The big day

I was scheduled for surgery at 0900, and had to be there an hour in advance. The night before, I had to take a pill (atavin?) and take two more when I arrived at the hospital - the purpose of these things was to make sure I slept well, and was mellow the next morning.

They told me to wear something comfortable which buttoned or zipped up the front - I wore my pajamas. Like most appointments, this one was also delayed. I got in at about 1000, and they finally rolled me in close to 1100. The process did not include full-fledged anesthetic - I sort of floated through much of it, unaware of most of what was going on. They also deadened my face everywhere except for my forehead and the area around my mouth. When I came to - 7 hours later - I was wrapped in a helmet-like bandage, with two drainage tubes coming from the back of my head (just below the ears) each with it's own container. It was a good thing my pj's had pockets.

I was still numb when we left for home (complete with two new prescriptions - one for pain and one for nausea), but the anesthetic was beginning to fade. We dropped off the prescriptions on the way.
One is not allowed to lay flat for three days after this surgery (hard for me, since I frequently sleep on my belly); one is absolutely NOT supposed to put ice packs or anything like them on one's face; and one is supposed to relax and "...pamper yourself." for the next 48 hours. For the brow lift, one is to soak gauze in icy water, wring it out, and cover the eyes (sort of like to cucumber slices at some fancy spas). The did provide me with a baggy full of the gauze.

By the time I got to bed, I was hurting like mad, and I looked like nothing so much as an angry Buddha. And my formerly oval-shaped face was now as round as a cue ball. I kept telling myself it was worth it.

Sleep that night was a joke. The pain pills helped (as did the anti-nausea pills), and the icy gauze felt great, but no one had mentioned how difficult it is to sleep when one's head is 'damaged'. Each time I dozed, if I moved my head from any position other than fully face up, I discovered another area that hurt. The drainage tubes also dug into the back of my head as I laid face up, so I couldn't find any position that was comfortable. I also discovered I had both staples and stitches, each of which provided a different take on pain. The stitches pulled - especially where the brow lift was perpetrated - and the staples were like laying on nails. The staples were holding up the skin they had stretched from my cheeks/neck to my ears and beyond, into my scalp. The doctor had cut from the top of my ear, going just inside the cartilage bit, out and down and around the lobe, thus hiding most of the cut. I will probably appreciate this much more later - right now it just hurts - and there's no way I can brush or comb my hair.

I found myself wondering if Torquemada had ever been a cosmetic surgeon - but that was probably delirium. Tomorrow, I see the doctor again, and he's supposed to remove my helmet.