I am Home!

I have had approximately 17-18 surgeries and each and every time I had to stay inpatient for at lease overnight.  Well, yesterday I broke that record!  I had ear reconstructive surgery yesterday morning at 8am and I was leaving the hospital for home on the same day at around 2:30pm!  It wasn't seeming very promising earlier.  When I was going into surgery, the nurses couldn't get an IV in.  They tried 12 times before they got anything!  My goodness how I wished I could have been drinking water to pump those veins up a bit!  After surgery I was feeling pretty crummy.  I was in pain and upset stomach from the general anesthesia.  After I had a nap however, I was feeling so much better and preferred to leave the hospital before I would have to stay there so, I got to go home!  Woo Hoo!

Going Home... Not for Long...

I'm going home today!  My pain has gotten better and I have been able to eat more although I get sick everytime I eat anything.  I am so excited to be going home!  :)  I just talked with Dr. Bite who will be reconstructing part of my ear.  He scheduled surgery for next Thursday, March 25th.  So, I will be home for a few days and then back to the hospital for a day or two for my next surgery. 

Out of Surgery

I have been out of surgery for a while. When I woke up from surgery I was in so much pain but I was also so itchy! Apparently I am allergic to yet another pain medication. Everything was itchy. My face broke out and was the itchiest but the nurse asked someone in the recovery room to stand there and make sure I don't rub my eyes. I know there was good reason for that but I was really annoyed. I got three different medicines to stop itching and that didn't help at all! Even now I am still itchy but some of my skin hurts from being itched so much. My pain also took a while to get to a tolerable level. Now I have been in my hospital room for six hours. My mom is sleeping in my room with me. The is the most amazing mom! She and my dad have always been there. I can't really sleep... Been in and out of it but thought I would update.

Nerves

Many people have asked me if I was nervous about surgery.  Right now I am sitting in a room waiting to be preped for surgery and I can say that I am really not nervous.  I never get nervous for any surgery until right before I fall asleep.  After I am under I have no control and those hours are lost to me.  I have no recollection of what happened.  That is both a blessing and a curse.  Blessing because I didn't have to endure pain during the surgery but a curse because I have no clue what happened to me until I am told.  For example, after one of my surgeries the doctor dropped my top palet on the OR floor.  It broke into two pieces and the surgery was prolonged because it needed to be repaired.  I had absolutely no clue that had happened until my mom told me why I had so much stuff in my mouth.  I wonder how I would have reacted if I knew about it while it was happening...  In any case, I sometimes wish I could both stay aware but fall asleep. 


I hope you all enjoy your St. Patricks Day!!!

Looks Like a Go

I went to the doctor today and it looks like eveything is set up and ready to go as long as I can still breathe through my nose.  I have surgery tomorrow at 11:30am.  We will be leaving home at 7:30am to get there in time for check-in.  At midnight I have to start fasting so I don't get sick during surgery.  I'm hoping I don't get too hungry!  Goodnight Everyone!

50/50

Right now I am not sure if I will be getting my surgery done on Wednesday.  I have caught a cold and so I think right now it is a 50/50 chance that I will get surgery.  I have my pre-op physical at 8am this morning so we shall see.  I won't find out all of the surgery details until 8pm IF I have surgery.  I'm hoping it does not get post-poned!  I will let you know the outcome when I know.  Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Fundraising Ideas???

I will be volunteering fot the LCMS National Youth Gathering this July in New Orleans.  I had a ride all set up and ready to go for me to get there and get back home but today that plan fell through.  Now I'm scrambling to scrape up some travel money to get to the Gathering.  If anyone has any ideas at all about fundraising ideas good for March and April or any fundraising ideas in general please let me know.  Thanks so much!!!

Trouble

Hey, sorry about the long silence.  I have been dealing with a lot lately at school.  I have been struggling with getting the interpreters I need which is a little bit annoying.  I keep getting interpreters who arrive late or cannot do the job properly.  Hopefully the managers will be fixing the situation soon.  


I also have a person almost stalking me.  That is really getting to me.  He started coming over last semester and wanted to talk to me because I was Deaf.  It was a little weird then because he stayed for hours that night and seemed to get a little too close for comfort.  He wanted to see all of the adaptive equipment I used and when I showed him my videophone he saw my number so now he calls me.  He comes around all the time wanting to hang out even if I am not in the mood.  Whenever I say no he gets annoyed with me and follows me around so I have stopped responding whenever possible.  I'm not sure what the best route to go is with this situation but I am talking with my supervisor tomorrow and I am thinking of changing my number.  We shall see what happens...


Anyways, on to positive things... I am getting my surgery for my jaw in less than a month.  Its hard to believe that I might be pain free in just a few weeks!  That is such a awesome thought!!!!  Some of my friends are planning on visiting me in the hospital after surgery so I am excited for that as well... They make any situation better...  I remember after one of my jaw surgeries, some friends came to visit and they just made me laugh and be happier.  Laughing made me hurt but I just couldn't help it.  They are so great!


I had a meeting with my adviser a few days ago and I have about 25 more required credits before I can graduate!  I am so excited to graduate and get my teacher license and then get my Master degree in Deaf education.  So much to do but I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!


My sister got a dog today and they came to visit me at school.  It is a little YorkiePoo (or something like that).  It is 10 weeks old and so darn cute!  I think I am going to have to visit home more often!  After my sister visited I started the process of getting a hearing dog.  It didn't work out the first time but I'm hoping this time might be better! 


I am trying to get plans in place to hold a lanyard workshop but with this stalker person I mentioned above I just am being more cautious and so I haven't been getting much done...


Have a good Sunday!

Mike Sutton

I mentioned way back that I had Guillain Barre Syndrome when I was 15 years old.  I was in a wheelchair for 6 months.  Now, 5 years later I am still trying to regain the strength I once had.  I got to thinking about my experience recently when I read an article about a basketball coach in Tennessee.  He too is recovering from Guillain Barre Syndrome.  Mike Sutton is very encouraging to many GBS patients because his experience was so severe he was on a ventilator for three months and he is now back on the court coaching.  It goes to show that struggles can be overcome.

A Date Has Been Set

I just got a call from the Mayo Clinic yesterday.  A date has been set for my surgery.  I have my pre-op appointment on March 16th and my surgery on March 17th.  From what I understand, they will be smoothing out the jaw joint on my right side and inserting an implant (titanium maybe?) to take the place of cartalige that should be there but isn't.  I know that I'm probably not being very clear in my description.  I will find out more on February 2nd.  I go back to the Mayo Clinic to dicuss things more with the doctors there. 


In the mean time I am hard at work studying for school.  I really do not want to get behind.  I found out last semester that getting homework done actually makes life less stressful... Imagine that... :) 


My pain is high again today but now I have a surgery date.  I am so hoping that this is the answer!!!


Have an amazing Friday!