As somewhat mentioned before, over the next...24 hours...after surgery, Gil had to empty my drain bag and "milk" the tube, which made us both kind of queasy. Because of the drain, I had to sleep in our recliner, so Gil slept on the couch. Not exactly the most comfortable of circumstances.
Now, if I didn't mention it before, I was very taped up and couldn't lift my head to well. So, the next morning, when I went to get the drain taken out, I was walking a bit like Frankenstein's monster. I was trying to hard to straighten my back, but couldn't lift my head...so I looked so stiff. I was really happy to get that drain out and get the tape & bandages off, which left me looking like bride of Frankenstein (or Franken-chick as David called me). I felt I could handle a little more movement. As we left, Gil took me to Target where we got some soups, pasta, and other groceries that I could eat (my sore throat could only handle so much) and I bought a Starbucks coffee (of course!).
After that, things are pretty uneventful. It took a little bit before I was really comfortable in our bed - sleeping on my sides rather than my back. I'm not supposed to lift much and take it easy talking. Talking gets to be like a workout - the muscles get sore and the voice starts to waver. I did a little walking on the treadmill Sunday - about 1.5 miles. I need to get back to working out. Merlyn got into something in the backyard and I had to give him a bath, which, it turns out, he is over my lifting weight limit - 12 lbs.; I'm not supposed to lift over 10 lbs. And last night I went to give Gil a kiss goodnight and lost my balance. Funny how much you use your neck when you are trying to keep from falling forward.
Today, Tuesday, Feb. 12th, I had the staples removed. I feel I have a lot more movement in my neck. Turns out I had a benign tumor called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid, but I don't know who Hashimoto is or how really it differs from a goiter except it's not an iodine deficiency. Should be good for a little research.
I'm still kinda tired, and very sore, like I've been "clotheslined", but I think I might try to go back to work Monday. I definitely want to give it a few days before I go back to work the kinks out of my neck. Voice still gets weak too. So, today is kinda blah. Good day to just sit home and continue my recovery.
Until next time...this ride is over!
2 comments:
Was the biopsy performed prior to surgery? Unless the thyroid swelling causes compressive symptomps or grows into the chest cavity , the surgery is not necessary. The only questionable case is, if the follicular cells are found during the biopsy, as follicular adenoma and follicular cancer are very similar.
I did not opt for the needle biopsy because of the size of the "tumor". It wasn't really big enough that it was a problem, but the option I was given was to have the needle biopsy, and have it (1/2 the thyroid) removed later or just have it removed for biopsy. I chose to get cut once rather than poked and cut.
Happy to say it was not cancer - just my immune system attacking itself.
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