Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Gone tooooo long…..

Oh my goodness, the time has just gone by so quickly.  First off I want to thank EVERYONE for being sooo kind and thoughtful and keeping me in all of your prayers.  PRAYER is so powerful and I felt the love from family and friends.

As you know by now, surgery on October 2nd was quite the event!  A little recap and please forgive me…journaling for posterity may be boring to some!

Enter the hospital at 7:45.  Go to admission.  Sit in the waiting room.  Wait for only 15 minutes.  Get called back into dressing room.  Get in pretty blue and white gown.  UH OH, stomach is starting to growl.  I am hungry.  Too bad.  Girl comes in, asks me my name and BD.  Takes my vitals.  Does an EKG on me.  Says my heart is in great shape. (well that’s good, what if it hadn’t been could I have gone home?).  Asks which arm I want the needle stuck in.  I tell her, good luck no one can ever find a vein but I am sure you can since you WORK in the hospital.  NOPE can’t find a vein in my arms.  I am sure I have one….they are just deep.  OK, I give you permission to stick it in the top of my hand.  She is very gentle and good.  It pricked only a little.  HUGE TEARS WELL UP IN MY EYES.  Not because it hurt, but because I am finally realizing this is the point of no return.  Huhoney, gets tears in his eyes too. (I should have had him take pictures of the whole thing..but I didn’t really think of it until now LOL)  We wait.  She asks if I have to potty.  YEAH.  come back to my little cubby.  NO I don’t want to watch tv thank you.  We wait some more.  In comes the doctor and goes over the procedure.  He anticipates about a 2 or 3 hour surgery.  In comes the anesthesiologist.  He says I will start to feel sleepy.  OK, no problem.  “WOW THIS IS GOOD STUFF, WHAT ARE YOU GIVING ME, HONEY THIS IS REALLY GOOD STUFF, I LIKE THIS STUFF, WHAT IS THIS STUFF”? they start wheeling me down the hall, “YEAH WOW WHOOOO I AM FEELING REALLY GOOD” (Huhoney says that I wouldn’t shut my mouth, I kept telling them how good I was feeling all the way down the hall to surgery, he is behind me calling out “I LOVE YOU HONEY, EVERTHING WILL BE OK….” and I am just rambling on  “OK HONEY, WOW, THIS IS GOOD STUFF, WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME, YEAH I AM FEELING GOODDDDDDDDDDDDD…..” Can you get on this other bed for us Linda….”SURE” I AM FEELING GOOD!”, here says the nurse, lets put this pretty little blue cap over your hair….OK…(I think in the background they are going to try and hurry and shut me up….) THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN…LIGHTS OUT.  I didn’t wake up until around 6 when I was in my room.  The surgery took 7 long hours.  Yep the 2 hour surgery ended up an all day-er.  Over 50 tumors were removed.  He stopped counting he said.  He was an excellent surgeon who called in 2 other surgeons after 3 hours.  All went well.  They did not remove all of the tumors.  They were just too deep and didn’t want to disturb the main nerve to my face.  Nice of them don’t you think?  I still have full function on my facial nerves.  My ear lobe is numb and probably will never regain its feeling.  Not a biggie.  My face along my chin is numb, that may come back after time.  I actually asked the surgeon (who is also a plastic surgeon) to suck some of the extra fat out from under my chin….but he didn’t.  Oh well.  No extra nip and tuck.  Even though he filleted my face back.  I looked pretty bad the first several days.  But I am back to my old self once again.  Good ole pain killers helped for the first week or so.  Work was still there waiting for me. (sigh) life is the same.  life is good.  All is well.  Because they did not remove all the tumors and these are benign tumors (thank goodness) they will still continue to grow.  Can we prevent the growth.  YES, we can.  But I would have to be treated with radiation therapy.  I am weighing the options and praying for the right resolve as to what to do.  A lot to think about over the next couple of months as I heal.  I will let you know what we decide.  So much to think about.surgery 1 this pic is the day I went home (2nd day) and there was a tube in my next for drainage.  GROSS HUH.  NOT a pretty picture.  The drain was left in for 3 days then removed.

surgery 3

surgery 4 still have my smile and no droopy eye or mouth!

and today….not so bad huh!Oct 20 09 003

Oct 20 09 002 I AM SOOOOO BLESSED!

Once again….thank you ALL for your prayers and well wishes!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Linda it is so good to hear from you. I'm glad all went well. You have such a wonderful outlook. I believe that has a lot to do with healing. You look great!

Wanda..... said...

Linda we were all so thankful that day with the good news your sister gave Di. A seven hour surgery, I know that was an ordeal to go through, but you really look great Linda...Same nice smile is right!

Glad to see you back blogging.
Take care!

Luv and Smiles,
Wanda

Jackie said...

Hi Linda Lu!! I've missed you...as have all of your blogging friends, but the most important thing is that you had a successful surgery and have recovered and healed beautifully! We were all waiting and praying as you had your surgery...waiting to hear the good news...and thanks to God is was good news! You look great. You are pretty...outside and inside. Continue to take care of yourself...and again: Welcome back, my friend!
Love,
Jackie

Burrell said...

Yay. So glad you're back. And back to blogging. We were worried. And that scar looks like it's healing quite well. Hooray for wonderful, gifted surgeons, eh? Take 'er easy, still though K?

Jientje said...

Aaaah it's so good to hear from you again. I'm glad you're recovering so fast, that's just wonderful. And your beautiful smile has not changed a bit, I'm so happy for you. You know, I HAVE been thinking of you a lot, my dear!!!

Diana said...

Thank You Linda! First for turning a scary situation into some humor.The meds that they give you before surgery are good! I read your story to my husband and he said that your husband must have been going crazy. It left a large scar but where it lays you can't even tell. And you look just as beautiful as before! Thank you for telling us your story Linda. It put my mind at ease. Now I will pray that you come to the right decision about the radiation therapy. Love you Linda! Love Di

Nan said...

Thank God, Linda! What a good sense of humor you have.

Barb said...

Welcome Back Linda! I was so happy to turn on the computer this morning in snowy CO and see that you had posted. What an ordeal you had - thank goodness the surgery is behind you. Your smile is still radiant and that is what counts! Your scar is fading rapidly - the body is an amazing healing machine, that's for sure. Take Care of yourself, Linda. After 7 hours in surgery, there must be a long recuperation until you feel yourself again.
Keep Smiling!

Pat said...

So happy to see your beautiful self again! And you are truly beautiful!
That was one long surgery, but as you put so well...you were feeling now pain..thank God for that! Your poor hubby was probably in more pain waiting then you were at that time!
Isn't it wonderful to know that you are being held up in prayer...what blessed assurence to know that. All glory goes to God!

Blessings each day said...

Good to have you back and posting again Lindalu!! Whew...what a surgery you had, poor baby, but so glad things turned out so well. You are really looking great, girl!
Prayers surely help, don't they??!!

blessings and grateful hugs,

marcy

Jerelene said...

Hi Linda!
I'm so glad to see that you posted and to know that you're all right. I've been thinking about you and praying for you too...I haven't been on much this last week or so...I had been thinking of e-mailing you this weekend..but know I can comment here...
You had a rough go of it you poor sweetie! You look to be healing beautifully..:) You are such a beautiful person...totally!!
I will continue to keep you in my prayers as you make big decisions. I know how that is..it can be hard...but God will help you with that :)
Hugs from me to you...
Love, Jerelene

Terrie said...

I am such a flakey sister. You probably wonder what is up with me. You know I love you and worried about you and I should have called more often. No excuses but I am glad you're posting again...that means you're really feeling better now.

Love ya always
Terrie

Scriptor Senex said...

So glad things have gone well so far. Will keep you in my thoughts and pray for you to make the right choice for you. No one else can make that choice but I must just mention that my brother - GB - was told radiation therapy in his case had a 20% chance of being on target and even than only a 20% chance of working. But he had it and it was on target and it did work! If it is meant to be it will be.

Heather said...

Where on earth have I been???!!! Geesh, I've missed a lot of your posts, haven't I?

Honestly.

Linda, I'm so happy to know that you are well and on your way to healing. I am sure that you will find the answer become more and more conclusive.

Look at that smile...just look at you. What a blessing of joy you are sharing, sweet woman.

Love to you and a big warm hug too.

Eileen said...

Linda, you look beautiful and thank you so much for posting your beautiful smile for us!!
It makes me feel good to know that you are doing well!

I'm sorry you had to go through that surgery, and I'm glad you didn't know ahead of time that it would take that long! But I'm thinking of your poor husband, he must have been a nervous wreck, I'm sure they were giving him updates throughout, but still, that's a lot of emotional trauma for him! You poor things!

Love to you, Linda, and I will be keeping you in my prayers as you make your decisions on future treatment.
God Bless you and yours.
Love and Prayers,
Eileen