A Night on the Town

Normally on Tuesdays we go to my mother-in-law's house for dinner and scrapbooking, so Jonathan decided to vary my recent routine by taking me there last night. My nieces were coached ahead of time that they weren't allowed to hug me and I was given a dining room table chair with arms. Luckily dinner was pizza, so I was able to eat it in a fairly reclined position.

After dinner we went to Wal-Mart for a few odds and ends. I knew I was already tired out from the effort of getting in and out of the car twice, but I decided that I could trudge into the store...and that was utterly exhausting. (Not to mention that it increased my pain level a bit - bad idea in retrospect.) The plan was for Jon to push me around in a wheel chair, but all they had were electric ones, so I ended up leaning back while Jon worked the controls and steered as he walked. That was still terribly hard work since there wasn't any head rest and I could hardly keep my eyes open as we headed for the exit.

I slept until 9:15 this morning, which is late for me even as I've been recovering, so I think that it will be awhile before I try adding so much excitement to my life again.

VIP Treatment

The staples are out!!! It hurt alot less than I thought it would - in fact, almost none at all. There are SteriStrips along the incision now to help it stay together. They're alot more comfortable than the staples were!

I felt pretty special when they ushered me in through the back door, gave me the exam room two steps inside the door, and showed Jon to the lobby to sign me in. The only thing missing was a red carpet. I even received a gift bag to take home: the nurse gave me all 21 staples plus the staple remover wrapped up in the fanciest brown paper bag she could find.

The Operation

I finally posted pictures this evening. www.photobucket.com/jerusha1102 In addition to some before and after photos, there are three photos from during the operation, so if you don't want to see them taking this thing out of me, don't look at these pictures.

The operation lasted for 42 minutes, 15 of which was spent waiting for results from a test on a biopsied piece of the cyst. Then I spent an hour in the recovery room. My surgeon said this was as simple as possible - they found exactly what they expected and there were no complications. The cyst measured 19x12x9 cm and weighed about three pounds.

Eventful Day & How I'm Doing

I bet that none of you had a day as exciting as mine. Not only did I wake up and change my clothes, but I went on to take a walk and later I even took a shower!

The walk was from our patio door, around the end of the building to the main entrance and back to the sofa. It even included a small hill in the sidewalk - boy did I get my exercise! Total distance: maybe 1/16 of a mile, if that.

The shower was way more work than I ever expected, but I sure feel better now! Of course, with all that excitement, I didn't get any pictures posted, so maybe I'll get to it tomorrow.

In the hospital, I was allowed to start eating solid foods at breakfast time on Wednesday. I had a Dilaudid drip and something else in the IV until about mid-morning or so, then they took all of the IV away and gave me ibuprofen and oxyIR. The surgeon came in and talked with me around lunchtime and shortly after the nurse took off my bandage, leaving only the staples and a very wide velcro belt they call a binder.

I first got out of bed around 6:30 on Wednesday morning and used the bathroom on my own. It was pretty rough and the binder plus a pillow came quite in handy! Shortly after dinner the surgeon came in and said I could leave that evening and by around 9:00 or so I was being wheeled to the front door of the hospital. I still miss the hospital bed that did all the work of sitting me up and laying me down, but I'm definately glad to be home.

Yesterday and today I've been rather sleepy, but getting up and down is getting easier. I may actually be growing some arm muscles! Various people have been helping me out this week and people are planning to be here until the end of next week to help while Jon's at work. I surely couldn't make it through a day without all of this great help. Plus I've had a few phone calls and emails from people. So far I haven't talked for too long, but it's nice to hear from people. Thanks everybody!

I'm Home Now

I actually came home around 9 last night, but I've been pretty tired since then. The operation went nice and smoothly and the surgeons didn't find any surprises. I have some pictures that I will post on my Photobucket site tomorrow. I'm pretty tired right now and jon is about to bring me some dinner, so I'll write more when I ahe more energy.

Feeling better

The pain is managable and she getting up on her own to make small trips to look out the window and use the bathroom. The hospital has supplied her some games to keep her occupied. She says she actually enjoys the hospital food...lol I guess I really need to step my game up! They have removed the IV and pain meds and now she is using standard pain meds in pill form.

Surgery is done!!!

The docter has come in and let me know that everything went well. He said that there was zero complications and that she is in recover. Hopefully she will be in here room soon. I will update this for through out the day or until she feels up to updating it herself

Ready to Go

I guess I'm as ready as possible for this exciting day. I certainly feel thirsty enough! Yesterday's liquids-only fast wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but so far this morning's absolutely nothing fast is turning out the way I thought it would.

Jon is going to add a short update after the surgeons tell him that all went well and I'm in recovery, then I'll let you know how I'm doing after I get home.

A Plucked Chicken

Have you ever felt like a plucked chicken before? Looking at my shaved stomach reminded me of a chicken before I stuff it and season it. Just an extra reminder that the big day is almost here, I suppose. My blood work came back okay, so now I'm just counting down.

Today I get to work in the morning, then go shopping this afternoon for stuff that may be helpful after surgery - paper plates, bottled water, and who knows...maybe even some sweat pants. I'm not even sure when I last owned sweat pants!

Tomorrow I'm planning to spend with a friend doing something super fun. We just haven't decided yet what that will be. Hmm, maybe I'm more spontaneous than I thought.

And Monday ought to be...well...I don't know what to call it, but I'll be restricted to liquids only after breakfast so I'm planning to just stay home. Maybe get caught up on laundry. So I guess I could say that Monday ought to be productive.

Two Things

#1 - The photo at the top of my blog is along the Havre de Grace boardwalk and I took it earlier this year. It was such a beautiful day!

#2 - I Googled "Mucinous Cystadenoma" and found this website:

http://www.mypacs.net/cases/MUCINOUS-CYSTADENOMA-OVARY-857115.html

It has some ultrasound images, some CT scan images, and photos of what was removed from that person. Not the most appealing photos I've ever seen, but now I have an idea of what Lumpy may actually look like.

Aaah, the joys of surgery...And some answers

Today was my pre-op appointment with Dr. Bellantoni. He confirmed two things: Lumpy hasn't disappeared and my heart is still beating. Okay, it sounds kind of strange now that I'm typing it, but it was a good way of putting me at ease....it made me laugh when he listened to my chest and actually announced that my heart was still beating.

And I found out about all the uncomfortable things that will happen between now and my operation. First, he swabbed my nose for Mersa (is that spelled right?) while I was in his office. Next: more blood work tomorrow. Then: Shave from belly button to pubic bone about five days before surgery.

And finally, the 24 hours leading up to the big event ought to be tons of fun: Liquids only beginning at lunchtime; nothing, including water, after midnight; an enema at 4:00 p.m. and one at 8:00 p.m.; and a special soap called Hibiclens to wash with in the morning before heading to the hospital. As I told the doctor, boy am I glad I don't have to do this every day!

Luckily, no x-ray or EKG is required. He said to tell everyone it's because I'm too good looking to need that.

But that really it's because I'm too young.

He also answered some questions. So for anyone who's curious and likes more details, here are some answers:

• The operation will probably take about an hour, as long as they don't find any surprises.
• The plan is to remove the cyst, almost definately the ovary, and possibly the tube.
• They are going to do a horizontal bikini line cut on the exterior and a vertical cut on the interior. This will heal better than a vertical cut all the way through plus it will look nicer.
• It will require a drain that will probably be in for a couple days.
• I should plan on being in the hospital for two nights, but it might be only one.
• The anesthesiologist will most likely be a CRNA, but the supervisor is an MD and will be nearby in case he/she needs to take over.
• He can't say what the cause of this is until they are able to see it and test it. Then he may be able to answer that question.
• He said that to put a name to it right now, he would call it a benign neoplasm. (Neoplasm means "new growth.") His best guess without seeing and testing it is that it's a mucinous cystadenoma.
• He is happy to take a picture of it for me, as long as I remind him that morning.
• They will probably close it up with staples.
• They will probably give me a dilaudid drip for pain afterwards.
• He has had some patients who are back to normal after two weeks and some who are still in pain after ten weeks.
• During the operation, they will be able to send some of the tissue to be frozen and looked at under a microscope to help confirm their findings that it's non-cancerous.
• Further testing will be done on it, but the results take several days to get back.

Three More Weeks

Nothing exciting to report today, but I just thought I would mention that there are three more weeks to wait. I'm getting somewhat impatient - let's get it over with already! Of course, when I get too impatient, I remind myself that this long wait is worth it because I have two top-notch surgeons...if I had "shopped around" for someone who could fit me in sooner, would I have ended up with the same caliber of doctor?