Pink Floyd Didn't Come to Mind

So it's Saturday and we have the Seahawks/Packers game on. The Seahawks have scored twice in the first 4 minutes of the game on two turnovers. In the words (or word, in this case) of Napoleon Dynamite, "YESSSS!"

Now I am not a Seahawks fan. But I am when they play the Packers. Actually, I'm a fan of any team that plays the Packers. Remember, I live in Minnesota. And this makes me one of the most pathetic beings on the planet: a Vikings fan. I know that we suck (most of the time), but that doesn't mean I want the Packers to win.
But don't get me wrong. I don't really watch football myself. I "watch" it vicariously through the hubby. Now he IS a rabid football fan. I am what one refers to as a "football widow."

I just get the TV after this game is over, so I thought I'd write in my blog until then. (Let's hope it doesn't take me THAT long to type! Actually, I can type with both hands now.)

My friend Thor told me that I sound angry about the pacemaker when I type in my blog about it. Um, I don't know that I'm angry or that the tone of my blog is angry. We'll just call it sarcasm laced with frustrated inevitability. It's no secret that I didn't want the dang thing. But it's in my shoulder and I'm resigned to it.

Wow. That did sound kind of angry, didn't it?

Well, I promised details about the surgery, and I'm not going to disappoint. Well, I should say that I promised details about WHAT I REMEMBER about the surgery.

So I was supposed to be at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester at 5:30 Friday morning. This meant that RobbieMax and I left the house at 4. It was NOT a fun morning.

Anyway, we made it on time, and I checked in and was in my room by 6:00. I was really nervous and anxious because I knew that they would not be knocking me out for this. (Which, let's face it, was better than being under general anesthesia and waking up on a ventilator.) I knew that I would be getting an IV and that I would be getting something to help me relax.

Three hours later I was finally wheeled into the prep room. THREE HOURS. It turns out that I was 2nd in line. So why did I need to come so dang early?

So in the prep room, they put that numbing cream on to help with the insertion of the IV. And I had a TV, so I watched some of the show Cash Cab on the Discovery Channel. If you've never seen it, you should watch it. It's game show with a cab driver in New York City as the host. People get into the cab, and they get to answer questions to win cash during the cab ride to their destination. It's fun!

Now where was I?

Oh yeah - the prep room. So the nurse came to insert the IV, and I had another nurse holding my other hand. The IV insertion went okay. I could still feel it, and it hurt.

Then they wheeled me into the Cath Lab, and this is where the pacemaker was implanted. I'm scooched over to the other table, and they got me situated. They put a drape up at the neck level so I couldn't see what was going on. (As if I would want to.) The anesthesiologist then injected a nice "cocktail" of Versed and Fentanyl into my IV. In no time I was floating in my own little world. And amazingly, I did not start singing anything by Pink Floyd. In fact, I didn't sing at all.

One good thing is that I got to listen to my iPod during the entire procedure. This was cool. Not only could I not see what was happening, I could not hear what was happening. (Well, almost - they made me have it at a level where I could still hear them ask me questions.)

I barely felt or cared about the series of Lidocaine shots that they gave me to numb me up. (Hooray for drug cocktails!) And then I just floated in and out of consciousness for the rest of the procedure. I did feel them making the pocket in which to place the pacemaker. Lots of tugging and stuff. And every once in a while, I'd ask, "Is it in yet?" just to keep them on their toes.

But that was it. It wasn't too bad. It's not like it was open-heart surgery or anything.

And now I'm just under restrictions for another three weeks. But I can drive on Tuesday, so I'm looking forward to that. RobbieMax earned the hubby of the year award this week for driving me to and from the park and ride so I could take the bus to work, and he even did my hair! Yep. The best hubby around. And he's mine!

My incision is still sore and bruised. And I can definitely feel the pacemaker when I touch it. That's weird. And I now have a whopping 10 scars on my chest. I feel so sexy.

So now I just have to be careful that I don't pop a lead over the next three weeks. Even though it was easier than open-heart surgery, it doesn't mean I want to go through that again anytime soon.