Surgery Tomorrow
So tomorrow I get to kiss my thyroid gland goodbye. I think I'm ready: I'm washing my bathrobe to take with and I've already filled the prescription for the thyroid hormone I'll need to take for the rest of my life. I check in tomorrow at 10am and then get to sit in a hospital gown in a cold room somewhere for the next few hours (having had nothing to eat or drink since midnight tonight) until they deign to wheel me into the OR. I'm actually scheduled for surgery at noon, but I've been told by everyone to expect that it won't actually happen until a few hours later due to frequent backups in the OR.
I've been told to expect that I'll be able to go home the next morning, and I'm taking the rest of the week off. Both surgeons we talked to indicated that most people bounce back from this surgery pretty quickly, so that's a good thing. (We went with the second surgeon we met with, who does 200-300 of this exact operation every year.) They'll send my poor ole thyroid gland off to be dissected and examined under a microscope to determine if there's any thyroid cancer, though I've been told that the odds are against - only 15% of these apparently turn out to have any malignancy. The unfortunate part is they can't determine this without removing the gland and making julienne fries out of it.
So that's the scoop. How sick is it that I'm actually seeing this as an opportunity to have a little down time?
posted by Susan B @ 7:10 PM
8 Comments:
As someone who may herself have thyroid removal surgery down the road, I wish you the best and a speedy recovery.
Well, I hope everything comes out ok. Sheesh, and on election day! They are trying to suppress your vote by infiltrating your thyroid!! Have they no shame? ;)
But seriously, I hope everything goes well tomorrow. My thoughts will be with you, even as I patrol the local polling place, keeping an eye out for shenanigans.
You might want to take a couple of magazines with you to read whilst you wait. It has been my experience that OR waiting room magazines usually trend towards "People" and "US", and you don't want to suffer any more than you absolutely have to. ;) But then again, if they prep you with the happy drugs while you wait, then "short attention span theater" may be just the ticket for reading material.
And do have the Mr. let us know how things go via email. And do let me know if there is anything I can do, m'kay?
I have a story from college to tell you about the elusive juvenile mouse thyroid gland, but it can wait until later. :)
Thanks, Gina. The good news is that I'm told as far as surgeries go, this one is far less hard on the body.
Hey Spot,
I took no chances and voted by absentee ballot last week. And yes, I've got my backlog of reading material (books and several weeks' worth of New Yorkers) going in with me.
When Isaac Asimov had his thyroid gland out, as they were wheeling him in, already a little woozy, he grabbed his surgeon and said,
"Doctor, doctor, in green coat
Doctor, doctor, cut my throat,
And Doctor, when you're done, why then
Doctor, sew it up again."
His poor doctor then had to keep a steady hand while he operated.
Hey, I just figured out that you have a blog and look what I learn! Hope your surgery was as uneventful as possible.
I've a feeling that it was a very good idea to get it done this particular election day. Surely the warm fuzzy sense of well-being that comes from seeing Nancy Pelosi's smiling face will go a long way towards a speedy recovery.
Hope you're feeling better soon!
Wishing you a quick recovery!
Peace,
Thailand Gal
~*~*~*
Thanks everyone. I'm home now, a bit tired and with a rather stiff and sore neck but otherwise feeling pretty good (after the anasthesia finally wore off!). I'll post more tomorrow.
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