The big day was here & I was probably a little more nervous than Regina was. We showed up a few minutes early to the surgery check-in desk. They escorted us to a private room for Regina to change into a gown & wait for the final transport to the operating room.
I squeezed her hand & watched her get wheeled away, when the time came. Her parents & I started our long sit in the waiting room. We chatted more than we had in years. It was a pleasant time, although I still recognized my own jitters, for Regina's well-being. My grandpa (Bailey) joined us also, then my mom.
The actual surgery was expected to last about 30 minutes. They removed Regina's tonsils, "tucked" her uvula & seared her sinuses open. I don't remember all the fancy terms for the procedures.
The waiting room had several television monitors that posted each patients' secret code & their corresponding statuses - for the families to observe. It's kind of like an airport flight status list. Not having much experience in the realm of surgery procedure, I found this to be fascinating & helpful.
Regina spent a much longer time than expected in the post-operation recovery room. I inquired with the nurses to see when we would be able to see her. They told me that she was vomiting a lot after waking up & was in extraordinary amounts of pain. Her surgeon told me the same thing, during the post-operation briefing. He also told me about the condition of her tonsils, prior to having them removed & what a good decision it was to have the surgery performed. Her airways will be a lot freer now, hopefully resulting in better sleep & more daytime energy.
When the nurses escorted us to Regina's room, we were all stunned by how rough she looked. A strip of gauze was taped over her nose to catch the blood. She couldn't talk & could barely acknowledge our presence. A nurse asked her how she would rate her pain, on a scale of one to ten. She positioned nine of her fingers. This was dealt with quickly, through a good dose of morphine. The family didn't linger around for too much longer. I stayed near her bed almost constantly for the following 48 hours.
Thursday night through midday Saturday were times of severe agony for Regina. The pain, blood & nausea were extreme. We called the nurses on numerous occasions. I did all I could for her - getting her ice packs refilled; translating her grunts & gestures to the nurses; taking her to the restroom; constantly supplying her with tissues, and many other tasks. Since talking was virtually possible, she wrote out what she needed to say - either by cell phone texts, or through pencil & paper. Her mom came to relieve me for a few three-hour blocks. I went virtually sleepless for about three days, but I did alright somehow. Love generates energy.
She was released Saturday afternoon. We weren't sure that going home would be a good idea, as her pain & vomiting blood continued. Her doctor insisted, however. With a few alterations of her medicines, she became stable enough to ride with me back to Nixa.
I had to rush around to get my truck ready to roll Sunday morning. The boys would continue to be cared-for by Regina's parents & my parents. It was yesterday (Monday afternoon) that Regina finally felt well enough to be able to take care of our four-year-old & seven-year-old boys. We appreciate everyone who has helped out. The three of them continue to stay at Grandpa Bailey's house, as Regina recuperates. Grandpa frequently tells us how much he enjoys having us & the boys around. We earnestly strive to keep the noise down & to maintain a clean house, like Grandma always kept it. We don't want to wear out the welcome. You may remember that we have an unconventional living situation, where Regina lives with her parents while I'm away, then we stay at Grandpa Bailey's house while I'm in town. This has worked well, but we do hope to have a place of our own by this time next year.
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