Surgery Update

**WARNING** Semi-graphic pictures contained in this post.... :)

Well, surgery has come and gone. I had my thyroidectomy on Wednesday, December 28. The surgery went much better than expected. All of the nerve monitoring that they had to do went well, and it all ended up taking less time than expected. Recovery went well, and I was into my private room by lunch time. My recovery in my room went well. I was able to go home Thursday evening. Since coming home, things have gone pretty well. I already have cabin fever, but just my trip to the grocery store has worn me out. I spent most of the day Saturday in bed on pain meds. Today (Sunday) has been a little better, but I am ready to go to bed right now too. I almost have my voice back, but it does still sound a little fuzzy at times. I am eating solid food without any problems. For the most part, swallowing doesn't hurt, although hiccups, sneezing, coughing, clearing my throat yawning, etc HURTS! I have a good amount of my range of motion back, but I am still moving my head pretty slow. All of that being said, I am still VERY SORE. There is still a lot of bruising that is very uncomfortable. And it all itches so bad!!! All the stitching is all on the inside, so they will dissolve. But the outside of wound is "super-glued", which will peel off within the next couple of weeks. This method should minimize the lasting scar that I will have, and over time, just a faint line should be visible. As far as how it feels to have that HUGE mass gone, the only way I can describe it is that it feels hollow in my throat. (I know...doesn't make a lot of sense, just don't know how else to explain it!)

Next up, I go see the Endocrinologist on Wednesday, Jan. 4th, and then I go see the surgeon again on Jan 10th. The Endo should get me started on meds, to make up for the missing thyroid, and we will go from there. I hope that we get that all worked out quickly, and I am back to normal (or as close as possible) soon! :)

And for those who are curious, here are some pictures!

This is just a couple of hours after surgery:

And this is one day after surgery:

And this is today (4 days after surgery):

Thank you all for the continued thoughts and prayers. I will continue to update this blog thru my process.

~rlb