Now that some time has passed since my surgery with Dr. McGinn, I thought I would write up some notes about my experience. This is mostly stuff that's not directly about the surgery, and may be less easy find out, not in the information packet, or often simply too minor to be a discussion point, but perhaps useful. I found out a lot of information from these boards, so hopefully others will find this helpful too.
I'll try to answer any questions about these notes, but probably not immediately, since I'm quite busy right now. But I'm not inclined to discuss the specifics of my own surgery. Mostly because I think it's just too soon, and also because I'd just rather not on a public forum. I'm satisfied with my choice of surgeon, experience, and results so far, and would do it again.
There's a sequence to the whole trip to Bucks County, PA, and the way folks do it would depend on where they are, of course. But here's how I did it: took a train to Philadelphia, had a friend there drive me up to the hotel near the hospital the day before, spend the night, and drive to the hospital the next morning; had a visiting friend drive me to the guesthouse in New Hope (35 min drive... not fun) the day of discharge; had a visiting friend drive me back to where I live the day after my second post-op checkup, a week later (about 6 hour drive). You also really need someone with a car there to drive you to the post-op checkups. Basically, whether it's one person or many, it's important to have someone with a car there with you all the time.
The hotels near the hospital (for the night before surgery) are pretty depressing, but it's only one night, and you'll probably be distracted by other things. I chose the Comfort Inn, not for any good reason. It won't be your most memorable few hours. But it's really nice to be so close to the hospital in the morning.
The hospital is totally fine. Relatively calm and quiet compared to big city hospitals. I found the staff and nurses very pleasant, understanding, trans-friendly and generally a plus to the whole experience.
That said, the hospital stay is by far the least fun part of all of this. You're hooked up to stuff, lots of equipment beeping, hospital food (when you can eat) sucks... It's a hospital. The sooner you're out the better. Try to stand up and walk when they suggest. It makes you feel better all around, even if you puke.
For me, pain was not the primary experience. Discomfort was. All kinds of weird, unpredictable discomfort, especially in the hospital and in the few days between discharge and removing the packing.
There's very little around the hospital itself, and tricky for visitors to find decent food. It's always nice to have people around, especially if you're feeling blue at the hospital. But, overall, it's probably more useful and fun to have them there during the guesthouse portion of the stay.
The GAIA guesthouse in New Hope is lovely, and perfectly suitable for the weeklong stay after discharge. Diana, the manager, is great. Breakfast is very good. Each room seemed totally acceptable, but the larger/more expensive one with balcony is great. Go for it if you can afford it. Rooms facing the street are a bit loud because of the motorbikes, but not too bad.
I brought way too many articles of clothing. It's nice to think you'll be wearing nice things, but really it was best to just have a nightshirt or loose housedress on for almost that entire week. Have a couple of these. You'll get them dirty because you're eating in bed and not really caring too much.
It's good to have a bunch of full coverage, high waist / lower-cut leg openings, relatively snug undies that you don't mind throwing away after the first month or two. You will mess them up. The lower the cut of the leg opening the less chance of irritating your sutures.
Most of the items on Dr. McGinn's supply list you won't be using until the day of discharge, if not a few days after, when the packing comes out (like the pads and undies). If you have friends/family coming in shifts might be good to have others bring stuff later. You don't need very much in the hospital. At the hospital, the only things I touched were phone, charger, chapstick.
A few other notes about the supply list:
- Bottled water is unnecessary and terrible for the environment.
- Straws are unnecessary if the guesthouse has them (which GAIA did). You don't really use too many anyway.
- I hate the protein shakes, and haven't had quite as many as the instructions indicate. But they're good if you're nauseous and don't feel like eating.
- I don't think the hard sweets are necessary.
Food in New Hope is surprisingly good, but not really inexpensive. There are grocery stores and pharmacies a short drive from the guesthouse.
The scenery around New Hope is great. Your friends who like nature, old towns and exploring should be able to amuse themselves when you're taking naps.
I spent almost all the time inside the guesthouse, besides the trips to Dr. McGinn's office. Didn't feel like going outside until the 8th or 9th day after surgery.
One thing that I've not heard too much discussed: yes, the immediate post-surgery days are uncomfortable, painful, and generally speaking a challenging experience. At the same time, I found that there were constant little victories that came regularly, almost every day in the first couple of weeks. Like, standing up, walking, getting packing out, seeing one's new anatomy, dilating, peeing, taking a shower and washing one's hair... These small moments actually become quite significant, and make it all pass by a little easier.
All for now.
