A Good Day for Surgery

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Thursday October 26, 2006 - After dinner with my friends I got my things together and headed back to the hospital in a taxi. The taxi driver drove more recklessly than most and got lost, which was an added bonus. After we made our way out of an alley going in the wrong direction, he found it. Once I checked in I was shown to my room, which turned out to be quite nice. I had a bed, a couple couches and some chairs, my own bathroom and a satellite TV! Amazing. The women working seemed horrified that I didn't have an visitors - who would have thought they could stay with me? Christoph and Susanne said they would be there in the morning. Can you imagine how the women would have felt if they hadn't come to Kathmandu and I had no friends to visit me at all?

The TV proved to be an amazing distraction and I watched most of Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, which was freaking hilarious, and then two programs on Animal Planet which were also really good AND educational. I love science. And it is such a treat to have TV IN ENGLISH! Wow, the little things you miss. At 11:30pm I thought I should try to get some sleep, but I didn't sleep well all night.

Friday - I woke up around 6am and just afterwards the nurse came back to take my temperature and blood pressure again. I had to put on a special gown and started to feel uncomfortable. I watched some more television until the doctor came and he explained was about to happen. Just before 9am I was escorted to the operating "theater", which much to my relief did not involve a crowd of onlookers. I had to lay down on the table and at this point I almost started crying - it was real and happening. I met a new doctor and he said he would be the one to put me to sleep. I asked if he would also see to it that I woke up. He assured me he would and then gave me the injection. He asked if I was sleepy and I said no. Then I said a little. Then I woke up in a new bed in a new room and spent several minutes trying to focus my eyes on the fan above me. It was all over and I had missed it all! Yay!

A few minutes later the doctor brought over his cell phone with my crying mother on the other end. We talked for a minute or so and after I had assured her I was still alive we said good bye. The doctor told me the procedure was a success and all had gone well. A short while later Christoph and Susanne came in to see me. Christoph stayed with me and Susanne spent some time in the waiting room reading, so I wouldn't feel crowded after just waking up. She came in a bit later and we all sat together. I was allowed to have some water around noon and then at 3pm they brought me lunch. Christoph and Susanne had gone out for some food at this point as well. My lunch was yummy - vegetables, chicken soup, some duck, and different breads. After lunch we sat around some more. I was told if I felt well enough and could urinate without a problem that I could leave at 5pm. And leave at 5pm I did. Headed to the hotel and had a great treat - Kindie and Guillaume had just returned from trekking and are staying at the same hotel again. We caught up slightly with the trekking and surgery stories and they told me I looked thinner in my face. A week of not eating is all it took! Afterwards I treated Christoph and Susanne to dinner for being such good friends. The food ended up being OK but not great. But it was still fun to be sitting there with them and feeling well!

Sidenote - Kindie and Guillaume have a wonderful website where they are corresponding with five classrooms in France. It's great - they take all these goofy pictures and videos and get people to agree because it's "for the children". If you get a chance, check it out at www.decouvronslemonde.com. It is in French but easy to figure out where the pictures and videos are. They have pictures from China and Nepal of places where I have been, as well as pictures and maybe some videos with me in them!

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