"You Did It, Miss Susie Madam!!!"

I woke up early REALLY early, I think I did that deliberately so I could torment myself with fear and and thoughts of agonising pain for just a few more hours, suffice to say when my driver and two angels arrived to collect me I was a crying, sobbing, shaking mess.

I took 2 Xanax, it didn't do anything to calm me down. The trip to the hospital took a while, and I sat in silence with tears flowing sending prayers to the universe that I would be OK....I wanted my husband with me badly. I felt like such an idiot for trying to do this on my own....

Then we arrive at the hospital. 

At this stage I had two Guardian Angels with me Non, who was the dental implant assistant and Ruby. My beautiful Ruby, this woman has become my friend I will always owe her a great debt that I will never be able to repay. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for all that she did for me. I love that woman and she will always hold a special place in my heart. 

We are taken immediately to my room, and OH MY GOODNESS!!! I was confused for a second "Is this a 5 star hotel or is this a hospital?"

I had a room larger than my hotel room, 2 balconies one north facing one east facing, I was on the 12 floor, the views were great, It had a separate bathroom, a  sofa bed, a dining table, fridge, microwave and a big screen HDTV all included! The hospital was clean and the nurses were so cute, their uniforms were straight out of the 1950's right down to those crazy old fashioned nurse hats! I had no reservations about having the procedure done there. It crapped all over any hospital I had ever seen in Australia, hands down. You would panic going into an Aussie hospital if you were used to Thai ones!

While we were waiting to be taken to surgery 2 more of Dr Sunil's staff turned up to be with us. So there I was this stupid crying woman in a beautiful hospital with 4 people there to support me. Non and the other two nurses were there to assist in the surgery, Ruby was there to be my advocate.

They gave me my pre-op medication, Im thinking it was more Xanax because I was off with the fairies and the last thing I remember in that room was Ruby telling me that she would not leave my side and that when I woke up in recovery it would be her face that I would see first... 

I remember being in the theatre, them squirting something up my nose then giving me some gas.......

Then I saw Ruby smiling at me "YOU DID IT Miss Susie Madam! All done!"

Seeing her face was awesome...I didn't die on the table! They DID IT!!! Those ugly ugly things were out of my head forever, I was waiting for the pain to hit me....waiting.....waiting......blackout again....

I wake up back in my room, again, Ruby is there holding my hand smiling at me and all 3 of the other nurses were there too.

My face was swollen, swollen beyond all recognition, I looked like the elephant woman who had been beaten badly in a Muay Thai match, it was scary, big black bruising under my eyes and lips that were no longer recognisable as lips. Naturally if your skin is stretched almost to tearing point its uncomfortable but the actual dental work was fine, I just had over 20 teeth extracted and the implants put in and I had zero pain in my mouth and gums. In the end I did not need a bone graft or a sinus lift but I'm sure if I had the pain would have been the same and that is NOT THERE AT ALL.

Then the food came, this is one area where Australian Hospitals have it all over the Thai ones, and that's saying something, but the food was utter shit. They told me that I needed to eat something and gave me what they called "Rice Soup"..."Rice Soup' is the water that they use to boil rice in. I think I offended them when I told them I was not eating that and that I consider rice water to be garbage that should be poured down the sink and it is most certainly NOT food.  They fussed a bit but in 5 minutes I had chicken soup, much better....

Once my little support team were satisfied that I had eaten and that I was ok 3 of them left and Ruby stayed by my side.

I don't remember too much about the rest of the day, I remember being given more slop that should again just be thrown in the bin and not consumed by humans, Ruby understood, I asked her to try the food and she too thought is was crap warmed up pretending to be edible..so she asked what I would like. I wanted a hot Milo, so my Ruby hunted me down some Milo and began to make it then I saw she was about to use Soy Milk....OH NO.....I told Ruby I need cows milk and that there was no way I was having a Milo with Soy Milk, so off she goes, 10 minutes later she has returned with cows milk and Orange Juice, apparently I had been going on about orange juice too, I don't remember that.

Anything and everything I needed Ruby helped me with, she helped me go to the toilet, she helped be get some sleeping pills and she helped me get a nice fat shot of morphine, OK, so when they asked me what my pain level was I said 7 cause I knew it would get  me the good drugs, it was probably at 3, but who doesn't like being whacked on free hospital drugs...Ok, that was bad, but I had fun..

The morphine actually perked me up for a few hours and I had a wonderful time getting to know this lady who has given up 36 straight hours of her life to look after me, a complete stranger. Ruby and I shared lots of secrets and stories about out lives, she is from India and had an arranged marriage, so she got the third degree from me all about that...

When I was trying to go to sleep Ruby massaged my head, my hands my feet to help me fall asleep, I don't know how many hot Milo's she made me but it made her happy when I drank it, I think I am all Miloed out now...

I don't think she slept because every time I woke up she was by my side asking if I needed anything, she took me to the toilet and would not even let me flush it myself or tie up the hospital pants they make you wear when I was done. Your own mother would not have cared for you as well as this woman cared for me.

Morning came and if I thought I was swollen after the surgery well I learned that there was a whole other level of swollen that I had not been aware of. Now I was sore, I would not say pain but very very sore. 

Chicken soup and more Milo for breakfast, a visit from the doctor and at 1pm I was discharged. My face was so hideous that I wore a surgical mask to leave the hospital lest all the Thai kids who saw me would have nightmares about the big western lady monster they saw.

I was delivered back to my hotel into the hands of the GHT nurses...

The hardest scariest bit was done, I was swollen, drugged and tired but it was done....and through all the haze I was beginning to feel the joy rising in my soul....