We reported for surgery at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Once in the pre-op room they had me put on a Bair Paw gown. We determined where 1960 hairdryer technology went! It gets hooked up to a vent system in the Bair Paw gown so you can keep cool or stay warm. It puffs up and I resembled Bebendum...the Michelin Man. I turned it off and opted for room temperature.
Next two IVs were started...flawlessly executed. We waited. The people in the room next to us were debating on Democrats for presidential nominee. We had our own debate on Republicans. Finally I was taken to another pre-operative area where I was on my own. Everyone I encountered was fantastic. I did my usual pass time of praying for the other patients around me...figuring my woes were minor compared to theirs.
My surgeon popped in and we chatted. The anesthesiologist came in and we reviewed his game plan. He had me swallow pain meds right then...never took them pre-op before.
Then it was off to the ER. There was an entourage of people. I met everyone. Next thing I knew I was drifting off to sleep.
I don't recall my time in the recovery room, nor my trip to my hospital room, nor my first nurse...whom Bob said was excellent. The surgery lasted about an hour. The diseased parathyroid was removed and a sliver of it auto-transplanted into my chest...an insurance policy if my healthy remaining parathyroids don't kick in. I had zero nausea...a first...the other 8 surgeries I was pretty sick.
The second shift nurse was an amazing guy. I got to snack, then eat a light dinner, and the drug cocktails kept showing up...lots of Tylenol, Tramadol, Calcium, Vitamin D and some Oxycodne. Bob left around 8pm. I rested and was up from 11-5...watched Wall-E on the Mayo movies on demand channel.
I checked my blood work results:
We stopped for lunch on the way to dear Deere friends in Cedar Falls, Iowa where we spent the night...after a nutritious and delicious bowl of chicken soup!
We finished the drive home Friday... I slept a couple of hours in the vehicle, listened to David Bowie music, listened to post-debate coverage on the Sirius news channels, made a few phone calls, checked a few emails and chatted with Bob.
How do I feel? Pretty good, considering! My voice tires easily. My neck has some swelling and pain. My ears are ringing from the supplemental Calcium. I seem to have less muscle aches and little to no back pain...but that could be from the pain meds.
The window to rebuild my bone mass is the coming year...up to six years. I plan to reverse the osteopenia and fend off the osteoporosis. My pre-op visit also showed borderline pre-diabetes...so back to the Mayo Clinic Diet! I also need to supplement Calcium for a month then switch to dietary Calcium as I see fit...so long as I get 1500/day.
I saw the photo of my adenoma (the diseased parathyroid) while I was still at Mayo. It was 1 cm across. I'll post the photo when I see it appear in my patient portal.
Now a few days of rest and recovery. Life is good!! Thanks for the prayers!
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