Picture of Ivonne Working On Lung Re-Expansion
November 25, 2014
Yesterday was quite a long day for my family and me. It started at 3:30AM, and didn’t really come to an end till 8:00PM or so. Thankfully, Surgery went well and I’ve managed to get a couple of naps in throughout the night time hours!
In a nutshell, surgery consisted of a hysterectomy (which is the removal of the uterous, ovaries were not removed) and a partial cystectomy (removal of a piece of my bladder). It was all done “Robotically), which is pretty wild! Six dime-size holes were made on my abdomen through which a camera and all instruments were inserted. The “Robot” used for my surgery had (4) arms each of which was controlled via a computer that the respective Doctors operated during their portion of the surgery. The staff for surgery consisted of the Urologist and a Urology fellow, the GYN and the GYN Fellow, The Anestheciologist and her assistant, and a handful of nurses.
*Today I’ve been letting my body heal, trying to rest, and starting to walk around my floor a bit .
*There’s a small loop we can walk on our floor here at mSKCC – 14 laps = 1 mile!
*I had to start pain meds this afternoon as well because everything is now feeling extremely sore and tender. My body actually went into shock for a bit this afternoon as all of the anesthecia wore off, which was a wild experience. The only medication that did the trick was Morphine!
*I’m also working with Arnika, which is a natural anti-inflammatory.
*I have to work on re-expanding my lungs as well. The anastecia and Carbon Dioxide used during surgery (and the long length of time in surgery) causes the lungs and tissue around them to sort of collapse a bit. (Carbon Dioxide is used to expand the inside of the body in order to create more space for the Doctors to work with the instruments.)
*I have a catheter in place to minimize any pressure on my bladder while it heals.
*I’m still on a liquid diet, and boy am I starting to feel hungry!
*Lots of rest is in order!
Huge thanks and gratitude to everyone who has E-mailed, called, and texted my family and me; thank you to those who came by to visit with me today too. We are greatful for all of the positive energy, the encouragement, and support we are receiving!
Namaste,
Ivonne
Hey Ivonne,
Its Carlos Lugo from back in the day. Glad to hear your surgery went well. Will pray for a speedy recovery!