Days 49, 50, 51 & 52: Surgery

So... for being gone four days I don't really have that much to write.

I'm fine, first of all. I know some of you were waiting pretty anxiously for that update.

Saturday morning I went into the hospital with Robyn, Habiba, and Eman. The Doctor wasn't there yet, but I had blood work that had to get done. So I did that. I've get a pretty dark bruise from being stuck in the arm twice in such a short span, but I'll live.

The doctor showed up sometime around 8:30, said we'd only have to wait another quarter of an hour, but as Habiba pointed out that could mean anything. Around 9:15 a nurse came to get us and take us to the nicest hospital room I've ever seen in my life. It was nicer than most of the hotel rooms I've stayed in an Egypt.

The sign on the door said "Presidential Suite," and it had a living room in addition to the usual bedroom and bathroom. Both main rooms were furnished with a television and plush couches and armchairs, as well as a refrigerator in the bedroom. It was a corner room, so there were wide windows with a spectacular view on two walls of the bedroom, and the drapes and stone walls were done in calming blues and grays instead of the sterile white I'm so used to seeing.

We took some pictures together in the room, but there wasn't much time before a nurse came to give me my surgery clothes. I got dressed and headed down to the operating room. The anesthesiologist was the first to greet me. I liked him just as much as I liked the specialist I met. He claimed he thought I was Egyptian when I first started speaking, but I'm skeptical. He might have just been being nice.

Either way, we chatted while he put in my IV for the anesthesia and then let me lay back and relax for a few minutes while the other doctors started setting up other things. When it was finally time for the anesthesia, he didn't ask me to count back from a hundred, but instead to recall what monuments I'd seen in Alexandria so far. I got as far as Abu Abbas Mosque before I could feel myself going out cold.

A few hours later I came to in the elevator, but I was only semi-conscious of them rolling me into my room and transferring me to my bed. I only barely managed to make a phone call to mom to say I was alright before passing out again. I don't know how long I slept. There was a lot of dosing in and out. I could hear Habiba watching movies on my laptop in the living room every now and then.

Sometime that evening I woke up a little more alert. There were a lot of doctors and nurses coming in and out, checking up. Eventually Robyn left to attend to some other business. Habiba and Eman only stayed a little longer, and then I was left alone.

It was hard to sleep. I was tired, but in a good deal of pain too. I have issues sleeping on my back, but my side where all the surgery had been done was out of the question. I got some sleep, eventually, but it didn't help that there was still a steady flow of nurses and house keeping coming in to sweep, or bring me jello and custard and rice pudding. I wasn't hungry, not at all, When I asked for it they brought me tea too though, which was nice. I hadn't drank anything in a day and my mouth felt like the Sahara.

The next day two or three doctors came to check on my and declared me okay for release. I managed to struggle out of bed and into my street clothes before Robyn helped me downstairs and into a taxi. The taxi was unpleasant. I could feel the new space in my stomach with every bump in the road, and there are a lot. When we got to the dorm, I had to climb a flight of stairs before we made it to the elevator, and that was a little trying, but make it I did.

When I got to my room, Robyn ordered me a light lunch of bread and cheese and fruit from the kitchen. They brought it up to me, I ate, all the girls in the dorm made sure I was okay, and then I slept. All day. Even though my bed isn't very comfortable. It was glorious.

Since then, I've mostly been napping, doing a little homework, and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Everyone keeps asking after me though, and stopping by my room to check up. I haven't made it to class yet. I wake up every morning and feel like the walk to campus is taunting me. Yesterday I finally started taking the elevator down to meals again instead of them bringing food up, but my wounds always hurt more afterward.

I took a shower yesterday, which meant redressing my wounds. Most of them aren't too bad. They went in through my belly button, which I can't see far enough into to judge. Then there's one I didn't even put plaster on a second time because it mostly just looks like a healing cut. One directly above my belly button is all puckered and ugly looking, but it seems to be healing fine. The only one that really bothers me is on my right side.

They had a bile bag hanging out of it for my time in the hospital, and it's the only wound that continues to bleed and ooze a bit. When I redressed it it's just a gaping hole. Not like they slice me open, but like they drilled into me. I'm not exactly sure how that's supposed to heal. I imagine it will take a while. But it's definitely the cause of most of my superficial pain. Internal pain is another story, but... I'm managing. It's not that bad.

I'm really hoping to get back to classes tomorrow. I feel like I've missed far too many, but I have a long night of homework ahead of me if I want to accomplish that. Everyone's telling me to take it easy, and I'm trying, but I'm here to learn, not to sit in my bed and watch television.

Anyway, I'll be fine. I'm already feeling a lot better than I was a few days ago. It's just a matter of when better turns to good. I love you all!

~~~~~

The Same Story in Egyptian Arabic:

طبعا ما كنتش موجودة في الرحلة إلى الدير في نهاية الأسبوع إللي قاتت لكن كان عندي سبب كوايس، يعني كنت في المستشفى عشان عملية المرارة ومع أن العملية كانت كوايسة بدون مشكلة لسه بأحس بإني ما عنديش بطن بس إن شاء الله هيسيبني الوجع بسرعة.

وصلت إلى مستشفى السلامة الساعة تمانية بالصبح في يوم السبت وبدأت فورا تحليل الدم. ما جاء الدكتور لسه فبعدين كان لازم أستنى له لكني ما كنتش بالملل عسان كان عندي أصحاب معي. بالإضافة إلى روبن كانوا بنتين من المدينة الجامعية عايزين يروحوا معي، اسمهم إمان وحبيبة. إمان هي في كلية الطب وجاءت معي إلى مواعيدي الماضية وحبيبة هي مشاركتي اللغوية والإتنين صاحبتين كوايسين جدا. كانت بنت تاني من دوري في المدينة، اسمها زينب، عايزة تجيء معنا كمان لكنها رجعت إلى بيت العائلة في العطلة وما كانتش موجودة لما سبنا المدينة.

أخيرا جائت ممرضة لتجيبنا إلى أوضتي وبجد كانت أحسن أوضة مستشفى شوفتها في حياتي يعني اسمها كانت الجناح الرئيسي وكان موجود فيها أوضة المعيشة مع مقاعد مريحة قوي وفي أوضة النوم كان عندي دولاب وتلاجة وشبابيك واسعة فيها منظر جميل قوي وكان عندي منيو لأطلب أي أكل كنت عايزته. حسيت بأني أميرة لفترة لكني تذكرت بعدين عن العملية.

يدأت العملية تقريبا الساعة عشرة ونص وكان عندي دكاترة وممرضين كتيرين يركزوا على حاجات مختلفة. نمت طوال كل العملية وقمت بعدين وكنت بردانة قوي وبالوجع الشديد لكن كنت عارفة إنو كدا كان عادي فاتصلت يأمي وحاولت أنام. نمت شوية بس مش كوايس وما كانش مفيد إني كنت لازم أقوم كل ساعة عشان الحمام. أخيرا بعد سابوا روبن والبنتين بالليل نمت شوية أكثر بس لسه كانوا ممرضين بيجيئوا وبيروحوا مع أدوية وأكل وكدا فقمت كتير وفي الضبح لسة كنت تعبانة قوي.

عاسن أكلت بدون الترجيع بالليل قال الدكتور إني ممكن أرجع إلى المدينة بس لازم أستريح فجاءت روبن وركبنا تاكسي إلى المدينة الجامعية فين طلعت إلى أوضتي واتغديت شوية عيش وفكهة ونمت كل اليوم. دلوقتي لسه صعب إني أحرك كتير بس إن شاء الله هأرجع إلى الصفوف بعد بكرة.