6 days post-op: "Anxiety in the OR"

Apr 04, 2011

One of my OH friends mentioned something that brought up a memory of when I went into the OR 6 days ago. She was told by the Weight Management Clinic at the Ottawa Civic Hospital that a gastric by-pass patient had decided to, when they were being wheeled into the OR 3 weeks ago, change their mind and not go ahead with the surgery.

I remember that they told us that we could stop our surgery right till the moment that we go to the operating room. The staff at the Weight Management Clinic does provide us with enough information to make an informed decision about our surgery well in advance of the surgery. But I know first hand the anxiety that you can feel as soon as you enter the OR.

The room can appear very intimidating and very institutional. I walked into the room and was asked to jump on the table. I cracked a joke how the room looked like the bridge of the Star Trek Enterprise. The nurses and doctors were very upbeat and full of energy and were busying themselves with all their prep. As I was on the table, I began to feel my anxiety start to build. At that moment I saw a nurse nearby and asked if she could hold my hand. She stopped what she was doing and came to my side and held my hand. She looked at me with the most beautiful brown eyes (as her face was all covered with her hat and mask) that were so full of  care and concern, to care for me while they administered my IV and started the anesthetic process. She told me her name was Julia and she said I had nothing to worry about and I was in good hands. I"ll never forget what a sweet gesture that was because I know she was one of the top nurses and was very busy directing and organizing stuff and she probably got a little behind, but she put my needs first. When the anesthetist asked me to think of a "happy place" when he put my mask on, the only thing I thought about were the nurses' beautiful comforting brown eyes.

So even though you are in this institutionalized room that is full of gauges, machines, and medical instruments, you are still a human and among humans--- all you have to do is try to seek that connection if you feel the anxiety start to build.

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