Surgery--Again

How sad that colleges were so sexist in those days. It must have been a blow to you when you discovered that so few women were accepted. But you were lucky in that you had other talents to fall back on.

All I ever wanted to do, from early childhood, was to be a vet. But my ambition took a nosedive on the day I realised that I'd have to end the lives of animals - stupidly I hadn't factored that into my dream!

How you doin' today, vonny? Any better?

Thanks for asking, Roberta. Feeling a bit woebegone and sorry for myself at the moment. Sore and swollen, still a bit of ooze, rainbow coloured bruises - never had a black eye before! It will all be worth it if the hospital tell me that the tumour was benign, and that they managed to remove it all. More waiting now ... it goes on.

Rainbow colors mean it is healing and the blood is being absorbed by your body. These are good things.

Try using a package of frozen peas or frozen corn as an ice pack to reduce the swelling. It easily molds to the contours of the face and isn't so severely cold as frozen water.

True.

Good news!!!!

I'll try that on the bruising, thanks, good idea. Any ideas about how to stop the itching? Gosh, my nose and my cheek feel as if they are on fire with awful itching. I can't wash it properly yet - just dab gently with a moist face flannel, and am applying the cream they gave me twice a day but this itching is driving me nuts!

Vonny, I would check with the doctor's office on both the itching and whether to use ice packs at this time.

Thanks, Osso. I'm scheduled to go to the hospital on Thursday to have my stitches removed, but if it gets too bad before then, I'll contact my own doctor.

vonny, How's the itching? How you holding up?

Hi Roberta,
Feeling better today. Some of the bruising and swelling have gone down, and I'm getting some feeling back in my nose. Even the itching isn't so bad now. Guess one gets used to anything after a while! Thank you for inquiring.

I'm trying to be more positive now, and not dwell on the fact that I still have to have the results - benign or malignant, have they got it all out, and has the skin graft taken. Wish there was some magic switch that turned off one's brain when one started thinking negatively!

I'll feel a lot better once I've washed my hair - ugh it feels horrid - hasn't been washed since the morning of my operation, and looks perfectly dreadful. My main problem now will be how to wash it and keep the wound dry! Husband can try to help, but he is absent-minded at times and I don't fancy being caught in a deluge as he waves the shower head around the bathroom!

Hey, how are you now?

Do it like we used to in the olden days. Back a chair up against the sink in kitchen or bathroom, which ever is lowest in height, sit in chair and lean head back over sink like at the beauty salon. To be on the safe side, maybe place a towel over your wound to protect it from wayward splashes.

Here's a magic switch for you. It is said that our thoughts can effect the functioning of our body, so keep those positive thoughts going so you won't have to go through all this again.

http://healing.about.com/od/visualization/a/powerofmind.htm

Thank you for that, Butrflynet. I'd never thought of the kitchen sink, but it would be a lot better than the bathroom - right height for a start!

Thank you, also, for the 'magic switch'. I used something like that as a self-help tool when I had pre-cancerous cells internally some years ago. I'd forgotten all about it until now. I believe the use of creative imagery helped lots back then - will certainly use it again now.

Back from Bellevue. Saw the psychiatrist. Greatly relieved to unload. Very happy to see him. I told him that I wished I knew and understood me as well as he does.

We discussed Hurricane Sandy. Bellevue was inundated with 17 million gallons of water. Yes, 17 million. How can anyone plan for such a thing?

Vonny, Glad that things are improving a bit. Hope you worked out the hair washing dilemma.

Let us know how things go tomorrow.

Glad everything went well for you at Bellvue, Roberta. I bet you feel a lot happier now you've been able to talk freely to someone who empathises with you that way. Do you go back to see him/her again?

17 million gallons of water? Strewth - couldn't even begin to visualise anything like that before I saw some of the television coverage - so frightening!

I managed to wash my hair and have a proper bath today - oh so good! It must have sounded like Meg Ryan in that scene from When Harry Met Sally - "oh that feels sooooo good" - amazing how such an everyday action can bring such pleasure! Positively orgasmic!

My stitches come out on Friday - hurrah! And my follow-up appointment came today - 16th July - seems an awfully long time to wait - but perhaps that's a good sign - that they don't need to see me earlier?

When I had the stitches on my chin removed, the doctor's nurse gave me a great tip that worked well for me. I had asked whether I should use vitamin E oil on it. She said no, to just massage the skin on and around where the incision and stitches were for about 5 minutes while watching TV or doing something else. She advised to keep massaging it on a daily basis for several months and it would help prevent the buildup of scar tissue and make the scar much less visible. It seemed to work. I can barely see it when I look in the mirror, have to tilt my head just right before I can see the different texture of the skin where the incision was.

Don't know if it was the massaging or the excellent sewing skills of the surgeon, but I pass it on to you. My wound wasn't quite as extensive as yours sounds, it didn't require any grafting, so check with your doctor first in case they want you to be more protective of it for awhile.

17 million gallons of water? Egads, that's enough for a huge indoor swimming pool. No wonder they're having such an extensive recovery and rebuilding phase.

Thank you for that, Butrflynet. I'm open to any suggestions that may help reduce scarring. I'll ask first, of course, but frequent massaging does make sense. It looks very angry at the present time, but I guess that once the stitches are out, that lividity will fade. Prevention is most certainly better than cure in this case, so I'll start as soon as I get the go-ahead from my GP or hospital.

Woot! Glad you are feeling relieved.

During the ordeal, I felt myself spiraling into depression again. Managed to pull myself somewhat together on my own. The psych clinic was not open for a long time. I'll see him again in a couple of months.

BTW, he said I was resourceful, stubborn, and disinclined to do anything that anyone told me to do. I'd call that fairly accurate, wouldn't you?