Pictures

This is what my head looked like the morning before the surgery.




This is me in ICU. Apparently, I sat up in a chair for 2 hours. Don't remember it at all.




Lovely bandage on the back of my head. Looks like a feminine pad.




What is this? No one seems to know. My back started itching and when my husband looked, here's what we found. Looks like a contact burn of some kind. One person said it was probably the grounding patch. Another said it was a patch that they put on you that helps to pull the skin taunt. All I know is that it's healing but STILL itching.




Lovely stitches.




Preparing to get the stitches out.





This picture and the one below are right after I got home from having the stitches out.





Since we took these pictures, I've had a haircut to even out the back. The scar is healing nicely. It's even getting hair on it! My shaved hair is also growing back quickly. It just itches like crazy now.

I still have a lump on the left side of the scar that's really tender. They did a CT scan and found that there's no leak so I'm trying not to worry about it. It's just very tender and makes it hard to sleep on my back.

I've been out and about several times now. We went to my parents house for Thanksgiving lunch and I was wiped out but yesterday, we went to the mall to look at refrigerators and I did really well. I was super tired but feel good today. I'm enjoying being out of the house. Just have to make sure that I don't do too much.

I go back to the doctor on December 8th. I'm hoping that he clears for me to drive and go back to work. I don't know if I can work for a full 8 hours straight but I'll just work myself into it.

I've really been pleased with the outcome of the surgery. As strange as it sounds, I feel different. I'm much more emotional than before (for those of you that know me, I can see how that's hard to believe...). My head is really clear except when I'm tired. Then things seem to get fuzzy like before. Sleep remedies that. My hips hurt but I think that's because I'm walking normally now. The hip was used to dragging a leg, not propelling one. I still get headaches but they're different and move from spot to spot. Today, it's on the left back side of my head where the lump is. I'm sleeping a bit better than before but still can't get to sleep until several hours after I lay down. I'm not taking any more pain medication but I am taking a muscle relaxer twice a day. It helps my neck not be so stiff.

All in all, I'm really happy with the results. Time will tell if the changes are permanent.

Haircut

Today, I went for a haircut. Whoever shaved the back of my head did a pretty good job except that it was all uneven and looked like they did it with a blindfold on. So, today, I really didn't get a haircut but more of a "hair shape-up". It still looks really strange but at least it will grow back into somewhat of a shape.

After that, my mom took me to lunch then we went to Wal-Mart to get my muscle relaxer filled. To say the least, I'm exhausted. From what, I have no idea but I feel like I've run a race or something. I guess all of the relative inactivity from the past few weeks is catching up with me. Tomorrow, I'm taking things easy. Sleeping in and then taking a nap. Hopefully, that will help with my energy level.

I can't believe that it's been 2 1/2 weeks since my surgery. I feel so much better than before. Everyone that I see tells me that I look really good - like my "old self". I've felt bad for so long, I don't even remember my old-self. My head is getting clearer every day. I even started a book and could follow it much better than before. I didn't drag my leg around Wal-Mart. I wasn't completely blinded by the sunshine. I'm not choking when I eat or sleep. My chronic cough is gone and my fingers all have feeling and no tingling! I know that I keep mentioning these things over and over with each blog but it's still hard to believe that they're gone. God is SO good!

First Day Out

Well, today I woke up without the pounding headache. I still have a sensation of my head being 'full' but no pounding...yea! The place on the back of my head is still sore and pulling on my scar but I'm hoping that will go away soon.

Besides going back and forth to the doctor, today was my first day out. My husband took me to lunch and to Wal-Mart. It was strange but yet good to walk around Wal-Mart without dragging my leg. I'm really tired from the trip but, for the first time in a long time, not tired from dragging around a semi-dead leg. I'm still a bit unsteady and wobbly feeling but I can't describe how good it feels to walk limp free!

Wrote 5 thank you notes when I got home. It was more difficult than going to the store. I really had to concentrate on what I was writing. I think it was because I was really tired from the outing.

My big symptoms are still gone, praise God. People are still commenting on how good my face looks. My scar is still sore but getting better each day. I'm still not getting to sleep very fast. I lay there for a couple of hours at the least however, once I get to sleep, it seems to be a better sleep than before.

I am so grateful to God for his healing touch, for my family and friends who have prayed for me and are making sure that I don't have to want for anything. Just trying to rest and get well so that I can enjoy the holidays.

Oh, I get to go and get my hair cut on Monday. My hair is growing back really fast so she's going to even-up the mess on the back of my head. Yea!

Relieved

Haven't felt well for the past couple of days. Big pounding headaches. I have a place on the back of my head that's swollen and tender. It was there when I woke up on Monday morning so we called the doctor and they advised us to come in. Frankly, I was worried that there had been a leak in the patch. They looked at it and recommended that I go for a CT scan to see if there was a leak. Had the scan and then waited anxiously until my appointment the next day.

Tuesday, I saw the surgeon and he said that everything looked perfect on the scan. No leak! God is good. He said that at this stage, the blood clots that formed from the surgery begin to dissolve. When they dissolve, they release all kinds of chemicals into the spinal fluid and that it what he believes to be causing the headaches. This should go away in a couple of days. They also took out my stitches which was a huge relief. They were pulling something awful. Actually, my scar looks pretty good. I was also able to wash my hair for the first time since the surgery and the surgery haircut wasn't as bad as I thought. I need to go and get it all trimmed up evenly but I finally feel somewhat human again.

I know that I have a long road of recovery ahead of me but I have been so blessed up to this point, I don't even know how to express my gratitude. God has been beyond gracious with me. I am healing quickly and marveling at how good I feel. My symptoms that were at first relieved are still gone. I have tons of people who have been and still are praying for me. I'm being taken care of by my family and my friends. My husband has been perfect through this whole situation. Dr. White has been very kind and patient with me and my questions. The staff at Mercy were terrific.

Now, I must concentrate on getting rest so that I can heal properly. At least my hair looks better... :o)

Sleepy

Thought I'd come on and try to let you know about my experience. Unfortunately for you but fortunately for me, I was on morphine so I've got some big holes.

Day of Surgery - Before

Woke up at 4AM. in order to be at the hospital by 5:15AM. As usual, I didn't sleep all that much but strangely, I felt pretty rested. I fully expected to be nervous however, I wasn't. No anxiety or anything. Wes was very encouraging as I messed around before we left.

Once they got me checked in at Mercy, they took us on a walking tour of the hospital. Seriously. A tech came to get me and the other people that had signed in and we walked from one side of the property to another. Strange. I've always been put in a wheelchair. Guess they wanted us to enjoy one last walk...

Once we got to the tiny little surgery waiting rooms, they had me put on a hospital gown. Now, we waited. A nice young man (who was a former combat medic) came in to get my vitals, insert the IV and take blood. As soon as he saw my tiny veins, he opted to let someone else stick me. Another woman came in and got the vein on the first try. That was a blessing as they usually have to dig and dig and dig.

My parents and my daughter Alexandria and her fiance, Jeffrey, came back to see me. I think that my dad seemed more nervous than anyone. I'm very fortunate that my parents have always been with and supported me all these years of strange symptoms and hospital stays. Hopefully, this will be the last time that they have to do that for me. Alexandria got really teary when she came and it really touched me.

Shortly after they left, the nurses from surgery came to get me. It was around 7:40AM. One of my surgical nurses is very good friends with someone I work with. She was reassuring me that Dr. White was the best. Maybe I looked frightened but I didn't feel it.

Down the hall to the maze of surgery rooms. They wheeled me in and immediately started prepping me. Everything was fine until they put on the blood pressure cuff. That thing was so tight, I thought it was going to break my arm. They told me that everything was okay to take a big breath. That's the last I remember.

Day of Surgery - After

I could hear voices but I couldn't seem to get my eyes open. I heard them saying that they couldn't wake me up and that they had been on the phone with the doctor. (Originally, the doctor and his PA said that the surgery would be about 2-3 hours long and that I would spend 45 minutes or so in recovery. This would have put me in ICU around 11:30A to 12PM) What I didn't know was that I had been in surgery for around 4 hours and they had been trying to wake me up for a while. Finally I woke up to a pounding headache. I asked for some pain medicine but they wouldn't give me any. They said I would have to completely wake-up first. I was really frustrated by this because I was awake enough to carry on a conversation with them but not awake enough to take pain medication?

I finally made it to ICU around 4:30PM. I think that was the loudest place I've ever been in a hospital. All kinds of monitor sounds, other people moaning and yelling out, etc. They did have a glass door on my room and when they closed it, it was relatively quite. I believe they hooked me up to every monitor known to man. It was strange because I had a hard time keeping my eyes open but for the first time in a long time, my head felt clear. No longer did things sound muddled and confusing. That was miracle #1. They gave me some pain medicine right away so I didn't have a lot of pain. I was shocked at the way I could move my head all around. Then, I noticed that I didn't have any tingling in my hands and fingers. That was miracle #2.

Wes stayed with me but my parents and my daughter were also allowed to visit. Immediately, they commented on my face. No longer did the right side of my face droop. Both eyes were the same size and my smile wasn't crooked anymore. That was miracle #3.

They brought my husband a form to fill out and when he was finished, he left the room to give them the paper. While he was gone, I saw his cell phone light up because he got a call. It was then that I realized that I could see his phone. His phone was in a place that I couldn't possibly have seen it before. I started looking around and realized that I could see everything. That was miracle #4. Later that evening and the next morning, I had two dear friends visit me. It was so good to see them and their comments about how my face looked was very encouraging. I spent the night in ICU and was moved to a regular room the next day.

I think the worse thing that happened and the worse pain I had was from the IV. My veins are really small and they tend to roll out of the way when you try and poke them. If you're lucky enough to stab one, they usually burst. Every single time the gave me anything in the IV, it hurt really really bad. Not just a sting but my whole forearm would hurt. In the ICU, at about 4 in the morning, I asked for some pain medication. When they inserted it into the IV line, I though I was going to come unglued it hurt so bad. It's kind of dark in the ICU so the nurse turned on the light. The IV had come out of the vein and everything that they had been giving me was going straight in my arm. It was huge and hurt really bad. Needless to say, they took out the IV. Now came the fun part. They tried to start another one. The first couldn't get a vein so she called another nurse. Who called another nurse. Who called another nurse. In the end, there were six nurses and 13 tries. Finally, they stopped poking and digging for a vein because one of them called my doctor and he said if I could take pills by mouth, they didn't need an IV. Needless to say, I had bruises and stick marks all over both arms.

Regular Room

To say I remember everything that happened when I got to a regular room wouldn't be true. I do know that within that first day, I stopped using the walker and noticed the most beautiful miracle of all - I didn't drag my left leg. It's been years since I could walk anywhere and not get exhausted from dragging my leg. I walked normally! Miracle #5. If none of my other symptoms had disappeared except this one, the surgery would have been worth it.

I remember everyone that came to visit but I can't tell you what we talked about. My husband said I carried on conversations with them but I don't have a clue what was said. Hope it's nothing they can blackmail me with! I took some walks down the hall and tried to sit up as much as possible. My head and neck hurt but not even close to what I though they should. I was trying to move my neck frequently so it wouldn't get stiff. I only took a muscle relaxer and pain meds a few times a day.

Another strange thing that happened. My back was really itchy and I was constantly asking my husband to scratch it. Finally, I lifted my gown and asked him to see if I had a rash or something. Well, there was something there all right. It was a huge red patch on my back near my neck. One nurse said it was the size and shape of a piece of toast. It started as really red and then became raised with a bunch of little blisters. What was it? Who knows. No one could figure anything out except that I had an allergic reaction to something that was laid on my back during surgery. It's still red and crusty and still itches like crazy but it's on its way to healing.

My surgeon wasn't on call all weekend so when he saw me on Monday, he let me go home. I was really ready. The ride home was painful but I glad to get back to my own bed. We have some wonderful friends that have signed up to bring us dinner through November 25th. I've received lots of emails, phone calls and cards.

To say the surgery has been a breeze wouldn't be true. My head still hurts (although it's not in the back but around the top and front), I have moments of weakness, my neck is really sore and I have a hard time sleeping on my back because the stitches really pull. I'm up and around most of the day but get so tired in the afternoon, I usually lay down for a nap as I feel as though I'm constantly sleepy. I can't read much but I'm watching TV. None of the symptoms mentioned above have come back. Time will tell about the others.

I get the stitches out on Tuesday and then I can finally wash my hair. We've tried a dry product on my hair and some nursing home shampoo but it's still greasy and over-all gross. They didn't exactly try to shave my head in any style so getting it back to all one length will be interesting. I'm going to get my husband to put some of my pictures on here this evening. If you don't want to see them, be forewarned that they will be in my next post.

Thank all of you for your prayers. Please pray for continued healing.

I'm Back

Well, day four at home and I made it through the surgery! Sorry that I haven't been on here sooner but it looks like my husband and daughter took care of the blog for me.

My head is still pounding a bit and my neck doesn't like looking at the keyborad so I think this might be enough for day one.

What I really wanted to do was thank everyone who has been praying for me and my family. On the day of the surgery, I had an overwhelming peace. Not one bit of nervousness. Only God can do that. Between my family and friends, I've had more prayers and support that I deserve and I have been thanking God for each one of you every single day. I'm a lucky girl to be so loved.

In a few days, I'll try to get back on and tell you my experiences. Oh, if you think I didn't like my short hair before, you ought to see it now. Yuk.

Discharged

We had anticipated Dana's discharge today but were concerned about the rash she developed on her back. We still don't have a definitive answer but we are down to two scenarios. 1, It was told to us that sometimes in surgery a pad will be placed near the incision site on the back in this case, attached by glue on the whole surface. This pad is then pulled to keep the skin tight around the incision. 2, Tap that holds the drapes in place. Kinda funny to me that we have talked to three people in that surgery room, one being the surgeon and non of them can recall which it was. We are to the point that we figure Dana has a sensitivity to the glue.
One nurse explained that sometimes where skin gets pulled or stretched can open up the skin enough to allow the glue into the skin and cause irritation.
Interesting thing is, the leads they glue to the chest on some of the sites have caused a similar affect but only on the outside edge of those pads. She has square red borders on some of those sites. I do not believe she is sensitive to latex because everyone touched her with latex gloves on may parts of her body and no problem. Other areas like her IV were covered with clear flexible tape but no redness. The area around her incision had tape but no marks. In this case I saw the covering on the incision removed and replaced 5 times before they changed it but no redness. That had to cause some pulling on the skin even more so than the other sites. Why no rash there? Well some day well will get to the bottom of this dilemma but since the rash is not spreading the doctors are not concerned enough to investigate further. Just keep an eye on it they say.

So the story of the discharge. This morning the PA came in looked at Dana's back, incision and asked a few questions. She said Dana was ready to go home and after the surgeon came by after two surgery's, he would discharge her. He showed up just after 12:00 and gave us the green light to go home today. Shortly after, the nurse came by to take vitals and let us know that she had one other patient do discharge before she could work on Dana's paperwork. I'll be back in one hour she said as she rolled her blood pressure machine out the door. She returned about two, went over the orders, gave us prescriptions and said a wheelchair would arrive to take us down shortly. Up to this point we had been extremely patience with delays. Dana had been up and out of the bed for the longest period of time since her stay, from 10:00am till 2:30pm. She had visited with 5 visitors and was tired before that from the longest and fastest walk we had taken so far. The wait seemd forever for her and she wanted to lay back down to rest but if she had they would have been right there getting her right back up. As it turned out, whe could have layed down for 45 minutes and taken a nap.
I believe that if the attendant had not showed up when she did, Dana was going to find alternative ways to escape from that room. The stairs were close to her room and I could just envision her taking flight down three floors and walking right out. She could have walked it because everything is working so much better and besides, she had just finished walking further than that this morning. She used to lag behind me when we walked but this time I was not having to slow down much at all.

The trip home was good except for the bridge on the turnpike just north of 39th street. I would like to get a hold of the engineer who designed the sections of that bridge. There are 19 of them and it is like a low level roller coaster. I slowed down to 50mph and the car still bounced as it crossed each section of that bridge. Looked over at Dana expecting to see a life size bobble head sitting next to me. If you have traveled that section you know what I'm talking about. It's almost as bad as I-40 between Morgan road and El Reno.

So we get home and settling in but Dana is watching TV and getting up and down like I have not seen in years. I'm doing some chores and she gets into bed and falls asleep almost as her head hits the pillow. It's great to see her in her favorite bed, a safe and warm place to be. I personally think she way over did it today, we will find out later tonight or tomorrow. She is a trouper.

I need to add two additional benefits we see from surgery. 1, no more chronic coughing and 2, no choking while sleeping or eating. Not that she has had a lot of sleep but not once during her short spurts has she choked. Oh by the way, she slept from about 11:00pm last night till 5:00am this morning. The most sleep she has had since I can remember. Hopefully she can get a full nights sleep tonight so she can get up and start cleaning our house, it's her most favorite thing to do...LOL Just kidding, oh stop it, she really hates it. No I will be gladly handling the cleaning until she is able and then I will still help even when she tells me that I don't have to. The way she was running around the house today, I'm gonna have to keep an eye on her and hold her back. She really does have a new lease on mobility and I'm thinking she is gonna want to do all the things she had a hard time doing before. Well not cleaning but all the other things.

Well after Dana fells up to reading everything I have told about her journey so far I fear she will ban me from this blog so this may be my last. I hope not because while I have had some time away from work I have actually enjoyed writing about this experience we have gone through. I must confess that I do not write much and am not good at it but I have enjoyed sharing with you. It will be interesting what she has to say about what she recalls when she feels like sharing with you. As clear as she is now, she may remember the events of the past five days. So far, everything we have talked about has been spot on. Oh, I need to let you know that we have re connected in conversation also, she is so easy to talk to now. This surgery has been so good for us in so many ways. Such a blessing from God to be bestowed on us at this time in our lives. If you knew Dana before, you will see a new woman in so many ways when you see her again.

I'm feeling the affects of lack of sleep and adrenalin drop off so I'm going to close for this day with the hopes I will get to share more as time passes. I would just like to say this; thank you all for the love and support, prayers and thoughts you have shown our family as we have gone through this. We are truly blessed to have such good friends.

Wes