Days in Hospital After Surgery #1

I was only in the hospital for two days. I thought that is quite amazing to have brain surgery and be out so soon.

I had very little pain. Tiny bit of numbness on the right roof of my mouth and a drop on my lower right lip. But that I could live with and was told over time it would probably improve.

Another side affect I was told about before surgery, is that my right eye was no longer going to cry. Going in through my nose was going to mess something up on the inside that made tears. My eye might get dried out a little easier and I'll just have to have eye drops on hand if needed. So far though, I couldn't tell a difference at all.

I am also not a crier.

The photo below, was a Sunday morning when I planned to meet my dad at church, I woke up too late to go. And for some reason, it really bothered me.

Maybe I just needed a good cry! I don't know.

I had to document my first cry with tears! The right has none flowing!

The only thing that had me worried the entire time was before leaving the hospital I was going to have tubes and cotton pulled out of my nose. I'm not sure why, but I was more nervous for this than anything else! I still had a strip of gauze taped to my nose to help keep any dripping blood from going anywhere.

So, the time came to get everything removed from my nose.  One of Dr Kassam's nurse practitioners came in. (He has 4 of them and they are all amazing. One is "assigned" to me, but I've gotten to know them all well.)

*My mom had to leave the room because she couldn't watch. My mom doesn't like the gory details about my surgeries.  Anything that she thinks is going to cause me pain she doesn't want to witness. My dad on the other hand, find things cool and interesting like me. Dr Kassam gives me the basic details on a surgery they did to me, but Dr. Corsten gives me a lot more details on what went on and I love hearing all of it! I find it all so interesting and amazing. So my Dad stuck with me in the room while the NP went to work.*

First she removed the tubes. That was nothing. I didn't even feel them come out.

Next, it's the sponge things. Ugh. This was disgusting. It felt like water was being shot up my nose and blood started pouring out everywhere. The sponges were 4 inches long and the whole thing was in my nose!

She let me take a little breather and hold a cloth up to catch the blood. I could feel it running down my throat. Then it was time to do the other side.

Here we go...same thing. Maybe a drop better because now I knew what to expect.

I sat with a few cloths for a while till the blood slowed down. I've never had a nose bleed so this was pretty strange for me. Next, I grabbed a mirror to take a look at me nose. It looked perfect. Well, as perfect as my nose is gonna look! But there was no swelling or anything! My Dad and I were shocked! Besides walking around with a box of kleenex to dab the dripping blood, no one would have any idea I just had surgery.

I was given orders that I can not lift anything over ten pounds, no bending over, no exercise, nothing that can cause pressure on my head. I also was to try not to sneeze or cough. The sneezing I was worried about because I felt like I usually sneezed many times a day! I luckily had no problems with this. It was weeks before I sneezed for the first time and it went great! No pain at all.

Tubes and sponges about to come out!

  

Here they are..

                                                                         Survived removal!

besides the little bit of crusted blood on my nose, you can not tell I just had surgery on it!