Surgery

So, I wasn't sure that I wanted to blog about my recent experience. However, the week before I went in for my thyroid lobectomy (which I'm pretty sure I blogged about scheduling earlier this year), I went online to try and get a feel for what people had to say about their experiences with this type of surgery and what their recoveries were like. Unfortunately, all it wound up doing was freaking me out more than I already was. Apparently the only people who have felt the need to write anything online about this type of surgery were people who had absolutely horrible experiences. I wound up losing it during the confirmation mass at my church, because I pretty much convinced myself that it was going to be one of the last times I would ever sing. I mean, there were people who talked about their voice never being the same, one woman who went from a soprano to an alto/tenor, and probably the best-case scenario that I read about were the people who said it took several months before she had anywhere near the voice she had before. Plus, there was the woman who didn't return to work until day 17 post surgery. I was flipping out. 

Now, on to the reason that I decided to blog about what I went through. None of that happened to me. And I wanted to at least have something out there that if anyone else searches for information on thyroid lobectomies, they will come across one positive experience. 

After reading all the crap online, I called the surgeon's office to get a little reassurance. The first thing the nurse told me when I mentioned what I had done was, "Don't go online- it'll scare the bejeezus out of you." I guess they are fully aware that only people with bad experiences tend to blog this kind of stuff. So, this past thursday, I got to Froedtert Hospital just before 6am. Both my parents came with me and we got into the Day Surgery unit where they checked me in and gave me one of those buzzers that they give you at restaurants when you are waiting for a table. When the nurse was ready to take me back, my buzzer went off. My parents got to go back with me and they took down not only that people were waiting for me, but their names as well. Then they gave my parents the buzzer to hold because when the surgery was over, they would use that to let my parents know that my surgeon was ready to speak with them. (My parents later said that the staff were so nice and considerate to them. They were very impressed by how well they kept them informed of what was going on.) Once I got in back, they got me in a gown and went over just some general stuff about the surgery. Very cool was that the nurse asked me what I was there for and when I responded that they were going to take out the right half of my thyroid and she said that was good, because that was what she had down as well. I guess they have found that it's best to ask the patient first to make sure that everyone is on the same page. 

Next, my surgeon came in to check in with me. She is so very cool. Young- my parents were a little concerned at first as she looks about my age, but very nice and intelligent. She did an endocrine surgery fellowship at Yale, which made me feel very comfortable. One of the directors at work mentioned that the key when looking for a surgeon for something like that is to make sure it isn't just a general surgeon. He said that with endocrine surgeries, you really want someone with specific training. Anyway, after she stopped in to check in, the head anesthesiologist stopped in. He asked if I had gotten a call the night before from a resident and when I said I hadn't, he apologized saying that I should have been contacted by a resident. I did feel kind of bad, I figured I wound up getting the resident in trouble- but he stopped in shortly after and seemed fine. He was a very nice guy as well. Asked how I was doing and when I said that I was pretty nervous, he said that was ok, because it was his job to take care of that. He also overheard me talking to my parents about still being nervous about my singing, and he said that he would also do everything he could to make sure that the tube they put down my throat didn't harm my vocal cords. He put in my IV- which barely hurt at all- and then gave me something to calm me down a little bit. It pretty much felt like I was kind of drunk.

Shortly after that, they rolled me down to the OR. I know I was awake during that, but I don't really remember anything past rolling out of that little room. The next thing I remember, I was waking up in recovery. Now, my mom tells me that I woke up at some point before that because when my surgeon came out to talk to them, she said I was awake and talking- but I don't remember that. In recovery, I remember the nurse telling me where I was. I also remember the anesthesiologist telling me what was going on. For a little while, everyone just kept on hovering over me. Which was very cool, but the more I came out of the haze, the more I wanted to be left alone so I could try humming a little. Finally, the nurse walked away to check and see if my bed was ready and I was able to get a little humming in. I was so happy when it sounded just like it should. I finally let myself sleep a little then. And shortly after that, they took me to my room. I was in a new section of the hospital which is called the extended recovery unit. There are only 8 beds there and it's just people like me that have to stay overnight after surgery, so there is a lot of personal attention from the nurses- especially that night because there were only like three of us there. 

I got to my room and just wanted to get into my pajamas. So, the nurse helped me get settled and then my parents came in with my pajamas and stuff and I got to change. I was much more alert than the doctors and nurses said I would be. I was up pretty much all afternoon. Actually, my parents both took naps in the chairs in my room while I watched tv. My pain wasn't too bad. The nurse finally came in and kind of insisted that I try a little morphine- so they gave me that and then I got to order my lunch. Very cool new feature at Froedtert- I got to order my meals. Pretty much whenever I wanted them and whatever and how much I wanted. I mainly just started with broth and jello and pudding. During the afternoon, they gave me some vicodin and after another short nap, a friend stopped by and then my aunt, uncle and cousin stopped in to visit. I was actually talking quite a bit and not really very tired. When my mom finally left around 9pm, I still wasn't tired. So, I read a little and they gave me more vicodin around 10pm, which allowed me to sleep a little, but they woke me up around 11:30 to take vitals. Then I was up and read a little more, and they woke me up once more when they took vitals around 3:30am. 

I woke up for good just after 6am. Unfortunately, I was back on no food or water restriction because they were waiting on the report from the pathology lab and should that come back with any questionable cells, they would have to take me back in for surgery to remove the other half of my thyroid. My throat had been rather sore the day before especially when swallowing. However, in the morning, it was worse because my throat was dry from not having any water. So, the pain was worse actually than thursday. They did keep me hydrated through my IV- which kept me peeing quite frequently. Thankfully, once the nurses realized that I was good to make the ten feet or so walk to the bathroom, they let me unplug my IV stand and head to the bathroom myself. Friday morning brought visits from the surgical resident and my surgeon. They both pretty much said the same thing- that everything looked good, but that I just had to wait for that lab report. They were both pretty optimistic though, and around 10am, we found out that they were right. The lab report said that I was clear- no cancer! However, the nurses wanted me to eat something before releasing me. So, once I got some food in me, they took out the IV, got all the paperwork signed and I could change and go. I got a script for some vicodin and instructions to take the tape off of the incision on saturday morning, which is also when I could shower. Over the incision were also steri-strips. Those I have to leave on for at least a few days after which I can either take them off, or just let them fall off on their own. The incision itself appears to be about 2 inches long- not too bad. 

I have a follow-up appointment next monday with the surgeon. Everything has gone really well so far. I'm not in too much pain- I have started just taking tylenol for it a couple times a day. I get a little hoarse every once in awhile, but for the most part my voice, both speaking and singing are back to normal. My energy is the big thing that is an issue- after lounging around for several days, I'm just trying to slowly get going again. I'm headed back to work tomorrow, day 5 post operation. I'm just going to go slow and hope that all goes well. I'll update as things come up, but hopefully this helps anyone who comes across it looking for information about this type of surgery.