It was tough saying goodbye to my dad and Marathon but mom and I made our way back to Calgary on September 4 – welcomed warmly at the airport by Dee!! When we got back to my condo we were surprised by a fridge stocked full of food and flowers…that sneaky Lynn from work had got Desiree to fill the place so we wouldn’t be hungry when we arrived. How thoughtful is that? Just another example of the great people in my life J Mom and I spent the evening settling in and organizing since the next couple of days would be busy.
September 5 was my birthday and I was spoiled rotten J Pampered in the morning with a facial and mani then mom and I got me a macbook in the afternoon woo! No time to play on it just yet though because we went out for dinner with a bunch of friends – great way to celebrate and get a chance to visit everyone I hadn’t seen in months before I went in for surgery the next day. Love you all! Nothing like blowing out a candle in a bowl of butter chicken haha.
After dinner mom and I returned home to make sure everything was organized for the next morning. Don’t have to be at the hospital til 9 this time – way better than last time’s 4am wake up call! I was feeling a little more nervous this time I think which is weird since I’ve done it before, I kinda know what is coming. I just keep picturing the operating room and its so weird to think I have to go back in there, yuck. Just a bit apprehensive hoping it works this time. I still really don’t want to do it but it will all be worth it in the end and it makes it easier knowing so many people have wished me luck and are thinking of me.
Checking in to the hospital was much easier this time, mom and I are pros now haha, we know where to park and everything. We had to wait in a different waiting room this time, last time I got to hang out on a bed. It was weird, they have screens with patient names and surgeon names that update the status of their operation – didn’t see my name yet though haha. Again I got wheeled through the halls on my little bed with mom walking me down to the OR, and again the surgeons and anesthesiologist (who looked just like an old roomie from Uni, luckily it wasn’t him haha no offense Aric but I’m not sure how I’d feel about you coming at me with a needle) came to see us before going in. Everyone was really friendly and tried to make us feel at ease. The neurosurgeon even took my mom’s phone number so that he could call her personally after the surgery to let her know I was ok and in recovery which I thought was amazing. Big change from last time when poor mom was wandering for hours with no one telling her how I was doing. It made me feel better about going in. I wanted to call her myself to let her know I was out but obviously that wouldn’t be happening, way too doped up haha! After I said see you later to mom they wheeled me into the OR and started hooking me up to everything and making me comfortable, some of the nurses remembered me from last time which was sweet. Last thing I remember is seeing stars as the medicine kicked in and I fell asleep.
I woke up a couple hours later in recovery feeling WAY better than the last time I woke up there. Not only was the pain not as bad, the nausea wasn’t as rough and I was also greeted with the news that they were able to get the tumour this time. I was so so happy I wanted to see my mom right away and call dad. It took a little while to get me ready to go up to the neuro ward though. I had some pain but if they gave me more pain meds I’d have to hang out there a bit longer and I just wanted to get settled in my room where I could have visitors so I just waited.
My memories of the hospital day are a little blurry, especially that first day. Mom got there pretty quick though I’m not sure at what point, and I remember her putting dad on the phone to talk to me and relaying many many messages from friends and family. Mom did so much texting that day! What did people do before cell phones were allowed in hospitals?! Haha. Brandi popped in to visit too but I wasn’t the best company. I tried to have a conversation but I was still in and out of consciousness like all that day haha. Last time I was in surgery I wasn’t supposed to lay down, this time I wasn’t allowed to sit up. I was on flat bedrest for the first couple of days which was really fun, ugh. I was also on an all liquid diet which made things interesting. You should’ve seen Desiree trying to feed me Tim Horton’s soup the next day when I was on a 30 degree angle hahaha. Good friend. Straws were also a good friend that day – reminded me of when Dee and I invented the armpit cupholder that time she came to the hospital with me and I was on flat rest for the afternoon. Oh the state my friends have seen me in since all of this has happened!!
I had to stay in the hospital for 3 nights. The first night I had my own room in the critical unit since I was fresh out of surgery but the second day I got moved to the other ward where I had a semi-private room because there were no private rooms available. Paid extra but totally worth it – people were sleeping in the halls behind screens! I had to share my room with men but I’d take that over the hall any day. They were nice guys. The first guy was chatty and it was nice to have some company. He passed out and fell over in the middle of the night the first night which was super scary since he’d just had back surgery and I couldn’t do anything because I literally could not get out of bed, but before I could even fathom what was happening and reach the call button someone was there thank goodness. They let him go home the next day which I wasn’t so sure I supported since he’d passed out and all but I was still jealous b/c I wanted to go home too. The next guy to move in was nearly 90 and told me stories about how his house was in a hill and he ran his own ranch. The poor man had just come in for a scan and they ended up keeping him overnight. I woke up the next morning to a lady screaming “help me help me get me out of here” over and over, it was awful, I felt so bad for her. Then a nurse replied “you’re ok!” and then she started yelling “oh yeah! I’m sorry!! I’m ok!”. Man oh man. Whoever said you should go to the hospital to get rest was a liar. So many people around all the time its always crazy. People are constantly waking you up through the night to check your vitals and the drs rounds start at like 6am. Plus it was soooo hot in that building it was ridiculous. Thankfully Teri had a hand fan in her purse when she popped in for a visit and then mom and a nurse managed to track down a fan for my room. I was only in for three days but I was getting antsy to get out. The second day I got to sit at a 45 degree angle and it was the best ever hahaha! And when I was allowed to get out of bed I was so excited. You really take sitting up for granted sometimes! But I listened well b/c I didn’t want to make recovery worse. Visitors made it so much easier, it really meant a lot that people made the effort to stop by and I hope I didn’t scare you all too much but doing my hair and makeup just wasn’t a priority hahaha. I remember the different doctors would all have a different opinion of when I could leave, and finally they said I cold go and they brought me a menu to choose the next day’s meals – the first choice I’d had since coming in since they kept putting me on the liquid diet, luckily mom brought me Timmy’s everyday. Anyway, when they handed me that menu I totally cried as I chose my lunch because I just wanted to go home. Luckily I never did get that tomato soup because the surgeons’ nurse came and sprung me that afternoon!! THe drs were back and forth because while I seemed to be recovering well, the endocrinologists wanted to monitor my cortisol and hormone levels to see if the surgery was successful. they put me on cortisol pills so that my body wouldn't be shocked. The tumour was making my body produce crazy high levels of cortisol so to suddenly stop producing it would be like going through withdrawal much like drugs or alcohol. I never did experience these symptoms though - the only time in my life that I really really wanted to feel nauseous because it would mean I was better! Anyway, with the all clear we were outta there. Mom made a ton of trips to get my things to the car and then I waited by the front door for her to pick me up…and so her career as my chauffeur began!! I tried driving while she was here but I had such a nasty bruise from the IV I just couldn’t do it. I think I took an entire bottle of tylenol the first couple of weeks home - not for my brain but for the pain in my arm! Being home was a great start to the weekend and I still had just over a week with mom here to hang out before she would have to head back home. We took it easy but I didn’t want to bore mom too much plus I was going crazy from the rest so we made short trips out to the mall and other places. Lots of people came by to visit too, so nice. I really can’t tell you how much the visits, phone calls, messages, and gifts all meant. I felt truly loved and very special to have such thoughtful people in my life. Thank you.
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