On May 5, 2009, I walked into the hospital to have my Nodular-Thyroid removed. I was very nervous. That morning waking up, I was surprisingly pretty calm. The only thing really driving me nuts, was that my mother was late because she was doing her hair and makeup. The drive to the hospital took around 40-45 minutes. The car ride was on back roads. I could nausea from the hills coming as soon as we hit the road.
We arrived at the hospital at 7:00 A.M. My surgery was scheduled for 8:30 A.M. I was pretty excited knowing I would be my surgeon’s first patient of the morning. She would be nice and rested for my surgery. When we finally checked into the hospital, they brought me back to the"get ready for surgery room." I have to say everyone that I dealt with that morning was awesome. My nurses, anesthesiologist, and surgeon were great. My anesthesiologist told me she was giving me some tequila, and in a few minutes I would be feeling awesome, and I did. Last thing I remember was being wheeled into the operating room, and the nurses moving me onto a table. i remember them pulling my legs together to strap them down as well. That's all I could remember!
Wake up time! This was the worst part! I wake up to find myself in post-op with other patients around me. Number one I can't see a thing because I have a jelly-like substance covering my eyes, and no glasses to see. I called over the nurse, and and told her I couldn't see. She wiped my eyes, and put on my glasses. As soon as I got my vision back I felt dizzy and nauseous. My poor nurse held the puke pan, and tried to support my neck as I puked. It was a lovely time. They gave me a ton of medicine before surgery so I wouldn't get sick after. Well I still puked. On top of it (I'm not afraid to share this) I had my period. Got it that morning at the hospital. It wasn't fun! Trying to puke, after having a four hour surgery where they sliced your neck open...not fun! It was very painful. Luckily the nurse who I had was awesome. She gave me applesauce immediately, and popped those meds right in me! Oh, and then trying to pee after surgery is difficult. My nurse actually thought I could pee in a bedpan. Are you serious? I can't pee laying down. She finally rolled over the portable toilet. I had to force myself to pee, after she told me she would have to put a catheter in. Ummm I think not!
Finally after about an hour in post-op, I was wheeled to my room where my parents, grandparents, and friends awaited me. It was awesome waking up to them totally out of it! Once I finally got settled, the nurses kept coming in, and checking my vitals and see how I was doing. I couldn't believe how much my blood pressure dropped after my thyroid was removed, and my pulse went down from 125 BPM to 76 BPM.
A few hours later, I was starving, and demanded for a turkey sandwich and gingerale. I was fortunate enough to be on the peds floor because I was only 19 at the time. Let me tell you the nurses on the peds floor are awesome! They took the best care of me, and I am so thankful for them.
Trying to get up and pee a few times was the hardest part after surgery. I had to have a drainage tube for the first day, and had to push the "IV stand" around with me. The first time I looked in the mirror at my neck, it freaked me out a little. I don't do blood and guts very well. When I saw the drainage tube and incision I freaked a little. It was disgusting. My mom thought everything was so kool (incision and blood). She even wanted to keep my Thyroid in a jar at home, but my surgeon wouldn't let her.
I found out in the hospital that my surgery lasted am extra two hours than expected. They found more nodules in the back of the Thyroid that they couldn’t see on the scan. My dad likes to tell the story how Dr. Ryan first came out to talk to them after they were done operating. He said he held his breathe when she said,“Well we found more nodules, the surgery took longer than expected. We just did the biopsy, and no cancer cells were found!” I couldn't imagine being a parent sitting there waiting for either the best or worst news about your child. I think it was one of the best moments my parents have ever had together. I really do have the best parents!
The next day was the worst of the post-op. I had to have a ton of blood work taken, which of course they stab me a hundred times to get one vein. So frustrating! Then, it was the big removal of the “DRAINAGE TUBE.” Well my awesome surgeon sent in one of her residents in to remove the tube. Now, Dr. Ryan insisted that they would drug me up for this part, and it wouldn’t hurt that bad. Lie…it was like someone was ripping my incision wide open. When they first started I closed my eyes, and held my mom’s hand as tight as I could. Well what I didn’t know, it that there was one LONG stitch holding tube inside. I felt the resident tug slowly across my entire neck. Of course it got stuck, and she had to tug harder to remove the stitch. I felt like I was going to pass out from the pain. Then, I felt the tube slide across my neck, and out it went. Thank god! It was awful. I was lucky that my actual incision was held together by medical glue, and didn’t need any stitches. Sorry for the graphics...it had to be told.
The next day, I was released from the hospital at 11:00 A.M. I felt like my summer could finally begin, and my life would be changed forever!
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