Edd Verdich
Mrs. Stanton
Lit/Comp 12
11 Feb. 2011
Title
	Since I was a child I’ve had a mostly-aesthetic deficiency to my chest. The surgery, called a Pectus Excavatum, was never really considered until it was checked out by a specialist in the field. When we went to see the doctor, he said that the surgery should be considered because it was in severe condition. It was decided that I would undergo the procedure because not only was it visually abnormal, it was pushing my heart into the left side of my rib cage and could have caused other problems in the future. So while everyone was leading a normal Christmas, spending time with family and opening presents, I was slouching around my hospital room.
	I went to the hospital on December 20th of 2010. In my pre-op room I was visited by numerous doctors and nurses, and my anesthesiologist. I was informed that the surgery would be very painful and that I would be catheterized and have an epidural put into my spine for pain control. They also gave me an ‘Incentive Spirometer’. This was the most important device to my recovery. Even with all that said, the worst part of the wait was knowing that I was going to be catheterized and that someone was going to be playing with my man parts. Before the surgery, the epidural was inserted into my back and from after that point I don’t remember anything.
	I woke up in extreme pain with a very limited amount of room to breathe. Every time I inhaled it felt like a large person was stepping on my chest. I was completely unable to move other parts of my body, like my arms and head. It hurt to move my arms very far so they would get sore from lying in the same spot for a long time. My motion was limited to moving my head left and right. It was difficult for me to talk because I couldn’t inhale very far. The doctors told me that I had to use my Incentive Spirometer to expand me chest and prevent pneumonia. They said that if I didn’t, fluids would collect in my lungs and chest, causing me to become ill. Even though I could have gotten pneumonia, I didn’t do what I was supposed to because it caused an immense amount of pain. About 2 days after surgery I was able to eat a little food and drink water. On the third day, it was time to sit up. The nurses had to pull me up by my arms and sit me up, because I couldn’t support my own weight. I had sat up for about 5 minutes, I was really close to passing out but I had regained consciousness and they were going to help me stand up. The plan was to stand up, walk over to a chair and sit up for a few minutes and see how I felt, but I immediately blacked out after I stood up. I sat up for about 30 minutes, and then went back to my bed. Around the fifth day, I was in sufficient condition to return home, but I was kept in the hospital because my JP drain was still draining too much blood. They wanted less than 20 ml every 6 hours, but I was putting out more than that. On the 26th, I was given the option to stay at the hospital and wait for the drain to stop filling up, or go home with the drain in. I went home with the drain in, and it was removed a week or so later.
	On December 26th, life would resume as normal. Although I was much better, it was still difficult to do pretty much anything, like showering or even sleeping. Now, about 2 and a half months later, I’m almost completely healed and able to do everything I normally could. I’m still not able to lift heavy weights or support my own body weight, but in comparison to how I was previously, I am much better. This was a very life changing experience in that I will never look how I did when I was younger, and it may have helped my lungs and heart perform better.