We walked out to Barbara's SUV and loaded in our stuff. From the airport we went to a nearby restaurant because Barbara and Janet were famished. My mom and I had both eaten enough on the plane so we stuck to ice tea. Don't get me wrong here...the appeal of eating one last time before we drove down to Del Rio for the night was strong...i had the option of eating some "down home cooking" in Texas...but I chose not to. Barbara had some soup and Janet had breakfast and I very nervously sipped my iced tea. The nice thing about being around Barbara is that there is never a lull in conversation...she kept it going the whole ride down to Del Rio and that helped me alot to not think about what was gonna happen the next morning. The drive to Del Rio was 3 hours and dark. We saw alot of deer and animals along the way and we kept pointing them out.
We finally arrived in Del Rio around Midnight-1 in the morning i think. We drove directly to Laughlin Aif Force Base where Barbara had so nicely already gotten us rooms for the night. At the gaurd post it was kind of funny because the gaurds kept us there chatting up a storm..at first it seemed they were questioning us suspiciously but then we realized it was just schmoozing..maybe they were bored. Anyway we had to check in first and that took a little while and then we finally got to our rooms. The rooms were very nice if small. Full kitchenette, living room, and bedroom. Since we were only there one night, most of that did not matter for us but it was nice. I was very nervouse but also tired. My mom and i finally got into bed probably around 3 and woke up at 7. I really did not sleep much that night, partly to do with the uncomfy bed and partially to do with the nerves. I was really scared..but I can't say that I was afraid surgery would go badly, just that something might happen.. I really dont know what. We got up and dressed and mom and I waited for Barbara and Janet and then it was just a few minutes into mexico...we drove right over the border and then right to the Hospital Ejeza in Acuna (pronounced Acun-ya) Mexico. We unloaded the car and i dragged our huge suitcase, feeling kind of silly, through the hospital lobby and they immediately showed us to our rooms. I was amazed and kind of freaked out to be honest. I did'nt want this happening to fast! As soon as i got into the room the nurse came in and told me to get undressed and put on the gown....again..this was way to fast for me... and I was getting more and more nervous by the second. The sweet nurse came in and tried to take a bit of a history and thankfully i had the pre-filled out forms that were in spanish and english so she could moslty understand it. My spanish was really failing me due to nerves but the nurse was so sweet.
The air conditioning in my room did'nt seem to be working well and my mom was fiddling with it. A female orderly came in when she saw my mom trying to get it to work and I said Yo Quiero mucho frio...or something like that. She fiddled with it a bit more and then said in spanish that she'd get me a different room. I was moved immediately and the new room had nice, working ac.
Barbara and Janet came into the room and we all talked for a little while and Barbara showed us the examples of the different types of bands. She showed us how the port was used and i was surprised to find that it wasn't really like the Dr. would have to hit one tiny bullseye...it was a round area he had to work with.
Then it was time to get our IV's in and my mom and Barbara left the room because the nurses wanted privacy...i thought this was interesting. They were so sweet but were having alot of trouble getting my IV in. First they tried it and one spot on my left hand, then another, and they kept moving it around inside my hand trying to find the right spot. I wont lie, it hurt like hell. But they were so sweet about it. Another young nurse came in and started to make small talk to me in spanish. She asked how old i was and said i was young, and smiled at me and just was trying to be very reassuring. I must have looked really scared because she kept stroking my shoulder and trying to calm me down. The funny thing was that I was just kinda going with the flow and thinking how funny it was because when I had Ear surgery at 4 years old, there had been a nurses and tech's strike. My IV line had popped out and at that time i was a bony, skinny 4 year old. I was poked and prodded for what seemed like an eternity and for a very long time afterward i had a huge fear of needles because of this early experience. As these two sweet mexican nurses were poking me I couldn't help but think of that experience. Finally they brought in someone who i guess was a lab technician or a Dr. and she finally found a vein. It wasn't their fault, i have always had small veins and the same exact thing could have happened here in the States.
Dr. Rodriguez came in to talk with me and asked if i had any questions and reassured me. I was worried that the anesthesia would make me sick because It had done that when i had my operation at 4. He reassured me that they would make sure that didn't happen. He was so congenial and freindly. Not at all standoffish like some other docs. I was so surprised because when he came in to meet me he immediately took a seat on my bed next me and put his hand on my shoulder. It was such a strange and nice feeling to have that intimate touch like he was a good freind. It made me immediately like him as a person, not just a Dr. I expected him to come in and sit in a chair or stand over me etc. And maybe a reassuring 'pat, pat. pat' on the back or something. I have always been very in tune with body language and touch and he immediately put me at ease as i think he does for everyone.
We were asked who wanted to go first and Janet immediately volunteered but then asked if i would want to go and i said no. She was immediately whisked off to surgery. We sat and talked a while more as i was being pumped full of saline to the point that i was starting to have to pee every few minutes and my iv hand was starting to swell. Two hours later, Janet was back from surgery and sleeping in her room! I was next! I was now officially freaking...but they didn't allow me too much time to freak out. Dr. Rodriguez came back in and told me it would be a few minutes and then my turn. A gurney was brought in and I hoisted myself onto it, and was given my iv drugs.
Next thing I remember, I was waking up in my room. I felt like I could not get a good breath and they came in and checked me. I am asthmatic and I felt some rattling in my lungs but they said it sounded clear. Just for good measure they came in and gave me some oxygen through my nose. I think that one of the biggest reasons that I feel I didn't recover so quickly was because of the WAY I breathe. As a singer I have been taught to breathe into my abdomen. Most people breathe up high in their shoulder area and I think that because of this, when i tried to breath, it hurt the muscles in my stomach and therefore i felt like I couldnt get a good breath.
