Interesting Times: Update 3

Note: written with the help of Percocet. Don’t expect genius. :)

What happened…
Surgery was Tuesday April 30 at Penn in Philadelphia. I checked in at 8:45 am and was planned to be seen around 10:15, but the woman in before me had a really extensive, detailed operation. So I didn’t go into the OR until around 3:30 pm. And here is where I thank Diana and my dad for being there to keep me sane. I think the operation started around 4:30 and went till nearly midnight. I got up into a room around 1:30 and left at around 4:30 pm yesterday – Wednesday – afternoon.

How do I feel…
Pretty banged up. There’s some numbness, soreness, swelling and stiffness, and when the Percocet wears off there’s sometimes a decent amount of pain. My throat is swollen as a result of the intubation on the inside and the surgery on the outside. I can talk face to face, but it comes and goes, and I’m not really loud or clear enough for the phone. There was a drain under my right ear and having that out made a huge difference. I’m sleeping as much as I can.

Now what… 
From what I know, it went well. I don’t seem to have any of the nerve damage to my shoulder or face or vocal cords I could have had, thank goodness. My parathyroid glands seem to have kept on trucking. I go back for a post-op May 9 to get the pathology results and learn what happens next. Till then I rest up. And here is where I thank Erin for staying with me – I need it a lot more than I even thought I would, and I am so grateful for her being here and for so much love and support and kind thoughts from everybody.

Background
First post – diagnosis
Update 1 – the plan / fear
Update 2 – giving blood