'See you at the OT'

The day of the operation will be one of my memorable days. It was a fun day right from the morning. Friends kept pouring in from the morning with their good wishes. My school friend, Jaita, spend the day with me. Then came the others. We were chatting, gossiping and generally we were having a normal fun filled day. We weren’t too nervous about the operation … all of us made an effort to be courageous.  Also, the emotional support from the senior onco surgeon and the gastroenterologist helped us from hitting the panic button unnecessarily. They kept assuring us that ‘…there is nothing to worry. We will take care of Debjani…’. And we kept reminding ourselves these precious words. What mattered was that, finally the tumour from the colon is going to be removed and I am going to be all right.  

I was not allowed to eat or drink water after sometime. I was given some medicine/laxative that was supposed to remove as much stool from the big intestine as much as possible. But I don’t think it helped much. The tumour was blocking the stool from coming out. So I realized it’s going to be an open surgery.

By evening most of my friends were with me in my room – Jaita, Pooja, Jam and of course my husband. Indrani & Anand joined in after 12 midnight. My surgery began at 2:30am and lasted for almost 6 hours.

Around 1:15am the onco surgeon walked into my hospital room with a big smile and again assured us that I will be fine and I should not worry at all. And before leaving he said ‘see you at the OT!’ At that time the last 5 words sounded bizarre and hilarious to me. I have heard my colleagues and friends saying ‘See you at the conference room’, ‘See you at the client meeting’, ‘See you at the coffee shop/canteen’. But ‘see you at the OT’ and that too at 1:15am  - I still laugh at it.

Once the surgeon left I had to slip into the OT gown and the bed wheeled me into the OT.

The only thing that worried me before entering the OT was that I wanted to see my husband after the operation. When you hail from the advertising industry anything can happen – you can get a call in the middle of the night to come to back to office and solve a crises‼ The ad world is like an underworld … once you get sucked in, there no way you can come out. It’s infectious! Lol!

Hehehehehe!

The operation theatre (OT) reminded me of one of the studio floors of Mehboob Studio at Bandra, Mumbai. It was big both in terms of floor space and height. Is this why they call it a theatre?? It was chilled inside – but I could hardly feel the chill. On one side the surgical equipment were kept and I purposely choose to ignore them ( I am scared of needles!). The operation bed is more like a vertical table.

After sometime the anaesthetist asked me to sit still while they were inserting the epidural into my spinal cord (the epidural space). Epidural anaesthesia is an injection the back that numbs the nerves and stops you from feeling the pain. The areas that are numb by the epidural are the chest, abdomen, pelvic area and the legs. The extent of the numbness will depend on the type of drug used and the amount injected. Once the medication has worn off, feeling in the affected areas will return. 

It did not hurt much … I kept jabbering with the doctors and nurses to divert my mind. We spoke about music, David Guetta, Mark Knopfler, my paintings, people’s fear for needles, and the mutation of cells. While the surgeon was explaining the concept of cell mutation all I

could think about was Hollywood movies on mutants. I wanted to tell him about it the Hollywood link & if I will develop special powers …  but I restrained myself! Sometimes its wise to share certain jokes with your advertising friends rather than with doctors inside an OT! :P

What gave me the maximum confidence in the OT was the conviction, poise and coolness of the ocno surgeon and the anaesthetic - their body language said they knew what they were doing. And I knew that I was in the best hands. Ahem!

Once the epidural was inserted I lied down and within seconds the anaesthesia helped get into a deep sleep.

The next thing I remember is seeing Avik, Jam and Jaita. Jaita was standing far away form my bed (I still remember the concern on her face) …  its always assuring to see your near and dear ones after a surgery! What relief‼ How lucky am I! Post this I again went off to sleep because of the anaesthesia. I cant thank my friends, family and doctors enough for the emotional support they gave me. I am eternally grateful to them.

Lessons Learnt
Be the fighter - I AM BEATING cancer!

Value people, value family & friends, value doctors - they are your lifeline!

Appreciate what u already have - not everybody can afford a mega disease like Cancer in a reputed hospital like LH Hiranandani Hospital, Powai.

Enjoy and celebrate life - even if it means you are inside an OT! Life is too beautiful to crib! 

Tips

Today cancer is 80% curable. Believe in your doctors. Concern & nervousness will be there on the day of the operation  – but control it. Dont get too emotional.  Be brave, fight it with knowledge and face it. 

Yes you can fight cancer!!

During the surgery the patient will be sleeping … its actually the doctors who will be working. So why worry as a patient. Just tell yourself ‘All is well’ and enjoy your sleep. ;)

I listened to the Hanuman Chalisa many times on the day of the surgery – this gave me a lot of strength. Listen to your God … He is always there for you!

Costs

I got operated on a Sunday early morning.  Most hospitals charge a hefty premium on Sundays. We managed to wave off a chunk of the extra cost with the help of the doctors.  

Surgery Major

OT Charges (Supra major surgery)             :  Rs 66,000.00

Charges for doctors (amalgamated)           :  Rs. 1,50,450.00

Total cost                                                          :   Rs. 2,16450.00

Consumables charges for OT (surgical gloves, blades, syringe, stapler etc)                                                                                    :  Rs. 50,000,00

Non medical costs (face mask, drape, underpads, roller bandage, apron etc)                                                                                  :  Rs. 2,400.00

Blood per bottle                                        :  Rs. 3400.00

Flowtron per day (muscle movement)    : Rs 1,444.00

Laboratory test charges:

Urine Routine                                                 :  Rs. 200.00

Histopathology Medium                               :  Rs. 1756.00

Histopathology Radical                                 :  Rs. 3218.00

Complete Blood count CBC                          :  Rs. 333.00

Albumin                                                            :   Rs. 227.00

Creatinine                                                         :   Rs. 293.00

Total                                                                   :   Rs. 6,027.00

These are costs that were incurred for my case and are for a reference purpose only as they were incurred in May 2015.  Some costs like medicines etc… have not been covered, as we could not ascertain the ones used during the surgery and ones after that… So depending upon your hospital grade, doctors and specific case these cost will vary greatly, so do check with your hospital and doctors.