Hi Wolfie, so sorry to hear you need surgery but hey a planned surgery is much better than an unplanned one such as mine. I was in Mexico on vacation, about 90 miles out of Cancun. I became very ill in country where no one spoke English that they could find. You would have passed out if you had seen the hospital, it was an old hotel converted into a hospital. There was no call buttons, an old black phone was beside my bed and if I picked up the receiver a man answered Bueno. They had no pain pumps, cotton balls were still soaked in metal containers, no throw away cotton swabs, big brown bottles of meds hung from a rusted IV pole that only had 2 wheels. Most of their supplies like that come from American drs that make mercy missions there and take old supplies and things like that to them. It took a full day to find a surgeon, I rode 90 miles in am ambulance that was a 1950's model, they stopped for gas three times, people do not yeild to emergency vehilces in Mexico, we made one stop along the roadside and a guy came running out of the jungle with a credit card machine so my husband who was following behind could pay for the ambulance ride. This is all no joke. We did not have an elevator so 6 people carried me down from surgery, I take it back they did have an elevator big enough for 2 people, I rode up to surgery sitting wide awake in a rusty wheelchair with a male nurse propped up on the back of the wheelchair so he would fit in this elevator. I was wheeler into the surgery room that looked like something out of mash and some guy looked at me and in mumbled english/spanish told me to crawl up on the operating table and buddy I did. I was so sick I did not care if I died it would be a relief. I felt like I had nothing to lose. Hey, if I can do it there, honey it will be a breeze for you here,lol.
The surgeon thought it was appendicitis he only had a sonogram machine for xrays. He opened me up and took out my appendix only to find they were fine, but took them anyway,lol. Thank goodness this man knew to open me up lower and when he did he found a complete blockage and abscess. My gi says had the abscess perforated I would have died so the surgeon saved my life. He did an excellent job. My nurses were in my room like clock work hanging medicine and I never hurt one time nor did I ever have to ask for anything, of course it would not have done any good they didn't speak english and neither did my drs. They drew a picture of my surgery on a piece of paper for my husband & daughter,lol. Bless my surgeons heart he hand typed on a typewriter a 2 page report outlining everything he did all in Spanish.lol. Those people take great pride in their work let me tell you. I had better care there than I ever have had here in the states and I have had many surgeries.
Take your pillow from home, it will be nice and comforting for you. When you go to get up from bed, take a bed pillow and press gently against your stomach while getting in & out of bed. Walk, walk, walk, to get those bowels woke up and its the best thing you can do to get your strength back. In Mexico I was wrapped in a binder so I did not need a pillow to use to get in & out of bed, course they no longer do that here in the states.
You will really feel so much better once you have recuperated from the surgery. Nanners gave you excellent advice to floow thru with. Believe me, you will do great, Hugs Susie