Finally!

So I finally have a date and time for my surgery! I'm going in tomorrow (Friday) at 2 pm.

A few people have asked when I want visitors after the surgery- maybe not Friday or Saturday, but I'm sure by Sunday I'll be up to visiting! I'll be in the hospital roughly a week or so after surgery to recover, and may be stuck to my room for a lot of it, so visitors are definately welcome. I may return back to my current bed on Unit 62, but I could also be moved to the surgical unit, and I'm not sure where that is, so I'll get Kyle to post on here where I am for visiting.

I'm feeling a little nervous now- I talked with my surgeon Dr. Buie and other general surgery people about the procedure, and it seems that apparently there is always the risk that if they can't reconnect the parts of the bowel successfully, I may need an ostomy, either temporarily or permanently. So please, please pray that I don't need an ostomy cuz that would just be sucky!!

It's been a little over a week now, and being in the hospital has really taught me a few things...

a) to be really, really appreciative of my health and mobility and self-sufficiency, even though I do have Crohn's. There are certainly worse things- Eugene (a friend from church who is in a coma) comes to mind, as do some of my very sick or very downtrodden roommates here. I've seen three alcoholics go through and two homeless guys, and it's really quite sad to hear them talking with social workers. I may be stuck in hospital, but at least I can still take care of myself while I'm here for the most part (at least until my surgery).

b) our health system has its perks and downfalls. The good thing is that healthcare is equally available to all- as one GI put it, he doesn't have to refuse anyone treatment due to lack of insurance, and all people, prime minister or homeless man, are supposed to get the same care. The really, really big downfall though? The system is so overloaded that everyone ends up waiting a very long time for care. I've been taking up a valuable hospital bed all week, feeling relatively healthy, because it's so hard to get OR time and so hard to get a bed that they didn't want to send me home while waiting in case the two didn't line up. Most of my roommates have been admitted through the ER, and many of them waited two or three days for their beds. The nurses, though they're all pretty great and wonderful people, are so overloaded with way too much work.

c) the biggest lesson I've learned though? Be your own health advocate! Take notes on what doctors say, get their names, know what meds you're on and when you're supposed to get them. The nurses are super busy and sometimes forget things, so it's good to be able to know when you should be getting time-sensitive meds and how much of them. Don't be afraid to make requests, too.

Well... that's about it for life lessons from Leanne's hospital stay, lol... tomorrow I have surgery so I'm sure Kyle will post an update on how it went!

Pray for me and wish me luck!!

-Leanne