Disclaimer.
I’ve never written out this story before. I have no defensible estimate of how many words it will end up. Therefore, there will be no snowflakes again this week. However, I’m almost positive that there’s a possibility that I might get to the snowflakes two weeks from now.
What’s here today is funny. I’d read on anyway because you'll see the relevance of the photo above.
But, I’m not you.
I remember regaining consciousness after the surgery. Originally scheduled for something like four hours, the operation ended up taking over five hours. When I did re-enter the world of the awake, I wasn’t really “with it.”
Because my surgery ran long, there were folk in the Recovery Room that would not have been there an hour and a half earlier. Ultimately, there was a plethora of patients and a paltry amount of providers of care. (That is weakly alliterative. Try reading it aloud. Emphasize plethora, patients, paltry, and providers as you read. That makes it sound much more alliterative.)
The first time I woke up, my focus was on my very dry mouth. Sodium Pentothal does that. I guess 5+ hours of Sodium Pentothal creates Sahara Desert conditions in the oral cavity. I croaked some unintelligible sounds, the best I could do to indicate my parched condition. For that, I received a pat on my crew-cut and an “It’ll be alright” from one of the Recovery Room nurses.
I dropped back out of consciousness.
When I awoke the next time, I was determined to get some water… Until I realized something terrible had happened during surgery!
The reason for this occurrence isn’t important. It is sufficient that you know that both my arms were strapped to boards during my surgery and IV needles were inserted in both arms as well. The normal procedure is to remove the boards early in the Recovery Room stay. My boards were not removed. As a result, the second time I woke up, both my arms were asleep.
After realizing I was awake and while preparing to call for the water truck, it struck me.
The doctor amputated both my arms during surgery!
Before you dismiss that thought as ravings caused by drug-induced lunacy,
- realize that my sensory systems were operating far below normal because of the painkiller I was on after the back surgery.
- In addition, I had no idea where I was.
- Add to that that I had no sensation of any kind in either arm, and you should have a better picture of my situation.
My priority changed from wanting water to making sure that someone retrieved my severed arms before they were sent down the trash chute.
“Aaa ut rms fff,” I croaked… Repeatedly.
“It’ll be okay,” was the nurse’s response, along with another pat on my pate. Once again I descended into the realm of the unconscious.
The third time I woke up, I was determined to get someone to understand my plight. After all, I’d had both arms surgically removed when I was supposed to have had a ruptured spinal disk repaired. I worked up a mouthful of spit, which was about 1/8 teaspoon of saliva, and swallowed.
“Wa… er,” I managed to semi-articulate.
There must be some protocol in Recovery Rooms about when someone gets water. I think it’s when you can finally make a noise that sounds something like the word water. I say that because I don’t remember having to ask a second time before…
“Here you are,” a nurse said. She placed one hand behind my neck, lifted my head, and placed a single ice chip on my dehydrated tongue. It melted faster than homemade ice-cream in a bowl in the sun at the 4thof July picnic.
I passed out again.
When I got a nurse’s attention the next time I awoke, things happened rapidly.
- There was some accusatory discussion of who was responsible for my armboards still being attached before they were removed.
- I got water to sip through a bendy straw.
- I was shipped out of the Recovery Room.
SEO: nostalgia, Americana, memories, 1960s, family
Follow me on
Twitter: @CRDowningAuthor
My Blogs
Life as I see it. Topics rotate between those of general interest to lovers of life, authors, teachers—probably you, too. Posts on Tuesdays and some Mondays. http://crdowning-author.blogspot.com/?alt=rss
My Christian Context.Posts M/W of discussion questions. Thursdays - Timeless Truths. Fridays - Expressions of Faith. https://mychristiancontext.blogspot.com/
I'd appreciate your feedback on Blogger!
What an incredible adventure!! I don't know, maybe YOU wouldn't describe it as an adventure! Loved this story! And I'm glad you had the continued use of your arms. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was an adventure. Just wait until we get to the snowflakes!
ReplyDelete