Saturday, July 21.
This post may be a bit shorter because I spent most of the day under anesthesia so there may not be all that much to describe…
Even having set the alarm for 5:00, my eyes popped open right at 4:45, I knew I was anxious, but I thought I could make it to 5:00. No such luck. I was wide awake. So I got up and started my shower. This was one of those special showers where you are to use antibacterial soap, all over your body. You normally don’t use that type of soap that way as it can be too harsh on the system, But for pre-surgical preparation it is appropriate. Especially in your hair as they will be working extensively in your scalp but don’t need you to shave your head (thank goodness!).
Even taking my time it was still like 5:30 by time I got done and was dressed in my tracksuit with the zipper front ready to go.
No breakfast, no water, nothing of any kind in my stomach. On a whim I called Julie Marie. I thought I would get her voicemail and leave her a message about how I was getting ready to go and how she was missed at the girls’ night out the previously night.
To my surprise, Julie herself answers. She was up early and was taking her time getting ready to go to work.
We chatted for quite a while. She was so very disappointed missing my last supper.
One of Julie’s disappointments was not being able to see my old face one last time. As it turned out however, Friday morning, our schedules actually coincided and we actually had a few minutes to have breakfast together before we had to rush off to work. So actually she did get a chance to see my old face one last time.
She wished me all the best and hoped everything would go well. About that time I got a call from Dr Z. saying he would be at the front door in about two minutes. So I said my goodbyes to Julie and headed downstairs.
The doctor recommends that you come to the clinic on the day of surgery basically in your pajamas and slippers or comfortable shoes. No hats, wigs, jewelry, makeup. Also you are instructed to wear nothing tight, white, or pulls over your head. The reasons are obvious. I spent weeks looking for pajama sets that would button up on top. Even guy PJs. That isn’t the style anymore! All the girl pajamas I could find all had pullover tops and the guy pajama tops consist mainly of a bottom, and a robe. I guess that guys can either sleep bare chested (I guess that’s supposed to be sexy) or they could wear a regular t-shirt (maybe that’s supposed to be sexy too, I don’t know about that myself).
Anyway, what I did have was a red tracksuit type of outfit that had a zipper hoodie and wide elastic pants. But it was velour not cotton. Not really designed for running, but close enough. It wasn’t tight, white or pulled over my head. Since I have gunboat size feet, finding slippers for me is extremely difficult, actually impossible, so I just went with my comfortable shoes. I had underpants on but no bra. I figured that any bra I owned would soon be obsolete so why even bother?
I did feel just a little embarrassed waiting for the doctor. There were a couple of people waiting for taxis, I guess, and me with no makeup or wig or any sort of adornment and wearing an obviously feminine tracksuit made me feel a little andro. I didn’t look much like a girl at all despite all the hormones and the softening of the face I’ve had from the medications I still felt out of place.
Fortunately, the doctor showed up just a couple of minutes later. And we were off to the clinic.
You have to admit that being picked up by the doctor who is going to perform your surgery is impressive. He could have easily sent one of his staff to pick me up or have sent a taxi for me.
But he wanted to have time to discuss any last minute questions I might have had or to calm my nerves if I was nervous. I was neither one of those so we chatted about his upcoming vacation.
We got to the clinic in about ten minutes. He parked the car and escorted me into the clinic. He showed me into one of the examination rooms and gave me a gown to wear and showed me where I could put my clothes while I was in the operating room.
A few minutes after I got changed, the doctor and the anesthesiologist came in with a bunch of legal forms I had to sign. Then the doctor took one last look at my face started drawing on my face and chest with a marker to point out where he would be operating.
After he got done with me I looked in the mirror and felt my face looked like a road map! He used some colors to indicate where he would be working under the skin and other colors where he would be making incisions. And I think the tic-tac-toe board was a joke…
He then said he was going to scrub up and get ready. I was then put into the capable hands of his staff.
I was soon escorted to the operating room were I was laid out on the table and the nurses and technicians helped me off with my gown and covered me with a sheet. They attached an IV to my arm and we joked around a bit and they did everything to put me at ease, I remember looking up at the surgical lights that would soon be illuminating me. I was feeling pretty comfortable, a little nervous, but thinking; “Finally this is happening! This is REAL. I am finally going to have what I’ve been wanting most of my life!”
Then the anesthesiologist came up to me and said the now familiar words: “We’re going to put you to sleep now so that we can finish prepping you for your surgery and intubate you for the surgery. I was about to say “Thanks…” when…
****LIGHTS OUT****
-Sandy(the sandman has nothing on these guys!)
This post may be a bit shorter because I spent most of the day under anesthesia so there may not be all that much to describe…
Even having set the alarm for 5:00, my eyes popped open right at 4:45, I knew I was anxious, but I thought I could make it to 5:00. No such luck. I was wide awake. So I got up and started my shower. This was one of those special showers where you are to use antibacterial soap, all over your body. You normally don’t use that type of soap that way as it can be too harsh on the system, But for pre-surgical preparation it is appropriate. Especially in your hair as they will be working extensively in your scalp but don’t need you to shave your head (thank goodness!).
Even taking my time it was still like 5:30 by time I got done and was dressed in my tracksuit with the zipper front ready to go.
No breakfast, no water, nothing of any kind in my stomach. On a whim I called Julie Marie. I thought I would get her voicemail and leave her a message about how I was getting ready to go and how she was missed at the girls’ night out the previously night.
To my surprise, Julie herself answers. She was up early and was taking her time getting ready to go to work.
We chatted for quite a while. She was so very disappointed missing my last supper.
One of Julie’s disappointments was not being able to see my old face one last time. As it turned out however, Friday morning, our schedules actually coincided and we actually had a few minutes to have breakfast together before we had to rush off to work. So actually she did get a chance to see my old face one last time.
She wished me all the best and hoped everything would go well. About that time I got a call from Dr Z. saying he would be at the front door in about two minutes. So I said my goodbyes to Julie and headed downstairs.
The doctor recommends that you come to the clinic on the day of surgery basically in your pajamas and slippers or comfortable shoes. No hats, wigs, jewelry, makeup. Also you are instructed to wear nothing tight, white, or pulls over your head. The reasons are obvious. I spent weeks looking for pajama sets that would button up on top. Even guy PJs. That isn’t the style anymore! All the girl pajamas I could find all had pullover tops and the guy pajama tops consist mainly of a bottom, and a robe. I guess that guys can either sleep bare chested (I guess that’s supposed to be sexy) or they could wear a regular t-shirt (maybe that’s supposed to be sexy too, I don’t know about that myself).
Anyway, what I did have was a red tracksuit type of outfit that had a zipper hoodie and wide elastic pants. But it was velour not cotton. Not really designed for running, but close enough. It wasn’t tight, white or pulled over my head. Since I have gunboat size feet, finding slippers for me is extremely difficult, actually impossible, so I just went with my comfortable shoes. I had underpants on but no bra. I figured that any bra I owned would soon be obsolete so why even bother?
I did feel just a little embarrassed waiting for the doctor. There were a couple of people waiting for taxis, I guess, and me with no makeup or wig or any sort of adornment and wearing an obviously feminine tracksuit made me feel a little andro. I didn’t look much like a girl at all despite all the hormones and the softening of the face I’ve had from the medications I still felt out of place.
Fortunately, the doctor showed up just a couple of minutes later. And we were off to the clinic.
You have to admit that being picked up by the doctor who is going to perform your surgery is impressive. He could have easily sent one of his staff to pick me up or have sent a taxi for me.
But he wanted to have time to discuss any last minute questions I might have had or to calm my nerves if I was nervous. I was neither one of those so we chatted about his upcoming vacation.
We got to the clinic in about ten minutes. He parked the car and escorted me into the clinic. He showed me into one of the examination rooms and gave me a gown to wear and showed me where I could put my clothes while I was in the operating room.
A few minutes after I got changed, the doctor and the anesthesiologist came in with a bunch of legal forms I had to sign. Then the doctor took one last look at my face started drawing on my face and chest with a marker to point out where he would be operating.
After he got done with me I looked in the mirror and felt my face looked like a road map! He used some colors to indicate where he would be working under the skin and other colors where he would be making incisions. And I think the tic-tac-toe board was a joke…
He then said he was going to scrub up and get ready. I was then put into the capable hands of his staff.
I was soon escorted to the operating room were I was laid out on the table and the nurses and technicians helped me off with my gown and covered me with a sheet. They attached an IV to my arm and we joked around a bit and they did everything to put me at ease, I remember looking up at the surgical lights that would soon be illuminating me. I was feeling pretty comfortable, a little nervous, but thinking; “Finally this is happening! This is REAL. I am finally going to have what I’ve been wanting most of my life!”
Then the anesthesiologist came up to me and said the now familiar words: “We’re going to put you to sleep now so that we can finish prepping you for your surgery and intubate you for the surgery. I was about to say “Thanks…” when…
****LIGHTS OUT****
-Sandy(the sandman has nothing on these guys!)
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