Meghan had spent time with Kelsey after everything was finished. They looked through her box of goodies, reading cards, laughing at jokes and comics her coworkers had included. They also debated the merits of the chocolate and other goodies Kelsey had gotten. Mitch smiled at the interaction. Meghan seemed to be in good spirits, and he was thankful for that – the pain flare from Kevin’s exam had had him worried. That cyst will be gone in just a matter of hours now, he assured himself.

Meghan glanced at the clock to see what time it was. “Almost 10 o’clock already! I think I need to head to bed and at least try for some sleep. I’m supposed to be at pre-op at 5. What time do we need to leave, Mitch?”

He thought for a minute. “It generally takes 15 minutes to get to the hospital from here, but then you’ll need to check-in and all. Why don’t we try for 4:30?”

She nodded. “And I’m supposed to bathe beforehand… Sounds more like a catnap for tonight rather than actual sleep.” She yawned and stretched. Her shirt caught on the tape securing the hep-lock. “Should we keep this in?”

Mitch had momentarily forgotten that he had put the hep-lock in. “I think it would be okay to keep it in, if you’re comfortable with the placement.”

“Yeah, it’s in a better spot for me.” She yawned again. “Okay, bedtime. I’ll see you two way too early in the morning.” She headed for her room.

Once there, she pulled out the duffel bag Kelsey had brought from her apartment. She packed in a couple of tops and her sweat pants, plus a long jersey maxi skirt that was very comfortable. She added a sports bra, a few pairs of panties, several pairs of socks, and squeezed in her latest knitting project. A book finished her packing for the evening – she’d add her toiletries in the morning.

Meghan gave herself a sponge bath and washed her hair in the sink. She knew it would be a couple of days before she would have the energy or desire to wash it, and she wanted to have clean hair going in.

She sat down on the edge of her bed. She made sure to charge her phone and set 3 alarms to make sure she would wake up in time to get ready. She climbed under the covers and turned out her light.

**********

Sleep didn’t come easily for Meghan that night, and she was plagued with weird dreams when she did sleep. So it was very tempting to just silence the alarms when they went off around 3:30 that morning, but Meghan diligently got up after silencing her phone.

She took the extra sponge bath as directed, then brushed and put up her hair. She brushed her teeth, then took all of her toiletries and stored them in her duffel bag. She tossed in her phone charger and zipped the bag. Dressed in comfortable, easy to remove clothing, she picked up the duffel bag and slung it crossbody. Crutches tucked under her arms, she made her way to the living room.

Mitch and Kelsey came out of their bedroom right after Meghan had set down her bag on the couch. “Morning, sis.”

“This time of day should be outlawed.” Kelsey yawned and stretched.

“I know. I always groan when the tones go off in the early morning. It’s usually enough to ruin sleep for the rest of the night.” Meghan yawned. “Kelsey, you’re being contagious this morning. See?” She pointed at Mitch, who was yawning himself.

“How are you feeling, Meghan?” Mitch asked.

“Sore, but I don’t need any pain meds right now,” she replied. “I’m just ready to get this over with.”

Mitch picked up her bag. “Got everything you need?”

“Yep. Do you still have Cherie’s info?” Mitch patted his back pocket with his wallet.

“It’s still in my wallet. We’ll keep her informed,” he assured her. With that, he gestured her and his wife through the door and out to the car. The drive to the hospital was short, and traffic was very light at that time of the morning, but it was still long enough for Meghan to doze off for a few minutes, Mitch noted, glancing in his rearview mirror. He pulled up under the awning at the hospital entrance to drop off Meghan and Kelsey. “I’ll find a place to park and bring in your bag, Meghan.” He made sure they were out of the car and then drove to the physician parking to park the car.

**********

Meghan and Kelsey made their way to the Pre-Op desk. Meghan signed in and sat down to wait to be called back. Mitch joined them, and they made small chat until a nurse called Meghan’s name. Meghan waved her acknowledgement and got to her feet. Kelsey and Mitch followed Meghan and the nurse down the hall and onto a pre-op ward. The nurse opened the door to room 15 and escorted them inside.

“Good morning folks! Which one of you is Meghan?”

“I am,” Meghan said.

“Good to meet you, Meghan. I’m Becky. I’ll be your nurse until they come to take you up to the OR. I need for you to help me this morning by modeling this wonderful hospital gown. It has matching socks and a hairnet to complete your ensemble. Please remove all of your clothing and jewelry, including your undies. I've got a fashionable bag you can put your clothes in, here. I’ll give you a few minutes, and will be back for round two.” She smiled as gave her instructions, and Meghan couldn’t help but chuckle as she left.

“I’ll go see if I can scrounge some coffee while you change, Meghan. Want anything, Kelsey?” She shook her head, and Mitch left the room. He spotted Becky down the hall and waved to her. She waited for him to approach her.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“I’m Dr. Branston, and I work down in the ER,” he said, by way of introduction. “I just wanted you to know that I inserted an IV last night, and Meghan still has the hep-lock. It’s an 18 gauge in her right forearm.”

“Thank you, Dr. Branston. When was the last time it was flushed?” She wrote down the information.

“Um… probably around 8:30 last night, roughly?”

“Okay. I’ll flush it and make sure it’s patent.” She turned away, then back to him. “Are you looking for coffee?” He nodded. “Go around the corner, then down the hall to the next hallway. Turn right, and go through the second door. The break room there has coffee, and it’s generally a fresh pot.”

He smiled widely. “Thank you so much!” He headed off in the direction she pointed.

Meghan, by this time, had gotten changed into the gown and had one sock on. She had tried to get the second on, but the cast made it difficult for her to reach her toes. “Too bad I’m not a gymnast,” she complained to Kelsey. “I’m not flexible enough to reach my toes!”

Kelsey chuckled. “I don’t know of too many times you’d need to do a backflip in your job.”

Meghan sighed and sat down on the gurney. “I sure hope this is the last time I have to do this for a long while!”

Kelsey placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “I’m sure that we are all hoping for that, sis.” She waved her splinted arm. “I keep hoping this will heal up quickly so I can get back to work.”

A knock sounded on the door, and Becky entered. “Oh, aren’t you fashionable! I know that it’s cold down here, so let’s add some layers to help you keep warm.” She draped three blankets over Meghan straight from the warmer. She picked up the extra one she had brought and draped it over Kelsey’s shoulders. “Kelsey, it’s been a while! I thought you’d like a blanket too.”

Kelsey chuckled but snuggled into the heated fabric. “Oh, yes, thank you! It has been a while.”

Becky turned to Meghan, IV supplies in hand. “Dr. Branston informed me that he had started an IV yesterday, and you still have it in. I need to flush it, to make sure it’s patent.” Meghan held out her arm, the hep-lock clearly visible. Becky cleaned off the port and attached a saline flush. She withdrew a little and tried to flush it, but fluid wouldn’t move. “Hmm. It doesn’t seem to be working." She looked at the short piece of tubing to see if something was kinked and noticed the clamp was clamped across the tubing. “Duh, it’s clamped. Let’s see.” She unclamped the tubing and tried to flush it again. It worked perfectly. She shook her head and removed the flush. She set up the bag of IV Lactated Ringers and spiked the bag with the tubing. She hooked up the fluids and set the rate TKO.

Becky then rounded the bed to Meghan’s left side. “I need to draw some labs, then I’ll get you hooked up to our lovely telemetry.” She proceeded to draw several vials of blood. After placing a band-aid over the site, she cleaned up her mess and put patient stickers on the tubes. The tubes went into a hazmat bag, which she set on top of her clipboard.

“Okay, let’s get you stickered up here.” Becky attached cardiac leads and hooked Meghan up to the monitor before wrapping a BP cuff around her left arm. She then attached a pulse-ox probe to Meghan’s left index finger. The monitor started reading the different inputs, displaying them on the screen. The BP cuff inflated and hissed as it deflated. That reading also flashed up on the monitor. Becky nodded. “Good news – you live!” She jotted the numbers down on the chart and grabbed it up with the lab samples. “I’m going to get your labs sent off, and then we just wait for Anesthesia and your surgeon to do rounds. After that, you’re on your way!”

Mitch returned just as Becky was about to leave. He held the door open for her and toasted her with his cup of coffee. He entered the room and sat down next to Kelsey.

“I should scold you for bringing coffee in here, Mitch, but I won’t.”

“Yeah, I know I shouldn’t tease you with it, since you can’t have any.” He blew on the hot brew through the vent in the lid.

“I must be sick,” Meghan remarked.

“Oh? How so?” He raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t want any,” she replied. “I think that’s a first for me!”

Kelsey chuckled. “No kidding! I think Dad started your coffee addiction when you were seven.”

“He probably did,” Meghan replied. She shook her head in amusement at the memory. “I kept bugging him, wanting to taste his drink. Dad liked it black, and I thought it tasted horrible until he gave me some with milk and sugar.”

“And she’s been hooked ever since. These were the days before Starbucks and the other coffee shops. She got weird looks when we’d go to breakfast. I had orange juice, she had coffee.”

They were still chuckling when a knock came to the door. Dr. Benson poked his head in, then entered the room. “Well, Meghan, here we are again! Hi folks.” He greeted everyone and pulled up the rolling chair to sit next to Meghan. “And what are we doing today?”

“We’re going to get rid of this ovarian cyst that has plagued me for the last few months.”

“Yep, that’s what I’ve got here,” he said, referencing her chart. “I know that you met with Dr. Harper during your pre-op appointment and he went over some of the recommendations to make sure your lungs don’t get mad at us for another surgery so soon.” Meghan nodded.

“Your nurse will bring in the antibiotics soon, and I’ll be doing a couple of breathing treatments while you’re under during the surgery. Respiratory therapy will be following up with you while you are an inpatient, so don’t be surprised when they show up.”

He stood and put his stethoscope in his ears. “Lean forward for me, and take some deep breaths.” He listened to her heart and lungs, had her open her mouth, and lean her head back as far as she could.

“Well, your lungs sound fine, and everything looks good here. Has Dr. Meyers been in yet?”

“Not yet,” Meghan replied.

“He should be in shortly, then. I’ll make sure your nurse gets your antibiotics going, and after he’s come in…” Dr. Benson was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Come in.”

Becky entered the room, holding Meghan’s antibiotics, followed by Dr. Meyers. “Hello, hello! Good morning everyone. Looks like we’ve got a crowd here!”

Dr. Benson stood. “Morning, Kevin. I was just telling Miss Meghan here that after you saw her I would check on the transport team and when they’re ready, give her some good drugs.”

“They should be here in a minute,” Becky stated. “They called down a few minutes ago.” She finished hooking up the antibiotics to Meghan’s IV and checked to see that it was flowing in properly. She left, followed by Dr. Benson, who excused himself for a few minutes. The door closed, and Dr. Meyers was left alone with Meghan and her family.

He smiled at her. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Ready for this to be over,” she replied.

“I’m sure. Transport is on their way down, so it shouldn’t be long now before we get you up to the OR. Do you have any last-minute questions or concerns?”

She thought for a moment before shaking her head no. “No, I don’t.”

He smiled reassuringly again. “I promise to take good care of you. I’m going to head upstairs now to scrub in, so I’ll see you in a few minutes!” He shook Mitch and Kelsey’s hands and headed out of the room.

Dr. Benson re-entered the room, followed by two techs with a gurney. “Your chariot has arrived! Let’s get you situated, and I’ll give you the good juice.” They helped her transfer over to the gurney, assisting with her leg, unhooking her from the monitoring equipment, and resettling her IVs on the pole on the gurney. They covered her with warm blankets, and Dr. Benson reached for her IV. He pulled several syringes from his pocket and started administering them in her IV. “Zofran for nausea, then some morphine. Solumedrol for those lungs…” he followed this medication with a saline flush. “And now, sleepy juice!” He pushed the last medication into the port of her IV and everything went fuzzy. He disposed of the syringes in the sharps container and nodded to Kelsey and Mitch. “Say your goodbyes, folks.”

Kelsey and Mitch approached the gurney, hugged Meghan, and promised to keep Cherie updated. Once they stepped back, Dr. Benson nodded to the transport team, and they wheeled Meghan out of the room.

***********

Mitch and Kelsey headed down to the cafeteria to see about some food. Once seated with their trays, Mitch pulled out the contact info for Cherie Jones and unclipped his phone from his belt. He sent her a text. Cherie Jones, this is Mitch Branston, Meghan’s brother-in-law. I just wanted to let you know she went back for surgery a few minutes ago. Feel free to text or call. I’ll update you as I know more. He set his phone down and began to eat.

About 10 minutes later, a couple of paramedics entered the cafeteria and headed for the line. They made their way through, having their orders put in to-go boxes and grabbing bottled juices from the cooler. They paid and started heading for the door when one stopped, looking right at Mitch and Kelsey. She said something to the other medic and headed in their direction.

Mitch didn’t notice until she stopped at their table. “Dr. Branston?”

He looked up at her. “Yes. Can I help you?”

She smiled. “I’m Cherie Jones, Meghan’s coworker.” She set her food down on the edge of the table so she could shake his hand.

“Ah. Nice to formally meet you. This is Meghan’s sister, Kelsey.”

“Pleasure. I’ve only got a minute but wanted to say thanks for letting me know. I’m off duty soon, but I’ll have my phone nearby. Feel free to leave a message or shoot me a text if I don’t answer. It’s been a long night, and I’m hearing my bed at home calling!” She smiled ruefully as tones sounded from the radio on her hip and her pager started going off. She silenced it, looked at the message, and shook her head. “It never rains but it pours. Later, doc.” She grabbed up her food and hurried out of the cafeteria.

**********

Meghan had been in surgery for an hour when the waiting room phone rang. “Dr. Branston, line one,” the receptionist at the Surgical Waiting Room desk called. Mitch got up from his seat next to Kelsey and answered the phone.

“Dr. Branston.”

It was a nurse from the surgical team. “Hi, Dr. Branston. Dr. Meyers wanted me to give you an update. Meghan is doing fine, and they are in the process of removing the cyst now, but wanted you to know that they have opened her for an open removal. The cyst was too large to remove laparoscopically. We are estimating that she should be in Recovery in another hour.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll let her sister know.” Mitch hung up the phone and returned to Kelsey’s side.

As he sat down, Kelsey asked, “Update from the OR?”

He nodded. “She’s doing fine, but they did have to open her up to remove the cyst: too large.”

Kelsey pursed her lips but nodded. “Not unexpected, given the size of it. But that means a longer recovery time and a longer hospital stay.”

“Let me shoot Cherie a text so she’ll be informed.” Mitch pulled out his phone again. Meghan still in surgery, but just got updated. She’s doing fine, had to do an open incision to remove cyst. Est. 1 more hour until in Recovery.

He was about to put his phone back on its holster when it buzzed. Thanks for the update. Any idea how long she’ll be in hospital?

He texted back. Rough guess: 4-5 days. GYN unit 300.

K. Keep me updated, please.