They called me back and did all the pre-check stuff and then the nurse came in to put the IV in. He tried on my right wrist, and although he initially got in, when he tried to advance the needle it "popped" the vein. I am not sure what that means exactly, because I know it didn't literally pop. Anyway, he gave me a shot of Lidecane (sp?) in the top of my left hand and then put the IV in there. Ouch!! Then they wheeled me out of the pre-op and to the Endoscopy Suite. (I laughed when I saw that they referred to it as a Suite.)
I had a sticky note that I had put on my packet to remind them to make two sets of photos. (Kevin joked that I was going to put these photos in our Christmas card, as with the cost of the copay for the procedure, we were doing this in lieu of a summer vacation.) When the nurse was putting my IV in I joked that I should stick it on my forehead, but instead, I stuck it on the front of my gown. When the procedure nurse saw it, she laughed and said she would have stuck it on her forehead. I laughed and told her that I almost had. (When I came out of the procedure I noticed my sticky note was gone.)
In the "Suite", they hooked me up to a heart monitor, a pulse monitor, oxygen (in the nose) and a bp cuff on my right forearm. They had me roll over onto my left side and they put a block pillow behind me. The procedure nurse said that after they gave me the anesthesia they would put in the mouth block. They said that I would start to feel lightheaded and dizzy, which was normal. They put the block in my mouth and I tried to say something to the nurse and then my whole head started spinning and I said, "Oh yeah! There is the dizzy." And . . .it's pretty much black after that.
I do remember gagging really badly (must have been when it was going in), and at one point I opened my eyes and I could see the screen. I saw pink with red and yellow splotches on it (it looked like a Tutti-Frutti Jelly-Belly), and I could tell it was my stomach with blood on it. The next thing I remember was being in recovery and the procedure nurse was turning me over to the recovery nurse. I lay there for awhile, going in and out, watching the bp reads as they flashed on the monitor.
Eventually the nurse came over when he seemed to sense I was "back" and he asked if I wanted something to drink. I said, "YES!" He asked, "What would you like?" I looked at him for a second and came within a moment's hesitation of being a smart alec and saying, "Scotch, straight up." Instead I asked what they had and selected some apple juice. That tasted really good! They called Kevin to come back to the hospital, and when he got there he, the nurse, gave me my copies of the photos they had taken (one had my pink stomach lining with red and yellow splotches on it), told me that I had mild gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), that they found two tiny pollops (which they biopsied), and that they saw thickened folds in my stomach lining (which they also biopsied). He said they would let me know the results of the biopsies in a few days. He said I shouldn't eat fatty or spicy foods and I couldn't drive or cook on a stove or use a sewing machine for the next 12-24 hours.
They released me and Kevin and I went to Wendy's to get lunch and boneless BBQ chicken wings and french fries never tasted so good! I felt a lot better (more normal) after I had some food in my stomach. We drove home and I slept for about an hour until Camille brought Rebecca and Katrina home after school. I sure appreciate the friends who took care of the girls today, and Kevin for taking such good care of me.
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