Trip to the OR

TRIP TO THE OR

I closed my eyes and turned away as they put an Ivy line on the top of my hand near my wrist. I bit my pillow as I tried to endure the excruciating sensation. I heard them chatter despite my willingness to ignore all that was happening. Then seconds after, I felt numb. The sore feeling in my wrist was replaced by a sudden ooze of coldness through my veins as I felt the liquid get into my system. It was 5:00 in the morning and I patiently waited for the eventful thing to come about.

At 8:00 am, I heard the doors open. Two masked people wearing green lab gowns rushed in as they brought along with them a green stretcher. Right there and then I knew that I was being fetched. My loved ones followed me as I cruised through the hallways of Makati Medical Center. I know they were right behind me but I didn’t hear them speak. It was evident that they too were feeling apprehensive about everything.

I read the label in the door where they brought me and it says “Pre-Surgery room”. I found myself being assisted by a scrub as I was changing my white gown to green. I just stayed still – not moving any part of my body except my eyes as I tried to observe interestingly. On my left was a woman in her 40s, fully sedated. On my right was a man on his 70s, impatiently calling out to his nurse saying “I think I’m ready. Get this mask off.”

Alas, I established the fact that I was finally being transported into the Operating Room. I heard a sweet melodic music play on an adequately loud volume. I tried to remember the lyrics of the song in that instance, since I wanted to document everything that I have experienced, but right now I just could not place any words at all as I lost recall of some specific details about the surgery except the final word of the song – “finally”. Apparently, I had a short-term memory loss but my doctor explained that this is just normal for surgeries using anesthesia.

I saw my doctor sitting on a small bench in my left. He was wearing a black gown when everyone else is wearing green. I really don’t like the fact that he does but I just can’t help but wonder, why black? Then I felt the scrubs transfer me from my stretcher into the surgical table. Parallel to my body were unlit surgical lights. They were huge and bright, if they were lit I suppose, but that’s a good thing, right? The people on the room just kept on moving as they were trying to prepare the table. All of them except for my doctor/primary surgeon who just looked calm and peaceful as he was looking at his blackberry. I saw a whiteboard in my doctor’s left side indicating the procedure to be induced upon me.

I just lied still on the table as I heard all the rattle and hustle while they were getting ready. They strapped me into the table and covered my hair. Just then an assistant surgeon or anesthesiologist (I couldn’t really tell) talked to me. Finally, someone realized that I was there in the room. He looked at me in the eye and said, “I’ll sedate you now.” I just looked at his hand as he injected me with something in my ivy line. As if I was in the TV series House M.D., I imagined this whole visual graphic of the fluid going up my veins and scattering all over my body. It wasn’t hard to imagine because I could really feel where the liquid is going and how fast it was dispersing. I, then, felt in an instant that an oxygen mask was being put on my face, covering my nose and mouth. I felt some air coming out of it and then the air was suddenly sucked out, then it come out of the mask again. It was as if it was breathing for me. While I’m still conscious and could breath on my own .I don’t know what to do. Should I breath or stop breathing already? I tried to open my eyes and I felt them take the mask off for a while then I remembered speaking to the assistant surgeon. My eyes were half-open as I said with much effort, ?Should? I? breathe? normally?? ~~

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