Updates

Here I am - two days post surgery and I'm feeling pretty good. The first day, once the effects of the general anesthesia (which made me a little loopy) wore off, I felt a little rocky. And a little dreamy, sleepy, and at peace because the surgery was behind me. I took a peek when the dressing came lose and I pretty much saw what I expected.

There's an incision a little over an inch long with neat black stitches from one end to the other. The stitches seem to be more bunched up near where the main tumor was and there's an area that appears to be open - however, I think I see a thin layer of skin over it. It's possible, of course, that that's just what I expected to see. The cut starts just above my right nostril and curves over and down to just left of and below the tip on the left side. It's longer than I thought it would be but when I remember the large open areas I saw on other nasal carcinoma patients on the internet, it seems quite narrow.

Somehow, the most complicated part of the treatment is following doctor's orders. Keep it covered the first day, expect some bleeding and oozing, shower the second day, no stooping, bending, lifting or grimacing that might affect that area. The thought of showering was quite daunting to me. I just couldn't imagine getting it wet much less gently washing it and patting it dry. But I did.

Another thing that's challenging and doesn't seem like it should be is keeping my head elevated when I sleep. I just can't seem to get comfortable and even when I feel fairly comfortable, my back hurts in the morning. But that's minor - just interesting to me.

Of course, I have done some bending, modified stooping, and grimacing - at least until it hurts - then I remember. Yawning is one of those mindless activities that has taken on some significance - along with unconsciously reaching up to touch a tickle or itch. And yes, there's lots of tingling and itching and and a hard-to-describe achy feeling.

Tomorrow I see the doctor again and I'm not sure what to expect. The Monday after I got the biopsy the stitches were removed and replaced with steri strips. I think some of these stitches could be removed but Harry just pointed out that there's an open area that probably won't get steri strips so I'm not sure what will happen.

Speaking of Harry, evidently he and the doctor had some pretty in-depth conversation, complete with drawings of my nose, while I was moving to recovery. I just found out today that the doctor said he's confident that he got all of the cancer. Although there may be some precancerous cells left, they can be treated. (Does that mean more chemo cream? Probably. UGH!)

I've taken pictures and eventually maybe I'll show 'before and after' shots but not yet. Right now I'm a little worried about grossing anyone out that happens to read this.

In other concerns, Beth has a clogged duct or mastitis complete with fever and pain. Of all times. I wish more than anything that I could be there to help but no stooping, bending, or lifting equates to no help. I'm kind of railing at the timing but it is what it is.

Fortunately, Lori will be there tomorrow to help her - but deep down, it'll still be painful to be so far away from Babytown.

Tomorrow I'll talk about measurements. Yawn right? We'll see.