2 surgeries down!

This girl is a pro when it comes to surgeries!  No medicine needed before hand, she was content to just hang out and show the nurses how to play her Nabi!  We have had the same nurse all but 1 time that we have had surgery.  She saw that we were coming and switched with a nurse just so she could have Cohen.  She is always so sweet to us.  She is also the one who calls every so often to let you know the procedure started, how it is going, etc.  Well when she called to let me know it started, she was laughing because when they rolled Cohen back into surgery she took the mask from them and told them, "I can do it."  And held the mask to her face and put herself to sleep!

Dr Carron was very pleased after getting in there and draining all the fluid out of ears and repairing the left ear drum.  He went ahead and placed "T-Tubes" in both of her ears.  These tubes are actually sewn into her eardrum where as previous tubes were "pressure" based.  Hopefully, now that they are more secure, the sinus pressure will not push them out like in the past.  He also did a very minor sinus procedure to decrease her nosebleeds that she has been having.  He was also laughing afterwards talking about how amazed the team was in her behavior.  She had yet to shed a tear even after waking up.  When I finally got to go see her, she was all tucked in with one tear rolling down her face.  I asked her what was wrong, she said "My nose itches" and held up her finger that had her heart rate sensor on it.  She was mad because she couldn't scratch  it!  She continues to amaze m daily!  That girl came home like nothing as wrong and hasn't stopped yet!

1 down, 1 to go this week

 I did have my surgery this morning.  I love, love my doctors and they treat me so good when I am there.  I was first case and there at 5:30, asleep by 7:30, in the car by 10:00!  I have never had an outpatient surgery at UMC and I was so glad they let me go as soon as I got up.  Dr Ahmed was able to remove 1 lymphnode.  Not sure how I feel about it yet......I was hoping that they could get a few more to compare but I understand the reasoning.  I just think if the biopsies of a few lymphnodes came back benign I would have been more accepting of possibly monitoring for a bit longer.  It will be a hard decision for me as to what should be the next step if the doctors suggest moving forward in the diagnostic process.  

As far as recovery, I am recovered :)  This really was the easiest procedure so far---easier that the scans!!  I came home and slept a few hours.  This morning, I told Bear how excited I get when it's time for surgery because I get "real" sleep.  It's the only time I get restful sleep with no interruptions or alarms!!  However, tomorrow I am sure my neck will be a little sore from the positioning during the surgery but I am sure tolerable.  The incision is bigger than I was anticipating but it is further around my neck so at least it isn't too close to my other scars.  

I will see my endocrinologist Monday for bloodwork and check up but not sure I will get any results by then.  I will see the surgeon February 4 and should have results by then unless I see the oncologist earlier.  

So what's the next surgery this week?  Well the flu hit our house 2 weeks and Cohen was unable to have her surgery so it was rescheduled for Thursday.  It kind of worked out for the best since I was home anyway.  We can't wait to see the difference in her after surgery.  Her little ears have just been hurting and we are hoping this will help.

Will keep everyone updated!

Deductibles met...already!?!

January has started out with a bang!!  And low and behold we have probably broken our record with shortest time to meet our medical deductible :)  

I knew we had a week full of dr appointments and hopefully get a few questions answered.  Well, we all know that Kinson couldn't be left out!  He felt like he wanted to be added to the dr schedule this week so he invited the flu to invade our house.  It was way more rough than I was prepared for.  Luckily, he is on the mends.

Cohen met with Dr Carron Monday morning.  Her left ear tube has been out since May and sat in her canal for a few months along with a hole in her eardrum.  In October, it finally fell out, the hole healed, and the eardrum had healed retracted.  Dr Carron wanted to give it a few weeks to see if it would stabilize itself.  Well in true Cohen-fashion, it did not cooperate.  So she will have T-tubes (permanent sewed in tubes) placed in on Friday.  After 6 surgeries for tubes and now knowing she will continue to need them for several more years, he decided a more long term option was needed.  I had heard about these from several of her team members and hoping this will help the drainage issues in her ears.  While she is under, he will also carterize some blood vessels in her sinuses to hopefully decrease some nosebleeds she has been having.  As with any of her surgeries, we are nervous but amazed at how resilient her little body is.

I met with my surgeon this afternoon.  I am not sure that we got any questions answered other than I know what surgery I am having.  He has decided to take out the lymphnodes in my right side of my neck.  He is still very cautious about it.  He brought to my attention the risk involved with neck surgeries--yes, he is always concerned about the risks, However in my case he is even more cautious.  Because of my amputation and limitations, he in no way wants to limit me anymore.  Crazy that these worries never crossed my mind but I love it that it crossed his!!  Ideally, he would do a lymphnode resection (incision from ear to ear) and remove as many lymphnodes as he could.  However, he is very uncomfortable entering my left side for "exploratory" reasons.  If we need to in the future after a diagnosis, so be it, but for now it is off limits.  The risk involved is nerve damage that can paralyze my arms.  I will still have the procedure under general anesthesia but I will not be "paralyzed."  This way throughout the procedure he can tests my nerves to ensure they are working properly.  It will be a small incision in my neck and only a few days recovery.  

We talked extensively about my thyroid.  He saw it with his own eyes and got path reports and sees no reason to remove it.  The oncologist disagrees and feels as though the inflammation it causes scews my scans and until it is removed we can not rule out that inflammation. Right now, I am leaning towards conservative and so it will stay.  We also toyed with the notion of removing my spleen.  He also agreed that it is the only thing guaranteed to give an accurate biopsy.  However, it is an organ.  There is only 1 spleen.  It does have a role in my body.  So, we will do some heavy discussing and thinking before I have to make that decision.  

So surgery is lined up for January 22, again at UMC.  

Whew!  What a week and it's only Tuesday!  Tomorrow I am going to go with my uncle as he has a heart procedure done and Cohen gets to have her 4 year old check-up.  So if you are keeping up, 6 dr appts this week!!!  And just to throw in a curve ball, I had a root canal done yesterday afternoon :)

Snail Mail

I got a letter in the mail today from my surgeon--- yes, you read that right, a letter!!-- regarding scheduling my appointment.  This is a first for me.  I mean in this day of age, we have office phones, cell phones, email, and even a virtual chart but they are going to send me a letter with 2 appointment options and for me to call them with which ever one worked best for me.  Whatever.  Anyway, my appoint will be Tuesday, January 8.  I asked if it indicated what I will be having pre-op for and the nurse said all that was indicated was "discuss with patient next procedure."  Didn't clear anything up!  However, I am confident in Dr Ahmed and his skills so we will wait.

Next week will be a busy week.  I am having a root canal Monday on a tooth that started hurting before craziness started and after the surgery I couldn't keep my neck extended for that long so we are going to try and squeeze it in between surgeries.  Tuesday, meet the surgeon.  Wednesday my Uncle Mitchel will be having a catheter ablation of his heart early that morning and Cohen will be having her 4 year old check up.  Lots of doctors.....ugh!!

I put this on Facebook so some have already seen it, but isn't this hilarious!!  Left to right: My little brother, Bo, Kinson, me, Cohen, my older brother, Robert and my mom.  My brother bought this for my sweet sister-in-law for her Christmas present!  Let me just say---she is a better woman than me!!  I don't think I could have hidden my excitement, joy. jubilation, ummm I am not sure I can think of a nice word :)

Cohen has become quite the photog lately.  She grabs our phone and says, "Say cheese!  1, 2, 3,!"  You better look AND smile or she will say it over and over until you do.  I have about 250 pictures in my cloud that I need to erase!  Here is one that I kept!