Scott and I had to be to the surgical center at 5:30am. I got very little sleep the night before, and despite setting 4 alarms I was still so worried about getting up in time. We had come all that way and had waited for 2 months since scheduling to get to that point and so of all mornings I needed to be up on time. I woke up about 4 and got up and got ready. I really wasn't nervous until that morning. We arrived about 10 minutes early and were taken back at about 5:40. The waiting room was pretty cool, it had a glass roof and you could see the Hancock tower through it.
Upon going back, they do a pregnancy test and have you get in a hospital gown. Dr. Haney came right in after I was dressed and sat there and chatted with us as the anesthesiologist put the IV in. The nurse had told me that he would give me a shot to numb the area before sticking me with the IV but he didn't. Upon asking about it, he said he didn't want to stick me twice. The IV hurt pretty bad but from the time he put it in and the time they put me out was about 3 minutes. They took me back immediately after putting the IV in and didn't even have time to give me some feel good medicine. The next thing I knew, I was vomiting into a bedpan as I was waking up. I knew I'd have an incision but nothing I read from anyone having the TAC said anything about the pain being that high. I kept telling them I was in pain and they kept adding pain meds to my IV and eventually gave me some liquid Lortab which didn't help at all.
I was in recovery for a couple hours, trying to wake up. They put a catheter in prior to the surgery and have to remove it before you leave. Then they pumped me full of liquid so that I could go to the bathroom before leaving.
I was pretty hazy but I do remember the pain being so bad that I had to remind myself that this was better than losing another baby, or being on bedrest for 6 months during a pregnancy. We were back to the hotel by 12, and I pretty much slept for 2 days. They gave me something for nausea, so I never threw up again. I didn't really have an appetite but merely ate enough to take meds every 4 hours.
Dr. Haney came to our hotel the morning after the surgery. He made sure we were feeling fine, and let us know of some things that might happen after the surgery and then was off. He really is a fantastic doctor.
We flew home 2 days later and that took a lot of energy but it was so worth it to be home.
As far as the surgery went, it went really well. The incision is very low and about 4 inches across. Dr. Haney put in sutures that dissolve, and some "tape" across it. He said that if the tape is still there on day 10, to take it off (I think it's more like glue). So that is on the list for tomorrow. The pain has gotten better each day. For the first 5 days I needed someone to help me out of bed and out of chairs. Moving around hurts a lot, but it does help you heal faster, so I did that as much as possible.
Dr. Haney ended up putting in 3 bands. I had heard of him putting in 2 bands for some people but we were surprised to hear he did 3! Each band can hold up to 50 lbs. He said that my cervix was long enough that after putting 2 bands in, there was plenty of room for a 3rd. He puts all 3 at the top of the cervix.
