The Nose Job

Bryan went to the hospital today to have his broken nose fixed. He wasn't too excited about it and was even less so when the nurse told him to take off all his clothes and put on a hospital gown. Then she couldn't get his IV in, after telling us that IVs were her specialty. She had to try twice and the first one was pretty painful. We were to be at the hospital at 11:30 a.m. Bryan was quickly admitted and then we waited...and waited....and waited. The nurse told us that they were a bit off on their times and that it would be a wait. There was one patient already in surgery and another one in front of Bryan. She estimated that the second patient would go into surgery around 1:15 and would take about an hour. They finally came for Bryan at about 2:25. We went up to the surgery waiting where the nurse, anesthesiologist and doctor came in to talk to us. The anesthesiologist said he didn't want to have to put Bryan really under because he wanted to avoid a breathing tube. So he was going to "make you as high as I can" so Bryan wouldn't remember it but he wouldn't be totally out. I was really glad it wasn't me. I would have told them to knock me out!!

I went out into the waiting room at 2:53 (I remember because I used my cell phone to check on the kids and it said that time). At 3:15 the anesthesiologist came out and said, "Come with us, we are skipping recovery and taking him down to post-op." I went around the corner and Bryan was laying on the gurney and talking. This is when it got really funny! According to Bryan, "Anesthesia takes away your inhibitions." And it did!! I was so mad when I realized that I had forgotten my video camera!!!

We got into the elevator and the anesthesiologist turned to me and said, "He's a pretty funny guy." When the anesthesiologist got Bryan from the operating waiting room, he put something into his IV to make him feel good. When they got into the operating room Bryan asked them to hurry because he had some heavy chain saw work to do after his operation. In the elevator afterward, the anesthesiologist asked if Bryan remembered that and he did. Then Bryan just started cracking jokes. At one point in the post-op room he said, "I feel like singing show tunes" and started singing "Singing in the Rain." He kept asking the nurses to sing in four part harmony. He did get a couple of them singing and whistling the tune afterward.

The anesthesiologist said that he got Bryan pretty loopy and then Bryan was unconscious for about 30 seconds. The anesthesiologist had to breathe for Bryan twice (had to use the pump mask to blow air into his lungs) but he didn't have to put in a breathing tube or anything. And Bryan was awake quickly afterward, so it was great. The nurses loved him. He even got a sticker. He was in and out for about an hour in post-op and then they let us go home. He said that it felt like time would just fly by because he was still in and out of it. At one point, the nurse asked if Bryan wanted apple juice. He told her yes and then must have fallen asleep. She brought it in and when I pointed it out for him he didn't even remember her bringing it in.

He has a brace on his nose but looks just fine. Within about 15 minutes of being home he was checking work email and phone messages. And now he's in our home office working on documents. So much for getting some rest.