The Night Before Surgery

So, here I am, acting as Melissa's temporary Editor-in-Chief of her blog "Straightening My Scoliosis". Melissa is coherent now but is still unable to concentrate for more then a few minutes due to pain, soreness, and her medications. Plus she isn't able to sit for more than 10-15 minutes. Even then it is a very uncomfortable 10-15 minutes. Melissa is driven to write this blog as is evident by her daily pleas that I "get on it". She is determined to share her experiences with scoliosis and the surgery in hopes of being a resource to other scoliosis sufferers. And in this process I believe she has also found the cathartic and liberating effect of sharing her problems and pain with others. Sharing has given meaning and purpose to her adversity. She had hidden her pain for so long that very few knew what she was going through. And even those who were aware didn't realize the extent of it, because she chose not to call attention to it. Her friendships with family and friends were far more important than her pain, and has always been the case. For Melissa to come to the point of opening herself to share some intimate details of her life is nothing short of monumental. She may never admit it, or even recognize it, but I believe this statement to be true. Still, in sharing she would not want it to become the focal point of her relationships, but more of a bridge to understanding who, what, and why she is who she is.

So where does this leave us? What will follow is a timeline of events as dictated by Melissa and typed by me.  Melissa asked that we begin with the night before surgery continuing up through the current date.  Hopefully if all goes right we will have the blog up-to-date very soon.

Night Before Surgery

Sunday evening, knowing I wouldn't be able to eat after midnight I enjoyed my last delicious supper. I a very yummy giant Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito stuffed with black beans, cilantro lime rice, guacamole, pico de gallo, roasted chili corn salsa, sour cream, and the spicy tender shredded Barbacoa beef. It was soooooo good, but so big that I only managed to eat half of it. After enjoying the food we wandered back to our ridiculously hot, un-airconditioned hotel, The Baronness.

The Baroness Hotel across the street from Virginia Mason Hospital

The hotel was across the street from Virginia Mason Hospital where I would have my surgery, so I thought it would be the perfect place to stay the night before my surgery. And it just so happens that the hotel is owned by Virgina Mason Hospital.  But the heat was unbearable. After an unsuccessful attempt to rest we decided to escape the heat. We went across the street to the hospital and gave ourselves a self-guided tour. We found the hospital to have modern updates, like a cell phone charging station.  I was able to recharge my iPhone. So awesome.

One of several cell phone charging station in Virginia Mason Hospital

We then took to the streets of Seattle, as we wanted to give the hotel room more time to cool down. As we walked around looking at cool buildings we found a Catholic Cathedral open to the public.  We went inside and enjoyed the beautiful architecture and the quiet serentity.  At approximately 8 P.M., we figured the temperature in the hotel room would be tolerable so we went back. It was slightly cooler than earlier, but still very hot. We tried to make the best of it by positioning a fan provided by the hotel in an open window. It was frustrating to me that the hotel had fastened wire to the windows only allowing an opening of 2-4 inches. Before bed I was required to prepare my skin for surgery by showering and wiping down my body with a Chlorheidine Gluconate Antiseptic Prep Cloth. I enjoyed my last bite of chocolate before I had to begin my food fast. I could however drink water and clear liquids up to two hours before check-in. The inconvenience of not being able to sleep very well because of the heat proved to be a blessing because I was up all night drinking water making it so I wasn't so parched before surgery.