There and back again - Brain Surgery

Tah Dah!!! All finished. The meningioma has been successfully removed. 3 days in the hospital and 8 hours later that little invasive sucker is gone. It took longer than my surgeon thought it would, but i'm just thrilled to have it all finished.

Here's a bit of a play-by-play and hopefully some useful information for you.

Tuesday the 26th of September, day before brain surgery. This was my long awaited 3 month appointment with neurology. We waited almost 2 hours and it wasn't all that helpful. I was annoyed, my husband was patient. They want to test me for Myathenia Gravis as a potential cause for my muscle weakness, even though I don't have any eye drooping. Whatever. I was over it and ready to get the tumor gone.

I had also had my hair cut pretty short on the sides for surgery.

Thursday September 27th. We left for the hospital at 4:30AM. Not drinking anything before surgery sucks. I was thirsty and my veins (for once in my life) wouldn't tap at all. But everyone did their best to make me comfy and prepare me for the big surgery. I wasn't nervous till they wheeled me into the operating room. There were a lot of people in a very big space. Brain surgery is serious and I felt that. It took them 6 tries of a medication to "help me relax." Not much seemed to be going as it should have been and that made me even more nervous. But then came the gas and I was OUT! It was wonderful. I didn't feel a thing and I don't remember a thing.

Trusting my doctors and all ready for surgery!

This was around 7:30AM

Recovering from surgery I think around 4PM? I'm not positive.

The water was divine. A gift from the Gods!

I was feeling happy to be all done. My husband said my head looked like an Asian Pear all wrapped up. Turned out I had a latex allergy that caused some issues. And my veins still weren't cooperating. But the tumor was out! YAY!

Feeling a little better and the nurses took some of the pressure off my forehead. A nice little blister was starting to form. Darn it!

I spent the first night and day in ICU. Each nurse had 2 patients and I had my own room. I was on a "soft diet" which was good because the left side of my jaw was sore from the muscle needing to be pulled back. I also have 14 staples around my ear. Not bad at all! We were told it would be more and go all the way up my head. So that was a lucky surprise. Everyone was taking good care of me and giving me constant medication. I had 3 ports, 2 in each hand and 1 in my foot. My veins were not cooperating at all and that was a bit of a problem. I also opened an artery when I tried to brush my teeth the first night. Fortunately nurses don't mind things like a sink full of blood. 

I had a lot of love and visitors. My auntie bought me this super soft pink stuffed bear. She know's I'm a sucker for stuffed animals. I also brought this soft blanket to the hospital. Something I HIGHLY recommend anyone do whose having surgery!

Friday September 28th I was moved to another room that I shared with a roommate. Luckily I had the bed by the window. She had... some major problems. I don't know what, but I was pretty yucked out when she pooped the bed and gassed out the entire room. I literally had to run out into the hall and wait for the poor nurses to clean it all up and spray the room down. Then of course they felt bad for me to have to be out of bed. It was just a bad situation. But the nurses were great and I was well taken care of. I even had more family and visitors come to check on me. Including my son who was there much longer than he thought he'd be. Hahaha!

Hospitals are so exciting.

By now I was able to take the head wrap off and almost all of the ports out. Yippeee!!! My sister-in-law brought me this beautiful soft hat. It was much better than the Asian Pear wrapper.

Happy, but ready to go home.

Honestly the time is going really fast. Monday, October 1st was our 24th wedding Anniversary but time is blending right now. I'm still on a  LOT of medication. Pain pills, oxy, tylenol, anti-seizure, steroids, stool softner, my regular Lyrica, Cymbalta and Synthroid. It's a lot to keep track of and my husband is doing a great job!

Yesterday at 5AM I decided to shave my head. I had a very good reason. The latex wrap caused a lot of blisters and scabs and I just wanted a healthy, healed scalp. I was awake and it was raining outside for the first time in ages. I thought "I'm going to lovingly, carefully shave my head down to a 9, then rub it in coconut oil and take a nice warm shower." It was the best thing I could have done. Unfortunately my husband woke up to find me naked eating grapes, with a shower cap over my dome covered in coconut oil. I'm pretty sure he was 100% convinced I'd lost it completely. Once I explained, he got it. The hard part of living with an impulsive wife. 

My daily organic, unrefined coconut oil rub that I leave on for 30-40min, then shampoo off with all natural baby shampoo.

I'm doing well, though my bruises aren't healing as fast as I'd hoped. I'm feeling shockingly social, which is new for me. 

So here's some tips I have for anyone going through a major surgery. Just things I've learned and am coping with:

1. Be tremendously gentle with yourself. Seriously! Treat yourself like an infant. Use soft wash cloths, soft blankets, soft hats... the key here is soft and gentle.
2. Let people help you. Anyone and everyone who wants to help you, visit you, be there for you, go with it.
3. If you're tired, then rest.
4. If you have some energy, then get some fresh air and explore. Have fun! Go slow and take it easy, but no need to just stay home like a zombie full of head staples if you aren't in the mood.
5. Listen to your body. If something is wrong, let people know. My medication wasn't helping for a long time at the hospital and it took a while to get it right. I also had to remind some people about it being medication time. These things are important and I didn't feel bad being "Demanding" or "Needy." You're important.
6. Bubble bath, epsom salts, coconut oil, Polysporen, baby shampoo and other soothing bathing items are your best friend. Use them a lot. So are disposable plastic shower caps. Perfect for the scalp treatments I've been doing.
7. Don't care about your hair. It grows. It's not a big deal. Your scalp health is the most important.
8. Go crazy with hats and wigs if you want. Have fun with it. 
9. Don't care about what you eat. Just care about if and when you poop. If you want chocolate ice cream, then have some!
10. Let everyone in your life love you as much as they can.