MVD Recovery, 8 weeks

 I've been surprised at how many people want to see pictures primarily of my head and scar since my surgery.  So here's some pics along with an overdue blog post. 

The above pictures are the before and after pictures of my hair.  I had started growing it out this year and was enjoying it but when I told my hair dresser about how much they were shaving she felt like it would look funny and thin on that side and the fact that the other side would look normal would make the shaved side look even weirder.  I told her to cut it how she thought it would look best considering, and this is what she came up with.  I thought it was really cute and she did a great job.

Above- May 25, 2012, I'm ready as I'll ever be for surgery so I made Cory take a picture to start the collection of terrible pictures that will someday be distant but important memories.

Above-A few hours after surgery and as you can see, I'm all dolled up and ready for my geriatric bedtime of 3P.M.  I was truly a mess and just starting to realize how painful and difficult this was going to be.  The Band aid on my forehead is from where one of the nails was in my head from the Vice they had me in during surgery.  I have a lovely scar from that spot now.  The big bandage on my neck/head is obviously covering the big incision which they didn't even peak at until I went home. 

At this point and for the next few days I was hooked up to the following- Oxygen, 2 IV's, a Catheter, a Blood Pressure cuff, a finger pulse monitor, sticker things all over my chest with tubes coming out of them, and leg wraps that were constantly inflating to prevent blood clots.

Above-Cory briefly brought the kids to see me the day after surgery.  They didn't stay long since hospital rooms aren't that fun, I wasn't much either, and for the most part they were afraid to even be around me since I looked a little scary to them.

Below-The car ride home was painful every time we hit a bump mostly because they had cut into my neck muscle which turned out to be the most painful part of recovery.  It was nice to be back home and away from nurses waking me up all the time.  Cory was way better at managing my pain and taking care of me anyway.

Above-This is the first look that either I or Cory got of the incision.  This is day 3 just after I got home.  I counted about 18 staples in all.  Undernieth the incision there are screws and plates holding the piece of skull in place that they cut out to get to the Nerve and Arteries.

The doctor had taken the bandage off just before he discharged me which was very painful.  A nurse bandaged it again to send me home.  Apparently the nurse didn't see the entire area around that had been shaved for the sole purpose of bandaging because she managed to get plenty of the longer hair that was inches away stuck in the adhesive.  That was another thing Cory did better.  From that point on Cory did the bandaging and there was no hair getting caught in it.

 Right-One of my kids took this of me as I looked most of the time for a few weeks after surgery.  I layed in bed while switching between being bored, watching episodes of "Medium" and "Flash point", and trying to sleep.  I don't usually watch TV much so it took really finding shows that kept my interest.  Cory kept walking in the room and begging me to watch some TV.  He enjoys it way more than I do and I think it pained him to not see me take advantage of my down time the way he thought I should.



 


Right- This was kind of the second phase of
 recovery.  I had about enough energy to sit on
 the couch to eat and then would resume laying down.  I didn't leave my bedroom until about 9days post-op other than a couple of times.  My energy was so low and I was so nauseous that walking myself anywhere, let alone bathing my self was a huge task and enough to wipe me out for the rest of the day.  My food had to be made, brought to me, and cleaned up by someone other than myself.  I not only couldn't help with the kids or the house but I required an amount of assistance for myself that I didn't expect.  This lasted for about 5 weeks.

11 days post-op-I went to the doctor for a check up and to get the staples out.  I was nervous that it would hurt but it didn't since most of the right side of my head was and still is numb from nerve damage  which is a normal result from the surgery.  Some of the nerve sensation has started to come back and might fully at some point but either way it's not bad it just takes getting used to.  I do feel like I have a little fuzzy on my upper and lower lip mainly when I talk and eat that started coming about 5 weeks post-op.  It's more annoying than anything and I'm getting used to it.

Upper Right- This is my girl Haley.  She's one of my Young Women in my ward and on top of coming to visit me at the hospital she came and hung our with me twice at home.  She's a Super sweet gem and tons of fun!  We even did a craft with my Mom.

It's been a little over 8 weeks since my surgery and aside from some minor things I'm pretty much back to normal.  I even started riding my bike and have made it through my work out video twice.  There will always be things that I can't do or have to modify because of this like... anything that could cause a jolt to my body such as very physical sports because it could knock the Teflon pillow in my brain out of place, I'll always have to be put to sleep for dental work, I have to try to keep my breathing steady and more.  I'll say it again, it's worth it!!!  I'll live with the few restrictions so that I can be out of pain.

This whole process including the surgery has been one of the most difficult things I've ever gone through.  They say with some things that it gets worse before it gets better, I think that whoever said that was going through exactly what I was.  I was amazed at how bad it was and I'm so grateful that it's over. 

So many people did so many things to help me and my family.  We feel truly blessed to have such great friends and family.  Our Moms especially saved our lives!  We really wouldn't have made it without them!!!

I have to give a shout out to my Heavenly Father: )  He knows me and loves me and I don't doubt for a second that this was a necessary trial for my progression on this Earth.  I have learned more while struggling with this over this short time than in any other phase of life and I'm better for it.  I have a renewed appreciation for what I have, the Priesthood on the Earth, my amazing family, my health, and so much more!  I don't know how I would have gone through this and so many other trials in my life without my faith, and I'm grateful for it.

(June 4, 2012) 10 days Post-op-At this point I think I'm going backwards.  Instead of feeling better I'm feeling worse.  There are so many factors in my recovery when considering the medication, detoxing off of the Lyrica, and just the healing itself that it's hard to tell why but I definitely don't feel any better than I did a few days ago.  My doctor stressed over and over to do nonstrenuous walking during my recovery.  I don't think he meant to and from the restroom, but that's about all I'm doing.  I'm dealing with lack of sleep because of coming off the Lyrica so that can't help but there isn't much I can do to change that other than to take the sleep aid every night that the doctor sent me home with.  I feel the way I always did when I had pregnancy morning sickness, like I would never feel normal again.  I'm sure just like it was with that that I will feel better again, it's just a vision I can't see at the moment.  I don't regret the surgery at all.  I'd take this recovery over the pain if TN for sure but it's just not fun. 


Cory is doing an amazing job of taking care of me!  For a minute I thought that he would make a good nurse but then I realized that it's just that he loves me to pieces and that as far as everyone else is concerned he should probably stick with Engineering.

(Written June 17, 2012) 3 weeks 1 day Post-op-The last couple of weeks have been a struggle to say the least. There were a few times that I attempted to get on the computer and blog but simply didn't have the strength or energy it took to sit partly upright while typing long enough to complete a post. Not to mention that until a few days ago I had nothing nice to say. For the first 2 weeks I didn't improve much at all. I could hardly stay out of bed for long and when I did get up I ended up on the couch very quickly. I have never felt so drained of energy in my life. My doctor says that's normal and not to expect the energy to come back for 6-8weeks post-op. It's difficult to sit back and watch everyone work and take care of me and my kids but it's been necessary. My Mom has been here for almost 2 weeks and leaves in a few days. She has been extrememly helpfull and we have loved having her here. My house is clean and we have all been fed thanks to her and Cory.


My innability to even take care of myself has been a major shock to me. I guess when I envisioned myself and the need for help after surgery the help was mostly for the kids and so the house wouldn't fall apart. I didn't expect to feel horribly nauseas for 2 full weeks preventing me from even being able to get out of bed for long. That combined with the lack of energy and horrible headaches has been a huge shock and very difficult.