Prepping for my procedure
When I arrived at the Denver regional VA hospital Thursday morning, safely driven there by my daughter, I was whisked off to a preparation room and exchanged my clothes, except for my pants, for a hospital gown; no metal was allowed on my body. Various people would come into the room and introduce themselves. I recall there being a couple of prep nurses, a surgical nurse, and a female doctor who took even more information from me, and thankfully, changed my close vision lens decision to a more suitable long-distance lens. A male doctor came in and wrote something above my eye on my forehead with a magic marker. I'm not sure what it said, but I believe it was his bill.
I was hooked up to a machine to measure my blood pressure and O2 levels constantly, and had an IV needle inserted into the back of my hand to be used for anesthetics if needed. The anesthesiologist told me I probably wouldn't require any anesthetics, but they needed the needle there just in case I started feeling apprehensive, freaking out, or wouldn't pay my bill. She also said that if I had to have anesthetics during the operation, I would have to spend more time in the recovery room waiting for the anesthetics to wear off. After hearing I was going to have to spend more time in the hospital if I had anesthetics, I made up my mind right then that they could take out my eye and play tennis with it before I would complain about anything. After all the preparations, I waited in the prep room for about 45 minutes for the surgical team to get around to me.
Gurned down the hall by a nurse, I went into an operating room with, I believe, seven people in it. I remember thinking that seemed like a lot of folks to do something to one eye. From here on, I apologize because what I saw in this room was very unclear, as they had taken my glasses from me, so my vision was very blurred.
I told the nurse who was adjusting the gurney I was on that I had a bad back and lying flat is difficult for me, so they put a rolled-up towel under my neck and a small cushion under my knees, which was supposed to make my back feel better, and it did, but not nearly enough. The surgical nurse explained to me that the doctor had to keep my face level, so putting a pillow under my head was out of the question. Not wanting to be a bother, I told the doctor I felt fine when he asked.
This is getting so long that even I am losing interest in it, so I will finish it up tomorrow....... if you're lucky.
Theboondork
Part of the property at Pete’s. In the middle of the picture, you will see a grove of aspen trees, and there’s a small year-round spring in that grove of aspens. Aspen trees require a lot of moisture, so anytime you see a grove of aspens, there’s water nearby.
This is a picture of the approximate width of Pete’s. On the far left, you can see the grove of aspen trees from the previous photo, which I have now walked past. Which is located on one side of the property. On the far right is approximately the other side of the property. The property goes to near the foot of the mountains in the background, and the mountains themselves are in the national forest, as is the property on the right. The property is longer than it is wide, so if I turn the camera around 180°, the property goes back another couple of hundred yards.