Lol, I was thinking before surgery that I should get my ventilator tube size tattooed on my neck so I don't have to keep reminding the anesthesiologist.

Yes, that's the reason I've posted about it. For months all we've been hearing is how our surgeries are getting cancelled; I felt it was important to let others know that surgeries are restarting, at least in the Bay Area. It's easy to fall into despair when all you hear is surgeries are being cancelled (I did myself for a while), and knowing they are already starting helps keep all our spirits up as we wait out this pandemic.

Yes, at St. Francis. And yes, they're banning all outside visitors, though a doctor who works here and is trans dropped by a couple of times to visit.

Wow, I had to take 2 tests, and I thought THAT was a bunch!

The COVID tests were a hospital requirement, which they were figuring out as I was preparing. Their current protocol is that you have to have a negative test taken within 72 hours of surgery. They may have set up testing by now, but they weren't ready and I had to get my PCP to order testing. I also was asked to isolate 12 days before. Requirements were changing almost every day the week before surgery, but hopefully by next month they'll have worked everything out.

not OP but i was swabbed for covid recently. its fairly painful and uncomfortable but it only hurts while the swab is in - maybe 10 seconds. afterward you won’t feel much. i personally wouldn’t be too scared if i had to do it again

I would say the tests were slightly painful but more uncomfortable when the swab was in. Afterwards I had a dry throat feeling, which was uncomfortable, too, but the test was bearable.

Yes, I'm so glad this came, and I still can't fully believe it happened.

The nice thing about being the first was that the ward was very quiet yesterday. Many patients arrived today, and it went back to the normal hospital environment. Still it felt really healing to sit in silence on that first day.

I'm sorry to hear that! Hopefully they will restart soon and fit you in quickly. Wittenberg had a couple backup dates in June in case my surgery hadn't gone ahead, and hopefully Kaiser has some extra capacity once they restart. Most surgeons I know who do these surgeries sound committed to taking on a little extra work until they can accommodate people who've lost their dates.

Thank you! That bolster was really uncomfortable, especially for the last few days when it hardened. Also, I became really tired of not being able to close my legs for a week.

As for supplies, I found suitable lube really difficult to get, as well as gauze. I also was given a few hours' notice for needing to quarantine before surgery, because the hospital was still creating its rules. You probably won't have the problems I did if you prepare early, but I'd recommend trying to get everything you need a week before the preop in case you are asked to quarantine.

I don't really understand what you're getting at. A heart transplant is an emergency surgery that wasn't restricted by shelter in place, and my surgeon certainly wouldn't have the expertise to do one.

Further, this hospital even before COVID had spare capacity, and SF's successful effort at bending the curve allowed me and others to get our regularly scheduled surgeries. We weren't taking OR time from anyone; it was already scheduled.

Further, trans people have to be healthy to get these surgeries, and they are generally happy after, so we're relatively easy patients to care for when nurses ease off their furloughs. I was the first patient they saw after coming off furlough, and they were happy to be back at work. I asked my nurses whether I was a burden, and one of them said I was a "breath of fresh air" because I was kind and polite to them. I lost a friend who was a nurse a month ago because she couldn't take the stress of the pandemic; easy patients like me help relieve some of the stress of a very demanding job.

The US also has a medical system that is very tied to capitalism. Hospitals lose money on their emergency department, which is why restarting scheduled surgeries when it is safe helps them stay in business. There were fears that hospitals would be overwhelmed by the pandemic, but the containment in SF was successful, and that left space to fill with patients who could help keep the hospital in business. The US isn't (yet) a libertarian hellscape where health care is rationed because medical care is an item of scarcity.

I hope your mother is well and that she doesn't know how you waste your time on the internet trolling people. And speaking of hearts, I encourage you to grow one.