I got a message from the nurses at the surgery center yesterday. It was left around 1:45 and simply stated that they wanted me to return the call. When I did so, around 3:30 I was asked whether it was a surgery or insurance related question-I told them I assumed surgery related as insurance won’t cover this procedure. I was then informed that all of the nurses had left for the day and that they would have someone call me the next day (today). When I hadn’t heard from someone by noon, I called back and asked to speak with a nurse. They were all busy, so I left another message. When I still hadn’t received a call by 2, I called back knowing that they might have left by the time I was done teaching lab (which started at 2:10). I was finally able to get a nurse on the line and spoke with her regarding what to wear (loose clothing and a button-up shirt), what not to do tomorrow (eat or drink anything aside from a sip of water to take the pills I take on a daily basis), whether someone would be picking me up and staying with me for the rest of the day and all of the night, and what allergies I have to medications. I asked her about whether I was expected to remove my piercings-I am expected to remove those that can easily be removed, those that can’t can be taped. I also checked with her that they had cab company numbers readily available-they do. So, that being taken care of, I am now focusing on surgery. My anxiety level is steadily increasing. I’m lucky enough not to be a generally anxious person. I grew up with, and am now partnered with people who worry a lot, which made/makes me not tend to worry-it’s being done for me. It seems a lot of energy is expended through worrying, so it’s generally not something I do until is absolutely necessary. I feel as though that time has come. That being said, I have worried throughout this process about various aspects of it (mostly about the logistical and financial part), but the worry about the surgery has not really begun until recently. I should say that I think it would have started sooner were this not to be my third somewhat serious surgery in a little less than six years. The two prior to this were both on an out-patient basis and involved anesthesia as well. Having had those experiences, I feel comforted in a lot of ways, because I feel prepared for the anesthesia and am familiar enough with the general routine of out-patient surgeries. For these reasons, I am not really worried about the actual procedure part; rather my focus is been on the recovery part. Hearing all of the talk about the binder and the drains, and the sutures, and the bandages, etc. has been the focus of my worry. This might be due to my not having to deal with anything of the sort for my previous surgeries (minus the nose packing which is just better forgotten for everyone involved), but I think it’s more to do with stress about keeping track of all of the instructions and worry that I’ll do something that I’m not supposed to which will compromise my recovery. I think that I’m blowing the likelihood of this happening out of proportion, but isn’t that what worrying is all about?