Information Overload!!!

Ok, so it is now Day 5. It seems that,  oh, 3 days just vanished into thin air but no, that is not the case. In fact so much has happened that I am unsure where to begin. Let me start by saying that I now drink coffee; not every day but I seem to have acquired a taste for it recently and for those of you who know me, I know! eh? Anyway, now that I got THAT seemingly irrelevant detail out of the way, I attended my pre-op appointment on wednesday the 23rd. A friend was kind enough to drive me so I didnt have to drive Mum's sportscar and worry about parking. I saw 3 doctors (2 internal specialists and the anesthetist); 1 physiotherapist; 1 occupational therapist; had blood taken; peed in a cup; ECG; chest x-rays {one would think that they would want to x-ray my leg???}; was poked and prodded too many times to count and in the end came out of there with 2 new prescriptions, wait, really 1 new prescription and an increase in dosage on meds I was already taking ;-/ Oh, and I was pronounced "fit for surgery."
I could go on about all the inconsistencies of my 4 and 1/2 hour appointment but I neither see the necessity or the sense. I do however want to mention one thing though, when I was speaking with the anesthetist, who by the way endorsed my choices wholeheartedly, I asked him how long the surgery would take. He says casually " oh an hour, hour and a half at most." I said "really? My doctor said he packs a lunch." He gave me a funny look like, I don't know why he would have said THAT?!? So, later when speaking with the nurse, who I forgot to mention in the above list lol, I asked her the same thing and she said "well, unless your doctor has scheduled something other than the BKA, the anesthetist is right." So she looks up what my vascular surgeon has entered into my chart or the paperwork that has already come down the line to pre-op and it says nothing else ;-/ I explain to the nurse that I am pretty sure that my doctor has to restructure my circulatory system in that leg almost completely and "could this be the reason why he would say it would take 5-7 hours?" "Ah yes," she says "that could very well be, funny he hasn't written anything down about it."
Yeah, funny, I am still shaking my head. Do you think that my doctor is possibly too busy? lol Well, I am not going to put energy into worrying about it. It appears that he already told me what I need to know and now that I know that I will be awake and alert for the actual operation, it doesn't really matter because I can ask my questions as they/we go along ;-D
Yesterday was my appointment with the internal specialist in Calgary at the Peterlougheed Hospital. This appointment was to address an over active thyroid and I was quite excited to see this doctor as I have the utmost respect for her because she has taken care of one of my good friends for many years. Anyway, I say "was excited" because it has been a long time since this appointment was arranged and I guess the novelty wore off. My wonderful boyfriend drove me and I have to say he made the trip as comfortable as he possibly could and we took our time. I arrived for my 2 o'clock appointment at 1:35 pm and it took me until 2:10 to finish filling out the paperwork. All 4 outpatient waiting rooms were full and I ended up sitting a ways down the hall from Clinic #2's reception desk. It was all good though, I wasn't the only one who had to sit so far away and I ended up having a lively conversation with another middle age man and his 95 year old father lol.
When my name was called, I was relieved, it had been a long trip and I was tired. I have been up early for so many mornings in a row now including weekends that I have lost count. Once I was in the exam room, there was more waiting; I fell asleep but not before putting on my jacket because I was freezing lol but there was a really lovely student doctor who did my initial interview; she was very thorough and I felt confident in her investigation. The doc that I came to see was just a little bit of a thing but brimming with knowledge. I left there with 2 more prescriptions and a standing requisition for monthly bloodwork. The 1st prescription was to calm my overactive thyroid and the 2nd prescription was to combat the side effects of the 1st prescription; how convenient that the side effect they are trying to avoid is hypertension ;-/ I started the new pills this morning and so far so good, no headache but the pharmacist was right about them making me tired ;-( We'll see if it only lasts for 3 or 4 days lol
So, as a result of the last 48 hours, I am now on a total of 5 different prescription medications; all of which I am told I am taking for one good reason or another. I suspect that some of these meds may be permanent especially if I intend to live to be 100. Again, I could go on about the medical community drug "pushers" but I am not going to. What is really the difference between these prescribed drugs and any other drug, recreational or otherwise, that I may or may not be inclined to try???
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going to turn around and welcome narcotics with open arms though I do admit that there are days when I am tempted lol I have come too far in proving my point regarding medical marijuana, to mess it up now.
In fact, I have finally managed to make 2 more batches of tincture; a second batch of Sativa or Day time tincture and a first batch of Indica or Night time tincture. I may have to do some creative set up in order to keep the jars warmer so they process faster. They need to be dark and warm. Light breaks down the cannabinoids but heat speeds up the chemical transfer from plant to the liquid.
Anyway, by the time I got home from cowtown at 12:30 am, I was exhausted; went to bed right away and promptly woke up at 6:19. This is another thing, it is like my body KNOWS that I am going into the hospital and is gearing up for the routine ;-/not bad in itself, just annoying lol
Tried to go back to bed, only to re-awaken to some minor distress, as my daughter had slept in. Other than driving the girls to work and picking up my prescriptions, I really didn't do that much all day. I know the party is saturday and I just didnt make much of anything a priority.
I am looking forward to the Bon Voyage Mon Pied Soiree. I have lost count how many people asked me that today. I guess I just dont seem excited because I am so tired. I am also looking forward to my time in the hospital; the regular hospital more so than the rehab hospital because it is nice to be taken care of. The rehab hospital is gonna expect me to work hard at my recovery whereas the initial hospital will be encouraging me to do certain things but not as insistently, nor will they force me if I am unready. The regular hospital is all about rest, relaxation and healing as far as I am concerned. Everything that I have read states that I cannot go far before the residual limb is healed up so in my mind: patience is the key so therefore, I am going to embrace the services offered me and take each day as it comes - Peace