Surgery..done..Recovery..on it's Way

Good morning friends.  How is everyone on this wonderful Tuesday Morning?  I just wanted to post a little here about my surgery and how things went.

Tuesday Morning, 12/4, we had to be at the hospital at 10 am.    My surgery was to take place at 12 noon.  After a three and a half hour wait, I finally got into surgery around 3:30pm.  I ended up coming out of surgery at around 9 PM.   I spent from then until around 3pm the next afternoon in recovery waiting for a bed so that I be moved  to a room.  Originally I was to be moved to ICU, but I was doing so well, I ended up not having to go the ICU.   My incision is about 4" long and goes horizontal across the bottom of my neck in the front.  Dr. Campos went in and moved aside my trachea, esophagus, and voice box to get to the vertebrae in my  neck.   My throat is really sore and swollen, but, that is to be expected and is perfectly normal.  The surgery took about 6 hours to complete.

I  moved to Room 640 B which was right next to the nurses' desk.  I have come to the conclusion that having a wonderful  nursing staff is half of the battle when in the hospital.  I had some of the most wonderful nurses imaginable.  Christine was my night nurse n Recovery Tuesday night.  She was really nice and helpful.  Then  the 7am nurse was Rose.  She was a very nice woman.  She took really good care of me that day.  She worked really hard to get me some lunch and into a room.  I hadn't eaten since 8:30pm on Monday and she made sure I had some lunch on Wednesday.  I hated to leave her and the second shift staff in Recovery, but I was really  happy to get a room.

I wasn't allowed to eat anything hard and solid because my throat is so sore.  I ate some pudding, applesauce, milk, and soggy cornflakes.  I had to let them sit in the milk so that they got soft so I could eat them.  I added a couple packs of Splenda and a banana and it was actually pretty good.  After that first morning, the "lunch lady" would come around and get our menu for lunch, then again after lunch to plan our meals for dinner and breakfast the next morning.  Shockingly enough, the food was pretty good.  The only thing that I really didn't like was the meatloaf because it tasted kinda like dog food.  :)

I want to give a shout out to some of the nurses that I had:  Christine-night Recovery nurse.  What a phenomenal  nurse.  She was very attentive to my needs.  She never once got frustrated with any question that I had or aggravated with me.

Rose: First shift Recovery Nurse (Wednesday, 12-5-12)  Rose is from the "old school" nurses league.   I really enjoyed having her as my nurse.  She pushed for patients rights as wells as for what they need.  Rose is one who kept fighting to get me something to eat and a bed.  Thanks, Rose.  You rock!!

Liz and Rachel: MRS 6 floor nurses;  These two sweethearts are roommates here in Wilkes-Barre.  One is from Quaker-town and one is from the Phili area.  These two chicks rocked.  They were very attentive and careful.

Kevin: MRS6 overnight nurse.  Man, for a guy, Kevin was a wonderful nurse.  He made sure I had the things I needed like my pain meds and food for snacks.  It was great.

Nayda, Kim, and all the other nurses I had his past week:  Thank you guys for all the hard work and dedication to your profession.

So, having a good nursing staff is already half of the battle you will face  while having surgery and then afterwards during recovery.

I was supposed to come home on Friday, Saturday morning at the latest, but ran into a few complications which prevented me from leaving until Monday evening..more about that to come.   just wanted to let you guys know that I am home and beginning my recovery.

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts that you guys sent my way.  I truly appreciate them.  I love you guys.