Janel & Dan Folden

August  2003

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Tubal reversal  Aug  25, 2003

August 2003

We arrived at the hospital in Rio Bravo at 6:50 am, walked in and there was no one in the room we were in, and we couldn't read the signs on the doors so we went back out to ask the lady sweeping the sidewalk where the lab was (which is where we had been told to go). All I could understand of what she said was 'Levi' so I nodded and said 'yes'. She took us inside and sent us through the doors. I asked for Levi at the nurse's desk inside, and she went and called him on the phone and gave the phone to me. Levi and Dr. Perez were (delivering babies) and had another one to do right after that one , but Levi said my surgery would definitely be done that day it would just be delayed. He told us to get a room and he would have them bring us something to eat.

The nurse put us in room #1...very nice room with a bedroom area that had a bed, a nightstand, a little couch for my husband to sleep on and a tv/vcr. There was a sitting area in the room that had a couch, two chairs and a coffee table then the bathroom. They brought both my husband and I ham and eggs, toast, and juice for breakfast...I could never finish everything they brought me to eat and I am a big woman!

Levi came in around 10 am and said they were going to try to get me into surgery at mid-day, but if they couldn't do it then that it would be at 7 pm. So we waited, watched tv, read, chatted, crocheted, napped. At around 6 pm the nurse (Concepcion) came in to get me ready for surgery. She and two other nurses tried to find veins for the IV and couldn't find anything...thankfully they only actually tried to stick one once. Later, Levi and Dr. Moreno came in to do the IV. Dr. Moreno was actually the one who put it in...I hardly even felt him do it and he got it on the first try! (Too bad I couldn't bring him back with me so he could do it next time too.) Then they wheeled me into the OR. The first thing I saw when I laid down on the table was the cross above the door. I remember starting to pray and Dr. Moreno looking for a site on my back and that's all I knew until I woke up (I don't think I got any farther in my prayer than 'Dear Father'.)

When they took me back to my room, Levi said he would come back later to explain everything once I was awake, and that he was going to be there all night in case we needed anything. When he came back he diagrammed out what they should have found during the surgery (according to the records I had sent) and what they had actually found. My records said the doctor here had removed 1.5 - 2 cm on each side...all I have is 2 cm on each side which means he took out a lot more than he said he did. Levi said our chances are about 40%.

We were released at 8 pm on Tuesday, after they tried to talk me into staying Tuesday night as well. But, I wanted to get across the border where I could call my children so I didn't stay. My husband said to tell everyone not to go in the dark because their exits aren't lit and we missed ours coming home. Wasn't a big problem just made him nervous. My advice would be to plan to stay an extra day just in case your surgery is delayed.

We had a wonderful experience. Everyone was really nice and Dr. Levi is wonderful. All I got to say to Dr. Perez was hello and how are you before I was knocked out. If I had to do it all over I would go back there in a heartbeat! Long trip but well worth it to be whole again. God was with us every step of the way.

Janel Folden