Not a huge deal, just a follow-up to last year... Back in March 2011, I had extensive neurosurgery to remove a chordoma, a rare primary bone cancer, from my sacrum. Y'all were amazingly supportive through that long and miserable experience. The good news is that I just had another set of scans done, and there has been no recurrence of the tumor. The bad news is that the surgical wound never did heal properly... Long story made short, I have a new plastic and reconstructive surgeon, still at Hopkins and highly recommended by several other docs. He's going to go back in and clean it out on Wednesday afternoon. Expects to discharge me on Friday. Supposedly they're going to do the same things as last time to help me manage my PTSD -- no male caregivers (except obviously the surgeon himself) and so on. I'm more nervous about that part than the actual surgery. Compared to what I've been through before, this is minor stuff. But prayers and support would still be very much appreciated. I'll have the iPad with me.
Prayers and support guaranteed! That sounds extremely scary stuff, and I think you're really brave to tackle so many things at once: neurosurgery, the sense of "loss of control" you get in hospital, the risk of some idiot who hasn't read the notes sending you a male nurse ... You have my admiration! I'm sure it will go well. Jus keep telling yourself that your body has done the hard bit and kept the cancer away (for which "yeay!") and this is just about making it all heal cleanly. Do you have a good internet connection you can take into hospital? Or will you actually be in and out so quickly that you're sleepy in there and won't care? There will certainly be prayers for you - and your surgeon and care team - from here
^I just edited my OP to include that I will have my iPad with me. Thanks for reminding me. More importantly, thanks for the encouragement and prayers. Edited to add: Oops, that was to Kathy. Thanks to you, too, Bob.
Ah, essential connection to the outside world. I know I'm lost without my phone if I'm in hospital. I'm sure there's a couple of threads here as testament to my dislike of being in hospital.
Good luck! I once had a surgery and the doc who patched me up was horribly bad at sewing and gave me a rather wide and ugly scar. I gave him a book on invisible mending and embroidering as a joke, but he appeared to have read it very thoroughly, since when I needed stitches again a few years ago, he made the tidiest little seam you can imagine =) It's almost invisible. Maybe you should give your surgeon such a book, too, just in case?
I'll be sending you my best wishes for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery with zero complications! I'm sure RevdKathy is right...your system has been working hard to ensure that the cancer does not return, now it just needs a "reminder" to finish the entire job of healing. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Wow, I'm glad to hear it's not a recurrence--that would be the worst. I hope this procedure goes smoothly and you have a quick recovery, Ziyal!
Thanks for the encouraging words, everyone. You made my day, Rhubarbodendron. I already have 18 inches of visible scar, so I can live with a little more. But I was thinking of asking him to give me a butt lift while he's at it.
Wow, that thread title scared me. I'm glad there's no recurrence. Considering how much trouble you had with that wound, they probably should have done something like this a while ago. I hope everything goes smoothly and that this is the beginning of the end of your health issues.
Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, RJ. You're right, of course. The original plastic was way too passive. The straw that broke the camel's back was that I found out that the home health agency's wound specialist and the nurse case manager at the insurance company had both contacted her office to suggest that something needed to be changed since the wound had stopped improving, and both of them had been brushed off. So I took myself to a very experienced wound care doc, and he referred me to this new plastic. Described him as the surgeon he would go to "if it were my ass." hehehe