The first post-op visit (nothing like how it’s portrayed in the movies) ….

Nope, it’s not like the movies at all. In the movies, the nurses would have let me in last night when I played the loving husband card. By the way, my name has changed to Mr. Norm Norman. (Heavy on the 'Mister' thank-you.)

We arrived this morning unsure of what we might find when we arrived. After all, this was our first post-op visit. Going in, Chris and I discussed that Lisa likely wouldn’t “be” herself. After a 15 hour surgery we weren’t sure if she’d be awake or not.

Lisa is staying in the Burns, Plastic and Trauma Unit, or BPTU. Even during visiting hours, the door is locked. We speak to the intercom and a nurse, on the other side of the door, buzzes us in. “Lisa Norman? Yes, come in and be sure to wash your hands before proceeding.” At VGH, you can’t walk 30 feet without passing a waterless soap dispenser. In the BPTU, washing the hands on the way in and on the way out is mandatory and cell phones are to be powered down.

We encounter the nurse’s station, and are directed onward to a second unit further on. A friendly face directs us to Room 11, which has a notice on the door - “Warm Room”.

Lisa’s room is smokin’ hot. No kidding. This is deliberate, however. The post-op rationale is that the tropical temperature is essential for promoting and maintaining good blood flow to the “girls”, as Lisa would put it.

We arrive to find Lisa surprisingly lucid, sweating, and in obvious distress. “I’m nauseous and I’m hot. I mean, look at this?” Her eyes look upward but I haven’t yet taken the room in. As I lean in, I bump into the very thing she’s referring to: a large incubator (okay, there’s likely a better name for it), mounted on wheels, has been pushed to her bedside. The heating panel, white in color and about 18” x 3’ arches over the bed. It’s thermostatically controlled to keep Lisa’s skin temperature at 33 degrees.

I looked at Chris, Lisa was so very uncomfortable. During our visit, the anesthesiologist dropped into pay her a visit and discuss her pain requirements. Lisa said that she was sore but, more than anything, she was hot. “There’s hot and then there’s ridiculous!!” She was cranky, she had every right. Lack of sleep, nausea, thirst (she wasn’t allowed fluids at that point) can do that to a person.

More in a bit ...