A major milestone (for me) was reached today when the surgical staples were removed from my scalp. The photo shows my "zipper" - the neat row of staples installed by David Walker to close up the skin flap he created to access my skull. Forthe curious, have a look at:http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Ce-Fi/Craniotomy.html
These staples had become quite itchy over the last3-4 days and I was very relieved to get them out.
The job was very capably done by Briz Brain and Spine nurse, Vivian Biggs. The only minor problem we ecountered today was that David had also (interestingly) used some glue to close the cut and some of the staples did not want to let go of the glue,causing a few "ouch" moments.
This is my new look: a nice neat scar that will be hardly noticable in a few months.
What did not go so well today was a trip to my local GP, Heather Jeffries, to check if my right ear was blocked.I have not been hearing properly in that ear since the surgery and I had become convinced that it was blocked with wax or dried blood and was looking forward to getting it back to normal. Unfortunately, there was no huge blockage in there that could be cleaned out, and so this may be another side effect of the surgery. Possibly another thing that I will just have to wait for to rectify itself.(As I am also doing for my faulty emotional control!) Before the surgery I did tell David to be as aggressive as he could be without killing me.So perhaps this is part of the price I pay for that approach which will most likely give me the best long-term outcome which was also the reason for doing all this in the first place!
laurie, whenever i read your blog, i am amazed to see how fast your progress is. you know woman pay a lot of money to have a face that doesn't move...it is called botox. consider that a positive of your surgery. as for your hearing, again another positive... i have been deaf for years and my world is nice and quiet and peaceful.
ReplyDeletecheers eddi
Hi Eddi,
ReplyDeleteThat was very kind of you to try to lift my spirits by pointing out the less obvious advantages of the situation I find myself in right now. Don't be too concerned if you start seeing some negative sentiments coming out on this blog.I figure that if this is to be of any use to someone else going throught the sam thing, then I should be as frank as possible and describe the good,the bad and the ugly.overall, I am optimistic about my outlook for the nect few years. To me, these short-term problems are evidence that David Walker did perform an aggressive operation(as I wanted) and has therefore probably removed a fair bit of the tumour :-)
Chicks dig scars Laurie so you will be a mega chick magnet now!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's good to see you progressing, good to read your thoughts and feelings - the good and not so good.
We all wish you well and look forward to 'adventuring' with you again as soon as possible.
Cheers
Tess
PS my ex husband was industrially deaf in one ear - he always saw it as a blessing he he
your blog is really very informative.
ReplyDeleteDilator
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