Surgery - Day 1
5/5/16: Thymectomy
All went just fine. I was pretty nervous and a little depressed in the week or two leading up to the surgery. I'd never had surgery, not sure what to expect, scared that my MG symptoms would lead to complications, lots of fear of the unknown.
Once I arrived at the hospital, I think I was doing ok. No turning back now, may as well just try to relax. Luckily the folks at Duke were SO NICE and just made me feel like it was no big deal. And considering my surgeon most often deals with lung cancer or transplant patients, I think my case was no big deal to them (I don't mean that they didn't care, I mean they were positive and upbeat and just didn't seem to be worried about complications, which helped ease my mind a lot). They gave me the sleepy drugs, and last thing I remember, they were wheeling me into the OR at 7:30 am.
Afterward, I was told that they didn't start the surgery until 9am, and it wasn't finished until about Noon.
When they woke me, I was of course REALLY groggy, not able to move anything but fingers, toes, lips and nod my head a bit (yes or no). I was aware and able to understand and respond to their questions, but I could not breathe...that was the scary part. I was gasping for air and told them a couple of times that I could not breath. They put an oxygen mask of some kind over my face and I was still gasping, but somehow after a short time (no idea how long...maybe just 20-30 seconds? maybe a minute?) I figured out how to take tiny breaths. Worst for me after that was the pain of the chest tube. I felt like all my muscles were tensed up and I could not relax because of it, breathing was painful. They couldn't give me more pain meds for fear of having to intubate me again (all I wanted was to go back to sleep!).
It was 3pm before I actually opened my eyes fully for the first time. I was aware and responsive, just did not want to be :-) At that point I was in ICU, my husband had been back with me for a while and the first thing I noticed was a clock on the wall...I was really curious how long this had been going on, so I was surprised to see it was 3pm already! About another hour before they moved me to my room.
One of the pastors from my church was the first visitor, not long after I got into my room. I felt so bad because I was still not breathing very well, and talking was difficult. So he didn't stay long, but it was nice to see him there! (I apologized to him later for being a terrible hostess, lol!) The pain meds were starting to kick in a little better, I was starting to relax, and that in itself made me more comfortable. They still didn't want to give me too much pain medication, and the chest tube was really making it painful to breathe (although now I wonder if my lungs just weren't quite inflated properly, and that was part of it?).
By 6pm, I was feeling better...able to move my arms, alert enough to talk to my husband. A friend of mine came to visit and we watched old Seinfeld episodes until visitor hours were over. By that point, I felt things were pretty well managed. My nurse also introduced me to the spirometer, and showed me how to use it. I had no idea that my lungs would be affected as much as they were, but using that thing made me feel MUCH better! Chest tube still hurt, so I didn't want to sit up or move very much. Also, they didn't let me have ANYTHING AT ALL to drink until about 7:30, my throat and lips were so dry, I thought I would just choke to death. So relieved when the restriction was lifted and they brought me a huge cup of ice water (yes, I was careful, didn't try to guzzle the whole thing at once). I swear it was many hours before I felt like my mouth wasn't completely dried out anymore.
All went just fine. I was pretty nervous and a little depressed in the week or two leading up to the surgery. I'd never had surgery, not sure what to expect, scared that my MG symptoms would lead to complications, lots of fear of the unknown.
Once I arrived at the hospital, I think I was doing ok. No turning back now, may as well just try to relax. Luckily the folks at Duke were SO NICE and just made me feel like it was no big deal. And considering my surgeon most often deals with lung cancer or transplant patients, I think my case was no big deal to them (I don't mean that they didn't care, I mean they were positive and upbeat and just didn't seem to be worried about complications, which helped ease my mind a lot). They gave me the sleepy drugs, and last thing I remember, they were wheeling me into the OR at 7:30 am.
Afterward, I was told that they didn't start the surgery until 9am, and it wasn't finished until about Noon.
When they woke me, I was of course REALLY groggy, not able to move anything but fingers, toes, lips and nod my head a bit (yes or no). I was aware and able to understand and respond to their questions, but I could not breathe...that was the scary part. I was gasping for air and told them a couple of times that I could not breath. They put an oxygen mask of some kind over my face and I was still gasping, but somehow after a short time (no idea how long...maybe just 20-30 seconds? maybe a minute?) I figured out how to take tiny breaths. Worst for me after that was the pain of the chest tube. I felt like all my muscles were tensed up and I could not relax because of it, breathing was painful. They couldn't give me more pain meds for fear of having to intubate me again (all I wanted was to go back to sleep!).
It was 3pm before I actually opened my eyes fully for the first time. I was aware and responsive, just did not want to be :-) At that point I was in ICU, my husband had been back with me for a while and the first thing I noticed was a clock on the wall...I was really curious how long this had been going on, so I was surprised to see it was 3pm already! About another hour before they moved me to my room.
One of the pastors from my church was the first visitor, not long after I got into my room. I felt so bad because I was still not breathing very well, and talking was difficult. So he didn't stay long, but it was nice to see him there! (I apologized to him later for being a terrible hostess, lol!) The pain meds were starting to kick in a little better, I was starting to relax, and that in itself made me more comfortable. They still didn't want to give me too much pain medication, and the chest tube was really making it painful to breathe (although now I wonder if my lungs just weren't quite inflated properly, and that was part of it?).
By 6pm, I was feeling better...able to move my arms, alert enough to talk to my husband. A friend of mine came to visit and we watched old Seinfeld episodes until visitor hours were over. By that point, I felt things were pretty well managed. My nurse also introduced me to the spirometer, and showed me how to use it. I had no idea that my lungs would be affected as much as they were, but using that thing made me feel MUCH better! Chest tube still hurt, so I didn't want to sit up or move very much. Also, they didn't let me have ANYTHING AT ALL to drink until about 7:30, my throat and lips were so dry, I thought I would just choke to death. So relieved when the restriction was lifted and they brought me a huge cup of ice water (yes, I was careful, didn't try to guzzle the whole thing at once). I swear it was many hours before I felt like my mouth wasn't completely dried out anymore.
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