Thyroid Removal

Surgery was May 10th.  Check in at 11:30, but we got there closer to 10:30.

Only prep for me was no food after midnight.  I was able to drink water or coffee till 9:30 that morning.

This is my 8th surgery and 3rd hospital stay.  So I packed my own jammies along with toiletries and my go-home clothes.  That stayed in Dad's van till I was in my room.

I should have also brought my own food since I am still on low iodine diet and I really don't think the hospital followed that.

Pre-Op I got an IV and the calf air things.  Strip down to nekkid and fashionable hospital gown.

I was put in the exact same pre-op room my brother had for his cancer surgery - #4.  :-)

Visit from nurses, anesthesia team, more nurses, surgeon and PA.  Dr. Pennington was my surgeon and surgery was at Sacred Heart Pensacola.

Only Dad could come back to be with me.

Finally time to go!  I sat up in the bed and 'drove' us to the OR. My nurse thought that was funny.  OR room #4.  I moved to the operating bed and it's nice and warm on your butt.  Chatted the whole time with the team while we waited for me to fall asleep.  The drugs are awesome!  Room was spinning around and the lights looked really pretty.

Then I woke up with extreme pain in my left eye.  Graceful me managed to poke myself in the eye as I was waking up from the drugs.  I didn't even care about the neck discomfort.  They had to saline rinse my eye once then give me ice while I was in recovery.

Then in my room 2 more rinses.  It was the worst tear I've ever had.  I used to get them a lot when I was younger.  Luckily, this one did heal quickly like the others - by the next morning I was fine.

I had a drain put in the wound.  No outside stitches, just steri strips and a gauze cover.

Hospital room was boring - no window.  But I was on my feet pretty quickly, IV had already been disconnected (still in my hand though).  Changed into my jammies, showed nurse I could walk and even dance a little and got my socks changed from yellow (possible fall) to beige (safe to walk).

Wandered around several times throughout the night.  Found the maternity ward, but they put the blinds down so it's hard to see the new babies.

I only slept a little because with the drain I had to sit up to keep the wound above my heart.

One of the nurses was sweet enough to make a pot of decaf for me and put it in the fridge to make it cold.

I finally decided to nap around 3 when I had another concerned nurse ask if I was ok and she covered me up and turned out my light.  I figured that was a clue I should try to rest.

Got to leave around 1 I think.  Which meant I was able to watch Dad at Margaritteville!

Drove home that night.  Took my pills - an antibiotic and NarCo and went to bed.  Saturday I was up long enough to eat and feed dogs, then back to bed for a nap.

The feeling I had over the weekend was like I was recovering from the flu.  Muscle aches, worn out.  But then I'd have moments of feeling fine.

Sunday I did go grocery shopping and today I'm hoping to get my nails done.  Tomorrow back to work.

My neck is itchy.  I did have a negative reaction to one of the tapes on the gauze.  It was on the top and felt like it was pulling down.  It left a red mark the exact shape of the piece of tape.

Right now I'm doing ok.  Still itchy, like my skin is being stretched.

I should hear no later than Wednesday the results of the biopsy on the full thyroid.  I go back to Dr. Pennington on Thursday for my follow up.