I want to make sure I document a few things about how my surgery went before I forget. It’s already coming up a week and my memory is fading already. lol.
Warning: There’s a photo below of my incision/staples that may be graphic to some viewers.
Cervical/Thoracic Spine (Tues May 23)
After I arrived and checked in at the hospital, I was immediately asked to “not wear anything I wasn’t born with.” Then I put on a hospital-issued gown. The minimal belongings I brought with me were labeled and sent up to my room. I swear I peed like 10 times because I was so nervous.
I was wheeled up to the OR where I spoke very quickly to the anesthesiologist and the neurosurgeon.
The anesthesiologist was having a very hard time getting a vein in my left arm. (They aren’t able to use the port.) I woke up with two IV lines in each wrist. I did give permission that they can use my right arm as well. The last thing I remember is having the oxygen mask over my face and they telling me to have a nice sleep. I believe it was about 8:20am.
I woke up in recovery where I was watched for about 3-4 hours (give or take). My throat was sore because I had a breathing tube down it for the surgery. They offered to bring me a popsicle so I graciously accepted. Man, they were the most powerful tasting popsicles ever (my tastebuds were crazy because of the anesthetic). The second popsicle felt like it was burning my throat so I had to stop. They administered some sort of antibiotic that made me super nauseas. Thanks to that, I wasn’t able to eat dinner later. I requested anti nausea remedies and they administered two different types.
When I made it to my room, it was around 5pm-ish. I had these electric leg compression sleeves that went off every 3 seconds. It was like a blood pressure monitor but for your legs. They were loud and I couldn’t sleep all night because of those things. Heard them even through earplugs.
This is what they look like. I had them on both legs to prevent blood clots post anesthesia.
Below is a video of what they sound like. You can’t see anything but if you turn the sound up, you’ll hear it and get an idea of what I’m talking about.
As I just had a consult with the sleep specialist the week before who said I may have mild sleep apnea and may have some other issues (that I’m going to get tested for), I requested to have some extra oxygen for the night. I loved that. It helped a lot and I was sad when I had to take it off. lol.
Here I am looking like someone who just came out of surgery. I felt like I was hit by a bus.
At midnight, they had to give me another round of the antibiotics that made me sick earlier. They didn’t give me any notice, though. Next thing I know I was feeling nauseated again and the nurse got me some IV medication to help with that. Unfortunately, it took too long to kick in. I grabbed a cardboard barf dish and yacked. Puking right after neck surgery is horrendous, by the way. At that point, I was crying and shaking. I had to buzz the nurse to help me dispose of my vomit. Luckily, it did make me feel better.
Unfortunately, my catheter also kept getting kinked or had air holes that would prevent it from draining properly. I had to keep asking them to fix it. I always felt like I had to pee.
Thankfully, the next day I was able to get my catheter removed but that also meant I had to prove I could go to the bathroom on my own. After I saw the OT and was fitted for my neck brace, I borrowed a walker from the hospital and went around the ward once. By this point, I was already doing 10 times better than my previous surgery (2+ years ago). Back then, I couldn’t get out of bed for the first 2 days. I went to a commode on the third. By the 4th day I made it to the toilet once (barely) out of sheer necessity (as they gave me a diarrhetic suppository). Anyway, I was making it to the toilet by the next day after this surgery. I drink a lot of water so I considered it my physio.
By late afternoon, they also unhooked me from the pain pump. I didn’t use it too much anyway but it did come in handy a few times. It kicks in pretty fast but it also wears off fast. Unfortunately, when they took away the pump, they screwed up my meds schedule and I ended up in a pain crisis by the next morning. I figured they’d wake me up to administer during the night but that wasn’t the case. Apparently, I had to ask for them. So the following night I requested they wake me up and give me my drugs. lol.
I also had a surgical drain to release the blood. I had drains in after my mastectomy and explant surgeries but they were much different and I had them for a lot longer. This was a big, unnerving looking drain that was tubed into the back of my neck.
I had a nursing student and her instructor remove the drain. (The same student also removed my catheter.) I wasn’t too thrilled about a student doing those things but hey, I guess they have to learn some time.
Anyway, this post is getting long and I’m tired. So much covered about bodily fluids. lol.
The last photo below is my incision. May the Frankenstein jokes commence! Looks like I have 22 staples in there. I’ll need to get them out by the end of the week.
So that’s the summary of my surgery.
Below is a copy of the CT results on May 13 for my surgery planning, too.
Added rods and screws to my T1 & T2.
Replaced all the old screws.
Filed down some of the rods to make them more symmetrical and not poking into nerves.
Filed down the C6 vertebrae so it wasn’t poking through the skin.
There’s some other stuff but I forget now.
If I remember anything else, I may come back and add to this post later.
