Monday,July 4th, 2016
Hello All, I thought I would record my SRS journey with Dr. McGinn. I read many of these here on the site, so I hope this might help someone else out as well. My surgery will take place tomorrow, July 5th, so I am spending Independence day in a hotel with both my parents. I am very blessed to have them here with me. As many of you know, you have to be on a liquid diet two days before surgery, the second day being clear liquids. Yesterday I treated myself to smoothies all day long, and today I have been surviving on soup,tea, and hard candies. The hard candies are great because you can sit there with the feeling of something substantial in your mouth. There aren't really any great options when it comes to hotel accommodations if you want to stay close to the hotel. We are only about ten mins away at most. The Ramada Inn isnt quite up to the standards my mother and I prefer when we are in a hotel, but it will just have to do. We will go somewhere nicer once I am allowed to check out of the hospital. I guess I am feeling... like this moment is surreal, while at the same time dreading the surgery it self. The thought of it scares me. I think after it is all said and done, I will be able to breath when I wake up. I probably won't feel overjoyed really for the first time until i see it, but hopefully it will overtake me sooner. Ok soooo tonight I need to do the rest of the laxative drink, and then an enema, and the antiseptic soap in the morning. See you guys soon, probably in a few days when I feel more up to using my comp.

Good luck. I am very interested in your experience, my date is 11/15/16.

Where are you staying in New Hope? I am thinking about Gaia House.

By the time you see this you will probably be through surgery.  I wish you the best of luck and hope everything goes well!  Keep us posted.

~Hugs 

Meg

Congratulations! Please let us know how you are doing, when you are feeling up to it. Taken care, and best wishes for a speedy recovery 😊

Monday, July 11, 2016

Hello Everyone, sorry for the long absence. Only today habe I felt physically capable of writing anything, and frankly most of this will be copy and pasted from a text with a friend of mine about the experience. So if it's sloppy and grammatically incorrect that's why. I also want to say that if anyone is easily triggered I wouldn't read this and that Dr. McGinn, her staff, and the lower bucks hospital team are top notch. I think my experience was just very unique, as at one point she said she would definitely be remembering my surgery. Now for the details...
I arrived at the hospital on time, and ready as I was ever going to be with my parents. We got up to the initial prep room, they give you the lowdown, then you wait until they call you to surgical holding. I of course started crying, abd then walked down. You get in the bed, they and they get you ready. I met the anesthesiologist,then  Heather who is works with Dr Mcginn st Pappillion and assists in surgery,  the hospitals surgical nurse, then Dr. McGinn. I told her I was scared, and she promised she would take very good care of me.
It was nice, she made me feel like I could really trust her because she cares about her patients. They roll me to the OR, and I was pretty woozy at that point, I believe they gave me a pretty relaxer, cuz I had asked the nurse to hold my hand when they put me on the surgical table as I knew I'd be crying but I didn't. I was asleep before I knew it.
So I woke up after whatever qmount of time, and I was in pain, but I think at that point the morphine was already there consistently do I don't remember a lot until the night time. I have a very low tolerance for pain I think, or I'm just a delicate flower as the good Dr says ahaha. So that night they really gave me we nought drugs where I could be pretty comfortable but this stupid oxygen machine kept going off and my mother and I couldn't sleep. It was hooked up to my nose and the first nurse didn't really explain it, and she just said oh if it keeps going off tell me... that's a bother story. Anyways I woke up in the morning and that's when the drama started. They were checking my wounds and I had been bleeding so McGinn came in to look, and they just right there put a few stitches in my clitoris or whatever which was very painful, in an attempt to stop it. But mytummy was also hurting and she said it was distended, so after she did the stitches they sent me for a cat scan and it was air I guess. Later she said she never seen a tummy distended like that after surgery. After the CAT  scan I cam back down in my bed and because it was gas she said the only thing they could do was shove this long plastic thick tube way up my bottom. So they promptly turned me over and shoved it in very far. I was miserable.
So then two day later they found the proper source of the bleeding after they did blood a  transfusion and she came in again. And for 20 mins she took out some packing, shoved in a lot extra then sewed me all the way up in the patient bed with only some morphine and my mommy holding my hand. It was excruciating.  And they did some more transfusions after. I guess my hemoglobin got very low. This all caused me to stay in the hospital some extra days. I didn't walk until the night before I left. They got me to stand twice the day they thought they initially fixed the bleeding. But second time when they finally got it the u gave me some drugs so I could sleep a few hrs before I tried to walk, and I collapsed while rounding just the foot of the bed.
So, I finally got released yesterday and we drove to the place we are staying in New Hope. I thought from the instructions I would have the catheter bag and my parents would empty it but I was wrong. Either they have changed that or idk. Dr. McGinn said to drink lots of water which I understand, but I need to rest. But my mom keeps pushing me to drink every 5 mins, so I have to get up to pee and I can barely move since they held my legs open and sewed me up. The bed is high, so I had to lean and support on one leg too much too and it totally stopped working .Then I moved to the other side of the bed which is further from the bathroom and that leg started to go bad. Earlier this after noon it spasmed so strong I started crying now they both hurt but I can't move the one at all so I moved to the other side of the bed again. Now I'm just laying here miserable and in pain and not able to really and had no sleep. I'm sure you guys will all think I'm just exaggerating on the pain level, so I must be very sensi t I've or somethong. So fat the experience gas been extremely unpleasant for me. I want to stress once more that McGinn is grwat. Ok now I must go eat and drink before my mother gets mad.

Congratulations, and thanks for letting us know how you are doing. Complications are the root of all evil, but it sounds like you are being cared for well, and you have your mom to look after you, so stay positive and everything should be fine. 😊

Congratulations, that sounds painful and scary. I hope your recovery goes better.

Dear Fashionite,
Sorry for the pain you are going through. I am recovering from FFS surgery that had complications, so I know how you feel somewhat. The "terrible" will soon be over and the "wonderful" will soon be apon you. Please keep us informed about your progress.
Moni

Monday, July 18, 2016

Hello, I am back in my hometown with my parebts to heal. We left on Saturday after getting clearance, and made the 10.5 drive . My days in the hotel were awful. I can't tell you how many screaming or crying fits I had.
I'm not sure if I spoke about this earlier, but we were called in on Wednesday suddenly to the Dr's office, which we thought might be a sign they were going to take out the packing a day earlier.i was already very behind at that point. Come to find out all the packing was taken out and r er placesd, and I was just sewn up there no pain meds. I say sewn because it was more than just a few stitches. At the end I had made it through pretty well, but then she laced me up very tightly, and pulled it together so both sides were holding. Like tightening the shoe strings. I couldn't stop crying for 15 mins after that lol. Anyways I went home and came back Friday to get everything out finally. The catheter... WOW! I have never felt anything like that whole catheter removal process. It was very quick though thankfully.  It felt a lot better after everything came out! While I was in the room she had a woman from her office sitting with her, and she was explaining that my case was one of the most difficult that you could possibly have. I won't go ino details why here.
It took me a bit to pee for the first time bit I finally did!!! 😇 It was a lot better than I thought it would be . I also started the dialation, which I am having a lot of trouble with. It is very uncomfortable and a bit painful. I emailed them today and was told that I need to try and  mock the exam room seating position. I tried implementing that bit it still wouldn't go as deep as she told me to go for in the office, and it was very uncomfortable. Okie I write more later just trying to stay positive. Physically this is without s doubt the most difficult thing I have done. I can see why they say to be ready for PTSD/depression. Be careful ladies, try to get a good group of people around you for this journey. 

Wow, it sounds like you went through a lot. I am glad you are on the other side of the journey. I have GCS scheduled 11/15/16 and would love to know what the issues were.

Congratulations and I hope you have a speedy recovery.