As I sit here and type, my head is throbbing in pain. The bottle of Vicodin is located in my line of vision, but I am trying to not use it until it's closer to bedtime.... it is taunting me, but I will be strong........
I had my removal this AM. What a glorious day! I arrive at the Doctor's office at 7:10 AM all bright eyed and crazy haired, ready for my surgery. Until the nurse at check-in tells me they don't have me on their list for today. I almost cry.
Most of you know I work in a school. A new school. One that opened two days ago. One that I was uncomfortable leaving so early in the year (Ed.'s note: I don't know why - it ran just fine without me!). And my insurance. The year ends on Sunday. I don't want to pay a deductible for the new year. That'll cost me like $950 out of pocket instead of $450.
They were nice, they tell me to sit and relax and it will be fine. They call me in at about 7:40 and take me to a room to prepare. They numb up the area, shave my head, take some pictures and at about 7:55 the doctor comes in and cuts it out. It took him literally 2-3 minutes. They use the thingy to cauterize the wound. And I could feel it. I wasn't supposed to. It hurt like a....... it hurt bad!
They send me out into the waiting room while they do the pathology. As I enter the room, it looks like a war zone - bandages everywhere - eyes covered, noses covered, arms covered. I look pretty stylish with my bandage on my hair - I can't complain! I'm only out there about 25 minutes, watching Good Morning America and dozing off before the doctor comes out to tell me that they got it all in the first cut. They don't have to cut again! WOO HOO!! This is such good news!!
After a few more minutes, I'm taken back for the stitching process. They will do subcutaneous stitches, then outer stitches. They have to cut more skin to make a neater line of stitches. So more head shaving and numbing. The other doctor comes in to stitch. He's pulling on my scalp and putting in hooks and doing all kinds of stuff. He tells me it's gonna be sore tonight and tomorrow (Ed.'s note: He wasn't lying!! It hurts!!) but that it's hard to get a good stitch on the scalp. It only takes him about 10 minutes or so and then he is done. I have 14 stitches on the oustide and another 8 under with the hooks. I get the rules for my head wound (no washing until Friday, no bending down, head above heart for the next week, no physical exertion to get blood pumping, clean the wound, keep polysporin on it, and use covers for my pillowcases in case I bleed during the night (wtf - yikes!!?!?!?). They mention that there is a slight dent where they removed the spot and if I bend over it will fill with blood and that wouldn't be good at all. A dent in my hard head? For real? I guess there will never be a Grace Jones period for me in the future.
They bandage me up, I get my prescriptions for antibiotics and Vicodin and I head out of there. I'm feeling great. I go to the pharmacy, shopping for cute Halloween plates while I wait. I come home, check e-mail, make some calls, sneak out for lunch with my Dad... I'm feeling fine.
I lay down, take a nap, and it hurts when I wake up!! I check the wound and it's bleeding - the doctor said it would do that if I was overexerting.... so now I'm sitting here or laying on the bed. What a fun time!! I really want to go to the movies or out to eat with a friend!!
I wish I was a better forced relaxer!!
1 comment:
Glad to hear you are okay. I was thinking about you but didn't want to call and wake you up.....Little did I know you were already up and around so much! Take Care!
~Kate
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