Post Op Notes

Dark and Early

I had to take a shower last night with anti-bacterial soap to clean off Clarence, which we did around 10pm. Then this morning, I was to do it all over again, so at 4:30am I was back in the shower for round two. Then we headed off to the Hospital. This one was new, at least we have never been there before. They have a private parking garage for out-patient stuff, so parking was a snap and we were checking in in a matter of minutes.

The admin guy dropped a pile of paper on the desk, which surprised my wife. I said "Those are just for the aspirin, wait until he gets to the surgical forms". Th admin guy thought that was a hoot! Remember, I do my best to make their day more fun that it will be otherwise.

Anyway, after signing away everything I own, or will ever own, we were cleared to wander to the rooms where we got ready to the big event.

Hospital rivalry

The nurse who greeted us took away more of my vitals (I sure hope I have a good supply of those, they keep stealing them!), then she went off for those evil needles and pokey things.

When she came back in I did my normal overview of how I feel about needles, and she was sure she was going to do this just fine. In the conversation, I told her the story of my first IV and she commented that that one must have been at Seaton Hospital (where it was). As we talked about that, it was clear that there is a bit of a rivalry between the two hospitals.

What was more interesting was finding out that her husband is going through cancer, surgery, chemo, and radiation, and all of her doctors are the same ones on my team. Unfortunately, she is not all that happy with "Top Doc". Not because of his professional skills, they just do not seem to get along. Top Doc and I share the same sense of humor, so we get along just fine. Still, it was fun talking over all of this with my new nurse.

She gave me a numbing shot, then only took two tries to get the IV in. It was not fun, but not that bad. (Or else I really am getting used to needles by now).

Dr. Snyder, my Plastic Surgeon, came in and we talked about the procedure. I made sure he had talked to Dr. Scholl ("Top Doc") and they were all clear on any issues. Once he was sure I/we were ready, he headed off to get ready.

Anesthetics

Second to the doctor, the most important person is the one who will help you sleep through all the fun. This Anesthesiologist was very good. She talked us through the need to put in an airway, something that was not possible for my procedure back in April. She checked out how far I could open my mouth and made sure she knew how they were going to do things. Then she gave me a dose of some kind of cocktail in my new IV and we went wheeling down the hall. I remember seeing a slew of other beds heading down the same hallway and thinking this must be the hospital's equivalent of rush hour. We got to the jam in front of the last door, and, poof, I was out for the duration!

The part I slept through

Apparently, the surgery went extremely well. Cheryl stayed in the room where we got ready. After a short stay in the recovery area, they would bring me back in there. She brought her laptop so she could get some work done, and got everything set up. She said she looked up and saw Dr. Snyder standing there. "OMG, why are you here?" It turns out the surgery went extremely well, Every step was smooth as silk, from putting in the IV, to firing up the Dyson vacuum cleaner to do the Liposuction, to sewing up everything, so he was done in about half the time he expected it might take. Wow! That is nice. The nurse checked back in with Cheryl, as did the Anesthesiologist, and others involved. Customer Service was outstanding.

Me? I was still asleep!

Recovery room

As before, after the lights went out, the next thing I remember is opening my eyes and not having a clue where I was. Then I thought I was back at Seaton, since the room looked exactly like the one I was taken into back there. They let me sit there while I started really waking up. I think they asked me who I was, and if I knew where I was. I must have muddled through all that, because it was not overly long before I was wheeled through a set of double doors, took a hard left, and was back in the room with Cheryl!

After a bit, I got out of bed to take a look at "my face" v3. Clarence is gone, but his skinny brother is there, only a lot smaller. Dr. Snyder sucked out most of the excess bulk, and thinned out the skin patch so it is about half the previous width. He also moved some things around that will help prevent the morning swelling around my left eye. "It Looks Great!", and "You are doing fine!" were toddes around a bunch! (Where have I heard all that before?) Unfortunately, I forgot my picture of Robert, so I look pretty much like I did before all this. Maybe another time!

Anyway, they got me back in my own clothes (no more BHO gowns - that means "Butt hanging out" for those not used to hospital garb!). They wheeled me out to the garage and sent us on our way home! Total time from door to door, about five hours.

Home again

The surgery took a toll on my face, so I am home now resting up. They mashed my lower lip with the airway, and I am dealing with a bit of bleeding around where they sewed me up. The pain level is not that bad. It is worse than before, but I have some new, improved, drugs are taking care of that.

I am not allowed to move around much while all of this heals. I will see Dr. Synder on December 30 to check on how things are healing. Then another couple of weeks later, it will be back to school. I should be fine by them.

More family support

I have to tell you, when Cheryl puts on her "care giver" duds, she is a marvel. There is no way I would want to go through any of this without her there by my side. If you ever go through anything like this, I hope you have someone as caring as Cheryl is through all of this.

All of that comes at a price. It is hard on those who have to stand by and wait through all of the doctor's visits, trips to clinics and pharmacies, and the time in the hospital. I was not happy that she was in that room alone, but after we got home, cousin Bill from Wyoming was at the airport to help us out yet again. (He did say that he is getting tired of visiting and seeing me in this messed up state. I told him we would be there if he needed us. "In Wyoming? I do not think so!" "Well, just make it happen in July, and no problem")

I owe a lot to all my family and friends, and to God, who got me through all of this. Cancer does suck! But you can choose to live through it, or give up and miss out on the life you still have. We cancer survivors all live in the knowledge that it might come back and get us again, but that is true for all of us, we survivors just know how true that really is! I choose to live! I hope you do as well.

Thanks to all!