Thursday, I had surgery to remove a "branchial cleft cyst" from my neck. It was on the left side of my neck and was pushing out the muscle. Nobody knew it was there, except for me, and that was only because I sometimes pay attention to things. One of the things I had been noticing was that my face was "puffy". It wasn't where it had been. Usually, when I smile, I have "dimples" and "brackets" on both sides of my mouth. The bracket wasn't on the left at all. It was filled in. I looked haggard, as well (in my opinion). I had a puffy spot just below my jaw on the left.
When I went to my regular doctor, he sent me to an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat doctor). We agreed in October that we'd watch it and see if it changed. It did not, so in December, he sent me off to have an MRI. That was the beginning of the whole thing. The MRI showed this lump...it was about 3.5-4 cm, I think. I'm not sure as I wasn't measuring it. The doctor read the reports, looked at the pictures and decided that he wanted to biopsy my thyroid too, as that showed a nodule on it. That came back negative (YAY ME!), but we still needed to do something about the lump in the side of my neck.
When I saw the doctor in January, he got things going and we scheduled surgery for February 3rd.
I was scheduled to have my pre-op tests (EKG, etc) on the 1st, but that didn't happen as planned. I got to the hospital, was checked in, but they didn't have orders. They couldn't get in touch with the doctor's office because we had had an ice storm Monday night and nobody was in the office. No big deal. We just went over my medical history, then I left. I was told to return at 8:00 am on Thursday.
Thursday came and I went to the hospital with my husband. I got there, they took me to the back, put me in a room and had me gown up in the typical hospital gown. Then they came in and tried to start an IV. The one nurse stuck me once but the vein blew. She tried a second time and the other vein blew. Then she called in reinforcements, who tried on my arm. THAT vein blew! (I was dehydrated, which didn't help). They finally got the IV into my left hand (thank you, not the right!!), ran the EKG (normal!) and then had me take one last test (apparently, if you're a female, no matter how old you are, you get this test).
The anesthesiologist came in, talked to me and told me how things would go. Then his assistant came in and gave me my first "shot" into my IV. I was coherent until about 9:45 when I think they came in to take me to the OR.
The next thing I know, I'm waking up in recovery, being sick (thanks to being extubated) and listening to the nurses talk to the guy across from me who was fighting to lay on a hip that they had just replaced. I went back to sleep because they gave me a dose of something to prevent me from being nauseous and slept for another hour. When I woke up, my doctor came in and talked to me. He was able to get the entire cyst, without taking my tonsils (that was a concern, that the cyst had compromised my tonsils) and I was going to be fine. The only thing he said was that he'd had to cut a nerve in my face, a 'sensory nerve' and he thought it would have affected my ear. Surprise...not my ear, but under my chin. I now feel like I've been hit with a huge dose of Novacaine. Right now, the numbness moves around from my incision to the side of my jaw and back to underneath my chin.
The surgery was "outpatient" surgery, which meant that I got the time in the OR, plus 23 hours in observation. I spent the night, quite restlessly, having my blood pressure taken, getting an IV infusion of antibiotics, sleeping through various programs on television and annoying my nurses. I had a lovely young lady from Nepal who was my night nurse. She was sweet and very kind. She took pictures of the snowfall that we had Thursday night and showed them to me when I woke up at 4:30. I was awake off and on from 4:30 until 7:00, when my husband showed up with my clothes. The nurses came in and told me that my doctor wouldn't be in to see me in the morning as he was snowed into his house (6-8 inches of snow fell Thursday night. Texas isn't used to that!).
They discharged me and I was free to come home. We got here about 9:00, after leaving around 8:00. I was very happy to get here. My cat was waiting for me--he missed my lap, apparently!
There are no restrictions on my activity. I haven't taken a single pain killer since I left the hospital. They would have written me a prescription for oxycodone, but I didn't want it and don't need it. I just have to get used to having stitches in my neck and the numbness, which I hope will go away when he takes the stitches out on Tuesday. I'm off from work all week, and will work on sleeping (yes!!), and getting re-hydrated. I know that part of the problem with the blown veins was me, but I'll work on that.
Now to move on to bigger and better things!!
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A time of change
Well, while most of my friends are buried under snow, I'm sitting down here in Texas, whining about the fact that another winter has come and gone. I saw the first signs of Spring last week...as I was driving home one afternoon, I saw a robin. That's a sure sign Spring is around the corner.
On the way home yesterday, I saw a pear tree that was starting to bud out. It's very pretty to see the stark white against the darker gray of the tree. It's a sure sign that things are heading into renewal. It's also up in the mid to upper 70s to low 80's. It really hasn't rained, which is what we need right now. I keep hoping the skies will open up but...well, hopes are just that. Hopes.
I'm in a pretty good mood today. I went to class last night and worked really hard. We worked on technique, which I can appreciate because I can see what I need to do to improve myself. I've decided that I am going to class not to compare myself with anyone else but to compare myself to myself from a year ago. I'm the only one I can compare to because I know where I was this time last year and where I am now.
Physically, I'm in worse shape than I was, especially as I haven't really been working out. Mentally, probably about the same, but again, maybe slightly better. Not overly sure of that. I know I have to stop comparing myself to other people. I'm going to work on that. I am enjoying my classes for the first time in a long time. I haven't felt so positive about my martial arts since I was working toward my black belt. I'm not working as hard as I was then, but...I do feel that I'm getting somewhere because I can SEE the changes.
In order to improve, I must make changes. Even the slightest change is something that will make a huge difference. It's Spring, so it's time for a renewal. I'm working on renewing my resolutions. I'm not a big resolution maker, but I've decided that since it is Spring, it's time for a change.
There's one central theme to this...In order to make myself a better person, I have to give up the old and begin anew.
On the way home yesterday, I saw a pear tree that was starting to bud out. It's very pretty to see the stark white against the darker gray of the tree. It's a sure sign that things are heading into renewal. It's also up in the mid to upper 70s to low 80's. It really hasn't rained, which is what we need right now. I keep hoping the skies will open up but...well, hopes are just that. Hopes.
I'm in a pretty good mood today. I went to class last night and worked really hard. We worked on technique, which I can appreciate because I can see what I need to do to improve myself. I've decided that I am going to class not to compare myself with anyone else but to compare myself to myself from a year ago. I'm the only one I can compare to because I know where I was this time last year and where I am now.
Physically, I'm in worse shape than I was, especially as I haven't really been working out. Mentally, probably about the same, but again, maybe slightly better. Not overly sure of that. I know I have to stop comparing myself to other people. I'm going to work on that. I am enjoying my classes for the first time in a long time. I haven't felt so positive about my martial arts since I was working toward my black belt. I'm not working as hard as I was then, but...I do feel that I'm getting somewhere because I can SEE the changes.
In order to improve, I must make changes. Even the slightest change is something that will make a huge difference. It's Spring, so it's time for a renewal. I'm working on renewing my resolutions. I'm not a big resolution maker, but I've decided that since it is Spring, it's time for a change.
There's one central theme to this...In order to make myself a better person, I have to give up the old and begin anew.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A skating tale
I complain rather vocally about the weather every chance I get. I absolutely adore rain, snow and gray days. I happen to live in a part of the country that is hardly ever blessed with consecutive days of any of the above. I eagerly read and absorb any and all information about my friends who do live in colder climates than me. I willingly beg to trade off my warm weather for their cold weather.
That changed for me this week. On Sunday, it was close to 80 degrees. By Sunday evening, it was dropping. It went from nearly 80 to 32 degrees in the space of a few hours. We had an 'arctic blast' push through our area. The temperatures didn't get up very much higher than 32 all day. By the time I left work last night (at 6:30!), it had started sleeting and icing. I was able to make it home without incident last night. This morning, I got up and found an icy wonderland. It sleeted and iced all night long. The news was all about the "severe weather" and how icy everything was. There was immense coverage of the ice and the road conditions. People were sliding into other people. I watched a truck come off a (very high and scary) ramp on the highway called the "High 5", hit one of two cars that was stalled or stopped on the ramp, knock it into the other car and keep going. That truck also came up off the road when he hit the other cars. It was amazing to see that he got away unscathed. (If he was a person of integrity, he would have stopped, but that's a rant for a different day.)
I left the house at 6:45 because I start work at 7:30 in the morning. I made it out of the parking lot with minimal incident (there was a small patch of ice on the street I didn't see when I left, so I skidded a little until my tires 'caught'!). The main route I normally take was mostly clear. There were little patches of ice here and there. Once I got to Greenville Avenue (it's a main highway in town), I was surprised by MORE ice, despite the higher volume of traffic. I usually follow a set route from the house to work. The one side street was a sheet of ice that I could see. That was a bit interesting. I had a person riding my bumper for at least a half mile and that irritated me. I do believe he figured out that I wasn't pleased when I slowed down further than the 30 miles and hour I was driving!! ha!
Once I signed on. the calls started coming in fast and furious. I got calls from customers as well as calls from co-workers. I was the only one on the phone for an hour this morning. Then another co-worker showed up. About 45 minutes later, another one rolled in. By 11:00 or so, the last one arrived at the train station and we had to go pick him up. My director called in and checked to see if the phones were being manned. I let him know that we were managing.
It was a very busy day, but a seriously productive one.
The kids were given a reprieve from school today. Our school district first decided to delay the opening for two hours, but decided within an hour of that to close for the day. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I had been planning on going to two different events this evening--a concert at my daughter's school and the Cub Scout Pack Meeting at my son's school. Both were canceled because the schools were not open today. Small reprieve, but also a disappointment as I had been anticipating the concert. I won't be able to make the 'open house' they're holding for the parents at the school on Friday. THAT upsets me but what can I do?? (work won't let me leave)
By the time I left the office, the roads were dry. Not a hint of ice remained, other than the cold temperatures. It was -2 degrees C in my car. I had put the temperature gauge to C for the kids, since that's a novelty they haven't experienced before. Aidan had fun and was going to tell his teacher yesterday that it was -4 C in the car when we dropped him off at school yesterday.
I certainly hope the few people who weren't driving nicely are going to be "normal" tomorrow. It's still expected to be very cold (for us!!!) tonight. The present temperature is 30 degrees F and is supposed to drop to 28. It's also sleeting again, so overnight maybe a wonderful surprise again.
That changed for me this week. On Sunday, it was close to 80 degrees. By Sunday evening, it was dropping. It went from nearly 80 to 32 degrees in the space of a few hours. We had an 'arctic blast' push through our area. The temperatures didn't get up very much higher than 32 all day. By the time I left work last night (at 6:30!), it had started sleeting and icing. I was able to make it home without incident last night. This morning, I got up and found an icy wonderland. It sleeted and iced all night long. The news was all about the "severe weather" and how icy everything was. There was immense coverage of the ice and the road conditions. People were sliding into other people. I watched a truck come off a (very high and scary) ramp on the highway called the "High 5", hit one of two cars that was stalled or stopped on the ramp, knock it into the other car and keep going. That truck also came up off the road when he hit the other cars. It was amazing to see that he got away unscathed. (If he was a person of integrity, he would have stopped, but that's a rant for a different day.)
I left the house at 6:45 because I start work at 7:30 in the morning. I made it out of the parking lot with minimal incident (there was a small patch of ice on the street I didn't see when I left, so I skidded a little until my tires 'caught'!). The main route I normally take was mostly clear. There were little patches of ice here and there. Once I got to Greenville Avenue (it's a main highway in town), I was surprised by MORE ice, despite the higher volume of traffic. I usually follow a set route from the house to work. The one side street was a sheet of ice that I could see. That was a bit interesting. I had a person riding my bumper for at least a half mile and that irritated me. I do believe he figured out that I wasn't pleased when I slowed down further than the 30 miles and hour I was driving!! ha!
Once I signed on. the calls started coming in fast and furious. I got calls from customers as well as calls from co-workers. I was the only one on the phone for an hour this morning. Then another co-worker showed up. About 45 minutes later, another one rolled in. By 11:00 or so, the last one arrived at the train station and we had to go pick him up. My director called in and checked to see if the phones were being manned. I let him know that we were managing.
It was a very busy day, but a seriously productive one.
The kids were given a reprieve from school today. Our school district first decided to delay the opening for two hours, but decided within an hour of that to close for the day. Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I had been planning on going to two different events this evening--a concert at my daughter's school and the Cub Scout Pack Meeting at my son's school. Both were canceled because the schools were not open today. Small reprieve, but also a disappointment as I had been anticipating the concert. I won't be able to make the 'open house' they're holding for the parents at the school on Friday. THAT upsets me but what can I do?? (work won't let me leave)
By the time I left the office, the roads were dry. Not a hint of ice remained, other than the cold temperatures. It was -2 degrees C in my car. I had put the temperature gauge to C for the kids, since that's a novelty they haven't experienced before. Aidan had fun and was going to tell his teacher yesterday that it was -4 C in the car when we dropped him off at school yesterday.
I certainly hope the few people who weren't driving nicely are going to be "normal" tomorrow. It's still expected to be very cold (for us!!!) tonight. The present temperature is 30 degrees F and is supposed to drop to 28. It's also sleeting again, so overnight maybe a wonderful surprise again.
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