20 March 2010

Hopefully, the 3rd chime is the charm...

Wow, what a difference a day makes.

Yesterday, after my surgery, I was in so much pain on the left side of my head that I wanted to cry. Even with taking the pain medicine it hurt so bad, I couldn't sleep. I finally nodded off around 5:00 am and getting up around 9:00 am. I think the only reason I even went to sleep was that I was taking both Perqocet and oxycodone. I am only supposed to be taking the Perqocet every 8 hours, but that's just how bad I was hurting. I would alternate the Perqocet and oxycodone every 4 hours and I think that just finally knocked me out.

I think getting some sleep helped the most. Even though I still have pain, it is nowhere near as bad as it was yesterday. I was able to actually go with Lilli and Katie to Lilli's softball evaluations today. YAY me!

Out of all my surgeries and procedures I have had to endure the past 9 months I think this surgery was by far the worst. It's not just because of the pain, that I think this one was so bad. They also decided to intubate me while I was awake! Talk about not fun. Apparently, during the surgery last Wednesday, they had trouble intubating while I was asleep so before I went completely under they did the intubation. Talk about painful. I could even feel some of what they were doing. Definitely something I do not want to go through again. At least, the anesthesiologist this time was a good guy and did his best to try to make it as easy and as painless as he possibly could.

Speaking of doctors, Doc Williams again did an excellent job. He answered all our questions, took his time with us and didn't rush anything. He even called us Friday night to see how I was doing. He even left his home phone number with us in case I had any problems or questions over the weekend. He is just awesome!

As awesome as Doc Williams is, the nurses at GBMC are even awesomer! While I have dealt with quite a few nurses in the past nine months and all of them have been great, there are two that stand out in particular. One is Joyce in pre-op, the other is Nancy in post-op. Joyce has been my pre-op nurse for all of the surgeries/procedures I have had at GBMC. She takes her time with everything and is so personable and friendly. She has really helped me feel at ease when it comes time to head back to the O.R.

Nancy, with the exception of my surgery last Wednesday, has been one of my post-op nurses for all of my procedures and is one of the most positive and happy people I think I have ever met. She is very complimentary and always willing to help. She lets you take your time with things when you are waking up and trying to get your bearings. She is also very sincere about things when she tells them to you. The last two times when it has come time for me to leave, she has made it a point to give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Each time, you could feel the positivity in her and it has almost made me cry happy tears.

I have been very blessed to have these people on my front lines in my battle with cancer.

The force is strong with this one...

2 comments:

Katie said...

I have a feeling hon, one of the reasons this one is SO hard on you is that you JUST had another pretty invasion,more intense surgery 10 days before, silly! there really IS only so much our bodies can handle.. even in a less weakened state to START with!

Keep plugging along, and you know I'm here to help. I love you.

Dani said...

You guys are awesome! And we love you all!!!