A Surgery Tale

The date was March 14, 2017, early morning.

Location: Royal Inland hospital Kamloops BC.

The busy waiting room was filled with unfamiliar faces of older adults who gave the impression that they really did not want to be here. The people all let off the aura of uneasiness and sorrow as they sat in their uncomfortable seats suctioned to their cell phones on which they scrolled through with uninterest. I was out of place here, I was the only younger kid sitting in this small waiting room with all these adults and doctors. I could not think straight that day, I could not focus on anything even if I tried. I was nervous, ridiculously so as I fiddled with the sides of my torn up fingers. My eyes observed everything in the room while we waited, The sick older gentlemen coughing into his tissue while his wife comforted him or the woman who glared at everyone and everything that she could. They all looked tired and upset and that definitely did not make us feel any better sitting there.

The clock seemed to move at a snail's pace as it ticked closer to my appointment. My leg bounced in anticipation as the clock hands struck 10:30. How did the time go so fast? Had I really just zoned out for this long? It had felt like just a moment when I had looked at the sick women cough into her frail hands but in all honesty it had been thirty whole minutes since I had glanced at her. A voice echoed through the waiting room as the nurse called in patients one by one into their rooms.

A tall, joyful, younger women walked up to me with a childish smile on her face. She crouched down in front of me with her clipboard resting on her Disney covered pants and spoke to me in a quiet calming voice. “Are you Samantha?” She asked smiling at me, waiting for me to reply to her. I nodded and stared at my legs as I waited for this all to be over and done with for the time to come when I can leave this dreadful place.

“We’re ready for you if you would like to follow me.” She stood up with a sigh and patted down her nurse uniform. My body felt like it had a mind of its own as it painfully stood up, several joints popping and cracking as I stretched and moved my body forward. The nurse dropped her smile And started escorting me through the large hallway that smelled of antiseptic and medicine. The hall was short and bare except for a painting or two and the rooms were all opened and showing us glimpses of what was in each room. Hospitals always made me nervous because of the amount of time I spent in them whether it was for myself or my family. I had spent long periods of time in this place and it was never good.

The walk felt too fast as we approached the doorway to my room. The room was brightly lit and separated into three sections each identical to each other. They had a bed with equipment next to it and a tray with freshly sterilized tools placed on top of a blue cloth.

“The Doctor will be with you in a few minutes, please change into the gown on the bed and wait,” the nurse said. She ushered me inside towards the bed and closed the blue curtain around me with a sigh of a person who disliked their job and the people they had to deal with.

I sighed in relief to finally be alone as I fixed the curtain correctly so I was hidden from everyone and everything. I pulled off my black hoodie and placed it down nicely on top of the plain chair situated next to the bed and then proceeded to remove my baggy shirt and bra which were then placed neatly on my hoodie. I took one last glance down at my ribs and sighed in disappointment. I knew I had to get it removed or it could hurt me more and get worse but I didn’t want to be sliced open and lose something that grew to be part of me for so long. After my moment of thought I slipped on my gown and tied the back together firmly. Once I was finished I tiredly climbed onto the uncomfortable bed and slumped back with a groan of pain as pain rushed through my side. I had a few moments to myself before I heard footsteps walk into the room and stop in front the Curtain for a second. The person cleared their throat and spoke.

“Samantha I’m coming in,” came a sweet sounding voice, the type of voice that made you feel calm. An older looking women in a fancy dress suit walked in with a shy looking brunette nurse. The nurse stayed near the edge of the curtain while the women walked up to the end of my bed and placed her hands politely in front of her body. The nurse stayed quiet as the doctor explained the procedure to me, but halfway through her explanation I zoned out on the bed till she clapped her hands together and turned to the nurse to speak with her. The nurse walked over to the bed and started to raise it higher till I was about mid torso height with the doctor. She gave me a quick warning before she raised my torso forward so I was able to see my ribs while lying down.

“Can you hold up your gown for me Samantha?” The doctor gestured to the gown with her hand as she pulled on a pair of white latex gloves. The nurse left for a second and came back holding two objects, a small medical jar which she placed on the tray, and a rather large needle which she handed to the doctor. My stomach dropped as I began to panic and dread my decision, In my opinion, at that moment, I would gladly keep the growths inside my body. The needle sent a wave of nausea rippling through me. The needle looked ten times worse than it did every step the doctor took closer to me until she arrived beside me.

“Just a little pinch,” the doctor warned as she pressed the needle into my skin and injected the freezing into me. This was no little pinch, It was a red hot surge of pain that seemed to linger even after she had pulled out and refilled her needle. She injected me with one more shot of freezing before she passed the needle back to the nurse and changed into a new pair of gloves. The pain left shortly after and was replaced with nausea once again as the nurse handed the blue handle scalpel to her and stepped to the side. The doctor positioned herself near my side and lowered the scalpel onto my skin, applying pressure as she sliced through my half frozen skin. The scalpel dragged through my skin, I burned with pain as I watched the scalpel slice me open. Blood poured from my side onto a piece of gauze as she continued to slice away at my skin, some moments not watching what she was doing. She didn't stop until there were two vertical slices on top of my rib cage. She passed the blood covered scalpel to the nurse and huffed as she placed her fingers inside me. I cringed as I watched her hands move inside my body, slowly covering her white gloves in blood. After she had dug around under my skin for a bit she pulled her hands out with haste and grabbed the forceps from the nurse’s gloved hands. She inserted the forceps into my skin and yanked on a bundle of flesh from inside me which caused my body to squirm away from her painful touch. When I had pulled away the side of my incision ripped causing me to hiss out a groan of pain and a small curse under my breath.

The doctor sighed and waited for me to move back into my position and then continued again, pulling at the sensitive bundles of flesh and dragging them one by one out of my body and into the jar the nurse was holding onto. It felt like hours of pulling and pain before she had finished and pulled the forceps out of me and placed them on the tray too. I was feeling exhausted at this point, I felt horrible and everything hurt, I had a strong feeling that the freezing I had received earlier had worn off a lot because when she had brought out her stitching equipment I internally screamed. My body felt like it couldn't take anymore of this, all this pain and just the sight of being cut open was taking its toll on me. She gave no warning as she plunged the needle into my skin and tied it. This continued for eight agonizing minutes before she placed her stuff down and wiped the blood off my side. She disappeared behind the curtain for a second before she walked back in with a large piece of gauze and some medical tape. She proceeded to lay the gauze onto my skin and taped it down roughly and waved a hand goodbye as she left the room. The nurse informed me that I can leave now as she placed my bed back to its normal position then walked away, shutting the curtain on her way past. I groaned as I stood up and removed my gown with difficulty, but once the gown was off, I slid on my clothing and exited the room on wobbly legs. Walking back to the vehicle which was parked in the lower underground parking lot felt like hell as I stumbled through the bright hospital. It took me awhile but when I finally made it, I felt accomplished in myself for making it all the way here without any help whatsoever. I climbed into the vehicle and slumped down in my seat. I knew one thing and that was that I definitely didn't want to do anything like that ever again.