Hi there everyone!
It's me, finally. This is the first week that I've finally felt well enough to get into the laptop. I want to thank everyone for the positive thoughts and well wishes. It's been a rough road and I'm only about halfway there. The surgery itself went well (well except that I pulled out the ventilator after, while under the anesthesia and they tried to say I was trying to commit suicide!). Umm, don't think so, did this to live, I was trying to scratch my neck and see what all the wires were about. there are much cheaper and better ways to commit suicide. lawdy, crazy folks. Anyway, the 70 pound mass was successfully removed, yay. Got an incision from one side of the hip to the other, and up a bit on both sides, had over 150 staples, which are now out, yay. I'm allergic to plastics, tapes, adhesives, latex, yada yada, so the (plastic based) jackson pratts have left holes all over the torso. The front of my torso looks like a big ad for abdominal dressing pads, lol. It can take 2 hrs for the wound care nurse to deal with. also got pressure sores in bad places. Basically, been a lot of pain and tears, but the pain is finally getting better. There was a lot of cautherization of veins, rebuilding of 'parts', etc, so a lot of places I never expected are (still) swollen, to the point that I wasn't stable to stand, but doing so much better now. Also, lots of appts with phys and occup therapy twice weekly, that just stopped, until I un-swell, can't do more. I was really surprised that one of the surgeons said it could take up to 1 1/2 YRS to get back to normal, yikes, never expected that. Anyway, that's the gist of it, well that and dealing with insurance and medical issues.
Brynn, thx for keeping folks updated, appreciate it. I also could not believe they kicked me out of the hospital after only a week, but that's how it's done now, they don't want you to get the illnesses that are in the hospital, (staph esp). Insurance (mine anyway) now goes on the assumption that you have access to a personal caretaker (I don't, it's just me and the hubs and he is doing it all, plus trying to work from home, and he has medical issues as well). Example, ideally, I need the bandages to be changed daily, but insurance will only send the nurse out twice a week (and they don't do weekends). They expect you to chg it yourself. Really? I can't even reach half the places (hubs has issues of his own so he can't chg the bandages). It's crazy. And I have the largest insurance company in the US. (Don't even get me started for the need to insurance chg and natl healthcare in the US.....). lol. Anyway, even with some minor complications, I am on the right track, and I'm so grateful to have been given this chance at being back in life again, even if it takes months. Have to go back to the hosp to get the IVC removed still, things like that.
I'm so thankful for my friends, family, FB friends, Inkscapers, and hubby for your support and positive thoughts, it's really helped me on this rough road. Most of all, thankful to God, without His promise via the lady who came to see me out of the blue, and spoke in tongues (God's language), that I would be restored to health, I would never have been able to do this. (I'm only about the 9th person the surgeon has done, and some have not survived, that's how rare this is). PS, if you know anyone who has lymphedema, please send them to the FB group for support and info.
flamingo hugs to all!
