Post-Op

{I really want to blog about our Californian vacation we just took, but I figured I should write about my surgery first....so the CA post will come soon!}

So yesterday I got the lump/tumor/thing taken out of my thigh. I had been nervous for this surgery for weeks! I was nervous for my procedure for numerous reasons:

1. I would be AWAKE
2. The biopsy results will tell us if the lump/thingie is anything serious
3. How much money the procedure will cost
4. The pain

A few years ago I started to get really squeamish when it comes to blood, shots, and all that fun stuff, so I was extra nervous for this lovely lump/thing removal. My family kept telling me to just stay calm and that everything would be okay. Yesterday morning I got up early to take a long hot shower to calm my nerves. Once Petey and I got to the hospital we had to wait....and wait...and wait. The waiting game makes me even more nervous! Once we were ready to go the Dr. brought over the needle to start numbing my leg. At that moment I closed my eyes as tight as I could and did not open them again until the surgery was over!! Petey even helped cover my eyes for a little bit because he knew what the consequences would be if I saw anything that was going on. The numbing shots hurt pretty bad (I'm pretty sure no one likes shots though...especially when you have to get 4!)

The Dr. then started the procedure which was uncomfortable and scary, but wasn't too bad. Once he started trying to remove the thingie I could feel a little pain, so he then gave me even more shots to make sure I was numb. I could feel the Dr. and his assistant pulling and putting pressure on my thigh. I was sooooo happy once the procedure was over!!! When the Dr. started to stitch me up he hit a nerve which hurt REALLY bad!! It sent a shock all the way down my leg, I wasn't prepared for that! Once the procedure was over I felt pretty good, but on the way out I saw some of the gauze that had blood on it and that's when I started to have a freak-out-attack. We went to the lobby to schedule a post-op appointment next week where the Dr. will just check that my incision is healing right. Once in the lobby my head started to spin, I was thinking about blood and envisioning what I had just gone through (even though I didn't even watch!). Petey was talking to the receptionist when I started to black out. I sat down and felt like I was going to throw up. I started to sweat and felt light headed (even blogging about this is making me feel a little sick haha). I focused on breathing for like 15 minutes and then felt okay enough to make it to the car. It probably took another 30-ish minutes for me to recover, but after that I was okay.

I was able to walk around without much pain for a few hours after the surgery....and then the numbing medication wore off. After the medication was out of my system I could barely walk/move my left leg without screaming. Poor Petey had to carry me around the house. My thigh doesn't even hurt that bad, it's just where the stitches are that hurts badly. Whenever my leg tightens up when I walk my stitches feel so tight that I want to cry (the pain was so bad this morning that I did cry haha). We called the Dr.'s office this morning and they were able to call in a pain medication for me since Advil wasn't cutting it! I've had stitches a million times, but never in my leg, so walking is kind of hard. The Dr. first told me that recovery wouldn't be that bad and that I could even work the day after....well I'm so glad my boss gave me today off to because there is NO WAY I would be able to work today! I have a 5 hour shift tomorrow and I'm worried I won't even be able to handle that! If I was able to sit at my job I would be fine....but I have to stand the entire time, so tomorrow might be interesting. The Dr. did tell me that the removal processes was harder than he thought it was going to be because the thingie was deeper than initially thought.

We will likely find out the biopsy results tomorrow or Monday. I'm feeling really optimistic that everything will be okay!! My family has been so amazing and supportive the past 6 weeks since this journey started.  I love them so much!!!!! Petey has been so incredible the past few days and I love him more everyday! I will keep you all posted on the results! Wish me/us luck :)