Surgery Day!!

Wow, what a long day. My husband and I got up at 3am and made the drive to Wilmington in plenty of time. Both my daughters were there, along with a friend, to give me support, or so I thought. I spent the last half hour before being prepped for surgery cuddling the girls like I used to then they were little. I think it made them both feel better, and didn't hurt me either. I was taken into pre-op for all that mundane stuff that needs to be done and then settled into my gurney and made comfortable. The girls came in with my husband and friend and stayed with me for a while. After they left (all but hubby) the surgical team went to work on my "little cocktail". Once that was given, hubby left and they started to wheel me towards surgery, that was it, lights out and I dont' remember anything until they woke me up in recovery.
From what my husband has told me, here is a quick rundown on what happened to turn a three hour operation into four and a half hours. They started the procedure, got the implant in place with no trouble at all. Then, when it was time for the electrodes to be threaded into my cochlea, the trouble started. When the surgeon drilled through the mastoid bone to the cochlea, he found ossification (boney growth) in that part of the cochlea. They had to stop surgery right then and there and take x-rays to determine whether the ossification was full or just partial. I was lucky, and they were able to find a spot farther along to drill and complete the threading of the electrodes. It turns out I had meningitis as a child, with a high fever, and didn't know it. Not unusual for the 50's, I suppose, but I was once again lucky in the fact that the fever broke before taking my hearing all those years ago. My surgeon thinks that the combination of the ossification, a genetic link to early hearing loss and the MM all added up to what has happened in the last three years with my hearing.
So, after being rudely woken up post surgery, I was back in my clothes and in a wheel chair heading out the door by 1pm for a long drive home. I stayed awake in the car and actually wanted food about half way through the drive. We stopped for french fries for me (no salt) and a burger and fries for hubby. I had no dizziness at all, and no real nausea, just indigestion and mild discomfort in the incision area.
Once we got home, I crashed in the recliner and stayed there all evening. I finally emailed my family (my kids had made the basic calls earlier) and checked in with my friends at the forum and now it is lights out.