around and I start to get anxious that it's almost over. 10:00am gets here....no word. 10:05am...10:20am....10:30am....why is it taking so long? Was there a problem? Is no news good news? What would I do if something ever happened to him? I started pondering all of the worst case scenarios and thinking to myself...I don't think I could live without him. We fuss and fight and argue all the time. We get on each other's nerves. But in the end...we are the glue that holds each other together. We were meant to meet each other in August of 2006 because God had a plan. He had US in mind...and then Hunter. What would Hunter and I do without him? I couldn't even imagine. I continue to ponder this most horrific thought for about 10 minutes (knowing that the surgery was routine and likely was going just fine) when finally at 10:40am, the nurse came out and said that he was doing just fine and was in recovery.

Whew. What a weight lifted. He was fine. He was groggy and sore, but who wouldn't be after having your belly cut open and stiched back shut layer by layer after having something the size of your fist removed that had pushed it's way through your abdominal wall? They put mesh in to reinforce the strength of the wall so that hopefully, it won't ever happen again. With the mesh, there is less than a 5% chance of it happening again...as long as he takes it easy and follows his recovery instructions. For that, I am the drill sergeant. He doesn't want to wear the abdominal binder, or "man girdle" as he calls it, for a whole week. He doesn't see the point. I got the instructions out and showed him....1 week!

We are now 2 days post-op and he is doing great. Sore still of course, but up moving around and even walked to and from the mailbox yesterday. So proud of him. I'm going back to work this morning while Mom & Dad keep an eye on the little guy for me and Steven can rest. I'm a little nervous about leaving him for a few hours by himself, but I made him up a little bowl of soup that can be reheated so he doesn't have to worry about food. Going to make him a sandwich before I leave. Doing everything I can to make this easier for him and I want him to know that even though I'm a pain in the a** sometimes, I do love him and couldn't imagine life without him.

So in the end, all is well. He now has his "innie" bellybutton back. And I have my husband..safe and sound.

SS