Have you ever
been excited about surgery?
Probably
not. But you know what? I am! I'm
so ready to have this all over maybe. Ok
well the surgery isn't going to make everything perfect-I'm getting ahead of
myself again....
So last we
left our intrepid passenger (this would be me) I had a mass on the left
adrenal, trying to get referrals for surgeons, additional tests etc. After a day of serious merry-go-rounding, I
finally happened upon the best surgeon for the job. The downside?
He doesn't take insurance for his surgical fees-umm Houston we have a
problem. But the next best guy couldn't
even see me for a consult for 6-8 weeks possibly. Also a problem. Apparently while adrenal removal isn't a
complicated surgery it also isn't a common surgery. The guy doing mine has done around 50, the #2
guy in the business had done 2, right 2.
Yikes!
So
consultation went great yesterday and I really liked the surgeon ($$) and his
staff. Amazingly they were able to get
me in at Northside Main for surgery next Wednesday morning the 1st. I guess this is what happens when you are a
hot shot, non-insurance taking surgeon?
The best thing about this is that Mom and Dad are going to already be in
town on a planned trip to visit next week so I will have some help with
everything. Not that Leslie isn't a
great helper, he is. But this way he can
focus on work and they can help me with anything I need.
Actual
surgery isn't too bad, hopefully just one night in the hospital, some
restrictions on activity for awhile but the key is the removal of the adrenal
and how my body responds. The surgeon
explained it really well yesterday. He said...You have two adrenal glands,
right above your kidneys. Right now the
one with the tumor is working 4x as hard as it should. Pumping hormones to the pituitary gland in my
brain. My poor pituitary gland is saying
"Stop please, don't send any more of this junk to me!" so in the
meantime my healthy adrenal says-"Oh ok, I'll stop, sorry about that"
while the left adrenal with the tumor (I should name it) keeps pumping
away. So once they remove the unhealthy
adrenal it takes awhile for the sleepy one to wake up and do it's normal
job. (Like maybe 6-8 months, or more.) During this time you need some drug therapy
and replacement hormones and steroids to sort of get everything back in
balance.
So there you
have it! Much much to get done in
the next week to get ready, including pre-op today! (Yippee more needles!) But really it is all ok and I'm so ready,
well except for the actual getting ready to be down for the count for a little
bit.
So in
closing, thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. Also a note...please, please, PLEASE don't
come to the hospital. It's a pain in the
neck down there, I really don't want to see anyone and I'd rather wait til I
was home and feeling more like myself.
PLEASE, if you have family members who like to visit people in the
hospital (you know who you are) please convince them to just wait til I am
feeling more like myself at home. Mom will report on me and I'll
report in when I am feeling better and down one body part!
Janet, thanks so much for the update. Glad to hear that you have a date set and you can start putting this stuff behind you once and for all!
ReplyDeleteJanet you and I are alike in this way. After we had Molly and when she's had all her surgeries, I've tried to talk people into not coming. It's so difficult when they don't respect your wishes...because being in the hospital isn't comfortable, it's exhausting, and not pretty in many ways...who wants to entertain company during a time like that? Not be. I'll be praying for your surgery to go well! - Katie Roeder
ReplyDeleteJanet, thank you for the information. We should have a tumor-naming contest.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you've aligned yourself with a great doctor, and that's got to be a great source of relief to you! I'll be praying for 'ya, and for that surgeon of yours on May 1!
And if I lived close enough, I'm not a hospital visiting person, so I would honor your wishes and not visit you. Just sayin'.
Sending lots of prayers your way and so glad that you posted this on FB so that I could make my way over here!
ReplyDeleteOK - I won't come visit. BUT - while you're undergoing the knife, I'll be taking my last 2 finals so if you need anything after the 1st, holler. I'm sure I'm not that far away and can be available. :) AND I have a great soup recipe with healing powers... :) I'll keep you in my prayers!
ReplyDelete