Hospital Experience

This page will be full of my entire experience at the hospital from A to Z, including the good the bad and the ugly.

Day 1 - I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 for registration. Then began the longest wait ever... for 3 hours my family and I sat in the pre-op room waiting for my blood to be taken and an IV to be set up. Finally after the wait the nurse came in and sadly we quickly realized that my veins are awful and that we would have to wait for the doctor to put in the IV. However, finally I reached the point where I was able to say my tearful goodbyes d to my family and I was wheeled to the waiting area for surgery. Here I met the most hilarious anesthesiologist and my Doctor, Dr. Mahood. Both of them are really great guys and definitely helped calm my shaking nerves. I believe that my nerves must have dropped my body temperature because the doctors were concerned with how cold I was and proceeded to wrap me in this huge plastic bag that filled with hot air. I looked like the Michelin man all wrapped up in bumpy plastic and a big blanket; however, I did get nice and toasty quick. As need be, the doctors explained to me that this was a risky surgery and that there was a chance of nerve damage, paralysis, and vision loss. However, they promised that they would do their very best to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible. After these discussions I was wheeled into the surgery room. Here a handful of nurses began the IV in my hand, checked all my vitals, and began giving me oxygen. Then poof I was out and the surgery began.

5 hours later - I awoke in a daze in a weird room with nurses running around and other patients waking from surgery. I am unsure all what was said during this time as I remember taking but I have no idea what I was talking about; however, I believe I very quickly feel back asleep.

I awoke later in the room I would spend the next 7 days in surrounded by all my family and my boyfriends family. Everyone was so wonderful, they told me that I was talking away with a big goofy smile on my face but crying at the same time - oh the wonders of the combinations of anesthetic and morphine. A doctor came into the room to tell me about the surgery and about my restrictions post surgery. Sadly, I cannot tell you too much about what he said because as he was talking there was 2 of him standing in front of me and it was pretty much all gibberish. I believe then I proceeded to go back to bed and sleep.

Days 2 - 7

Instead of explaining every day in detail I figured the best way to summarize my experience is to explain the highlighting moments. So here it goes

Sleep - this is the activity which took up the majority of my time at the hospital. I slept and slept and slept, waking up for moments of exercise, medication, and company. Surprisingly, the hospital bed was very comfy right up until a couple days before I was able to go home and I was getting restless. I understand why you are kept in the hospital for X amount of days (7 in my case) because the uninterrupted sleep was much appreciated.

Medication and Medical Devices - I believe I lost track of all the drugs that were being pumped into my system; however, I have a basic idea of what was going on.

          1/  The IV - First of all when I awoke from surgery I had an IV going into the main artery in my wrist, this IV was simply a fluid IV in order to regulate hydration.

          2/ Catheter -  In addition, I had a catheter. which had been put in during surgery. I actually was very grateful for the catheter because the idea of getting up and going to the washroom would have been unbelievably painful and probably impossible. 4 days after being in the hospital the nurses took out the catheter, as I was able to use a walker to get to the washroom. This was not painful at all. They informed me that the catheter was just a inflated balloon inserted in the bladder and that they were just going to press a little button that releases the air from the balloon then it comes out very easily. To summarize, yes a catheter may sound like a gross idea but you will come to appreciate it !

          3/ Hemovac - This was my little bag of blood that was attached to my nightgown. A hemovac is the bag that carries the blood and extra puss that is being drained out of your spine by a small tube inserted in your back. This is important because it is crucial in keeping your incision clean and the aid healing. It is a little gross but the nurses drain it every day and when the drainage is less then 15mg a day they are able to take out the drainage tube and remove the hemovac.

          4/ Morphine -  Morphine, well lets just say that I am unsure how anyone would get through spinal fusion without it. The nurses gave me a needle of morphine in my upper arm every 4 hours for the first 5 days, boy were my arms bruised ! However, it helped me sleep, numbed the pain, and calmed down all nerves. There was only one night which the morphine (aka a nurse ) failed me. The Hospital had me on a 4 hour schedule in which I would receive a needle of morphine every 4 hours. Most of the nurses were excellent at giving me another dose of morphine around 3.5 hours if the pain levels were excruciating. One night, there was a new nurse one who would not budge from the 4 hour scheduled time and of course that was the night that the pain decided to flare at 3.5 hours. That was the most painful half an hour of my life. I even resorted to begging her to please give me the drugs in between my violent sobs and tears. Nonetheless, the night did end and I did get my drugs (at the 4 hour mark) and this type of pain did not occur again. So yes, even though you will be tough and strong and you will make it through this, there will be the occasional rough day.

          5/ Oxycodone - This is the drug which I was switched to on day 5 in the hospital and that I am still currently taking. It is in pill form instead of a needle so that I can take it at home by myself. The doctors started me off at 15mg every 4 hours; however, I am proud to say that as of today I am already down to 10mg every 4 hours. It is important to remember you will not become addicted to drugs if you take the pain meds when you need them. It is when you begin to take them in excess that the addiction can begin. A couple of days ago I had my first experience with taking too much oxycodone. As I said I am down to taking 10mg now, but I had a really tough evening and was in a lot of pain and decided I was going to take the original 15mg instead of 10mg. Well almost immediately  I got itchy from head to toe, I was dizzy, disoriented, and sleepy. I learned my lesson :) and I am sticking to 10mg and hopefully will be able to decrease that to 5mg in the next few weeks. One funny thing to note though is the oxycodone can cause stomach distention, which I am experiencing first hand. So not only have I lost weight from the surgery I am sporting a belly that looks like I am 4 months pregnant (ugh)

          6/ Gabapentin - I am unsure what this drug does but I believe it is a neurotransmitter painkiller of some sorts which I read online also controls seizures. Regardless, I was on this 3 times a day and just recently was given approval from my doctor to stop taking it.


Constipation -  Yes, this is not the most glamorous topic of the day but it is one that is serious and I experienced. The strong drugs I am on post surgery and still am on cause severe constipation. The doctors have me on 2 stool softeners a day, powered and pill form laxatives. Well happy to say that everything is working a-okay now but it sure wasn't in the hospital. By the 6th day in the hospital without a bowel movement  the nurses gave me an enema.... which did not work! Eek, how constipated does one need to be for an enema not to work - ugh. Regardless, once I got home things returned to normal, but it was a bit scary and painful. I looked like I was 6 months pregnant my stomach was so bloated and my skin was so stretched.My only words of advice here is to continue to listen to the doctors, take the laxatives, try and walk around to get things moving again, freak out a little, but remember things will return to normal eventually.

Showering - On the 4th day in the hospital I decided that I was sick of being sweaty and stinky and would like to have a shower. Well one thing to point out is when you ask for a shower in the hospital with the limited movement a spinal fusion patient has you better know that you are going to have to be very comfortable being nude in front of people. However, there was young student nurse who volunteered to help me and she was very professional and friendly, making the situation a whole lot less awkward. First of all she sat me on this rolling plastic toilet seat and then wrapped me in a blanket. Let me paint this picture for you... the gowns are open in the back, I had already removed my cute hospital panties in the room, I was asked to sit bare bottom on an open toilet seat, then wrapped in a blanket and wheeled down the hallway to the shower room. Here I was being rolled down the hallway catching quite the draft on my "you know where" and having a nightmare of the blanket blowing up in the back and everyone seeing my lady parts. Though thank goodness it was just a moment of terror and I made it to the shower room successfully. Here the student nurse wrapped me in saran wrap so that my incision would not get wet then helped me wash my hair and body and finally I made it back to my room all squeaky clean :) Overall, I still will say the experience was worth it to feel clean and pretty.