Christy is out of surgery. Everything's cool. Just had the consult with the scalpel jockey. Darn it, forgot to get his picture! Anyway, her maxillary sinuses have been thoroughly scraped and reshaped. The doc said that she's probably going to feel like she's had all her teeth pulled. Yowzers!
The whereabouts of Charlie the Unicorn is still under investigation. But since you're all on pins and needles, I provide you with The Impossible Quiz.
Casey found this. You have her to thank, or curse, depending on how hard this quiz sucks you in. And YES, there is an answer, or method, or procedure, for EVERY question. Every question has an answer. They all have a rhyme or a reason. Enjoy!!!
After MANY attempts, I've made it to question 45. I'll be trying again later.
...and we're still waiting to get called back to the O.R.
Jason
It's noon, and we've got the oh-so-necessary-if-you-don't-have-one-you'll-die-on-the-operating-table-pre-op screening out of the way. And guess what? Christy is STILL having her surgery. She fooled 'em good.
So we're waiting to be called back to the dressing room so Christy can get her new threads. She's starving and there's no food in sight.....which is probably a good thing since that would mess her surgery thing up.
We'll post more later...
Jason
1.) Port de-accessed and re-accessed. Check
2.) Packed. Check
3.) Shaved. Check
4.) Instructions given to Jason on keeping my blog updated. Check
5.) Sleep medicine taken. Check
6.) Daughter and dog in good hands. Check :)
7.) Eaten everything in site since I'm NPO until surgery tomorrow. Check
8.) Getting a good night's sleep. Soon to be check I hope!!
Night all. I'll probably update at Duke before my surgery, and Jason will update afterwards. Pre-op is at 8:45, and I have to be at surgery check-in at 11:15. I would say surgery will be around 1:00 or so. Thanks so much for all your thoughts and prayers!!
My daughter has applied to an IBO school for next year in the Middle Years Programme. I'm just curious if any of you have any experience with these schools. I know that they will offer her more of a challenge, and better prepare her for college than the traditional public school. I'd like to hear your opinions. By the way, she'll be getting her SAT scores at the end of this week. I'm curious to know what she makes on them as a 7th grader.
Positive things in my life (inspired by Lori's positive thinking post)...
1.) Sinus surgery will help with the infection of my sinuses and I'll be feeling much better soon!
2.) My mom loves me and would never criticize me like this mom.
3.) My daughter is smart, motivated, and has goals beyond tomorrow's middle school drama.
4.) My prednisone dose will be reduced to my maintenance dose of 5 mg in 2 1/2 weeks.
5.) I have tons of friends and family praying for me. :)
6.) My hubby loves me no matter what my faults are (and I have many).
7.) I can be a stay at home mom.
8.) I live in America.
9.) Even though tons of my CF friends have passed on, I had the great opportunity to know them first.
10.) God loves me!
And Lori, even though my post doesn't contain a cruise to Bermuda (yet), I have hopes that one day soon it will. :)
Duke called me on Friday to let me know my surgery will be this Wednesday. Thankfully, I won't have to go earlier than Wednesday to do my pre-op. They are letting me do it that morning.
I'll be getting the Caldwell Luc procedure done (don't click on that link if you have a weak stomach). My 3 previous sinus surgeries were done endoscopically, which was much less invasive. They will actually be drilling through bone this time to help assist in the draining of my sinuses. Of course, this will not be a permanent fix for my sinus problems.. no surgery ever is for those with Cystic Fibrosis. The chronic infections we have are just that.. chronic, so the infection can be managed, but not eradicated. This surgery though, is supposed to assist in better irrigation of the sinuses as opposed the previous surgeries I've had.
I think side effects from the surgery include pain (of course, LOL), numbness of the gums for several weeks, facial swelling, and bruising. There are other more serious side effects that I choose to ignore. :) My surgeon is excellent, and I trust him very much. I couldn't be in better hands!!
I am hoping to be discharged on Friday, with a follow-up to the ENT doc next week. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
Jenn passed away yesterday morning. I have not wanted to post this all day. I kept hoping the posts about her were wrong and someone would come back and say she's still with us, she's still fighting. It seems that so many people are losing their battle with this disease lately. I'm so sad that Jenn didn't get that second chance at life with a new set of lungs. My heart goes out to her fiance Andy and her family. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.
I'm sorry I haven't updated on Jenn, but I haven't heard any news at all. I keep checking my CF forums for updates, but so far there are none. I am praying that no news is good news! I will update as soon as I hear/read something.
I've been having some edema (swelling) that I normally don't have, so I am headed out to get blood work to make sure my kidney function is stable. I still haven't heard back from the ENT on a surgery date, so I guess I'll be calling them again in the next day or 2 to see if it's scheduled.
Casey was out of school yesterday because of the tiny amount of snow we had. By 9:00, it was mostly melted.. LOL, but it was really nice having her home all day.
I'm almost caught up on my photography class. I have a few small assignments to do today, and I should be caught up. I have learned a little, and hope to learn a lot more in the next class that I'm taking in March.
Please keep my dear friend (and living-related lobar sister) Lori in your prayers. She was the first transplant recipient I ever met. She had the 2nd living-related lobar transplant at Duke, and I had the 4th. What a great friend she's been to me. It has been almost 9 years since her transplant and she is experiencing some chronic rejection. She also has something else going on with her lungs that the docs can't put their finger on. She'll be getting a bronchoscopy (biopsy of the lobes) in about 2 weeks to hopefully get a diagnosis. Please pray that her numbers come back up and that she's feeling back to normal soon.
I am asking all of my blog readers to please keep Jenn in your prayers. She has CF and is currently in the ICU hooked up to a ventilator. She had a major bleed in her lungs a few days ago, and isn't doing well at all. Please pray for her, her fiance Andy, and the rest of her family.
This is very shocking news. Jenn just posted on her blog last Thursday. Live today like it's your last, because you just never know. How sad I am tonight after hearing about this.
So, I called today to see when my sinus surgery is scheduled, since I haven't heard anything from them. The lady at my ENT's office paused after I told her my name and why I was calling. She said "Oh no, I have you down for the surgery today!!!" I was like "WHAT???" She said, "yeah, we thought you were still in the hospital and have you scheduled for surgery today." I actually remained very calm!!! :) After working this little "error" out, she said she'd call me with the surgery date soon. I made sure to remind her that I need it before I go off of these IV's, so that I will be covered with antibiotics at the time of transplant, and that I didn't want to have to go through desensitization again. She said she got it, and will get in touch with me about a date.
It was a lazy weekend. I have had bad GI problems on these IV's. It's been a long time since I've been on a cephalosporin, and I forgot what they did to me. I've lost some weight, but actually ate pretty good today, so I'm sure I'll gain it back.
Casey took me makeup shopping today. She's trying to transform me. I hate to tell her this, but you can't do much to get that youthful look back shy of plastic surgery. We did wind up getting some really good things though. Let's see if they work now. haha!
Hope all is well with everyone in the blogging world!
