Home and Resting!!

Well, I was "sprung" from NYU yesterday morning at about 10 AM - only about 76 hours from check-in! Really amazed that I was able to come home so soon. It was primarily because I was able to keep food down and get up and move around - that seems to be kind of the measuring stick as to whether you're well enough to come home - well, that and the other little details like BP and heart rate and other stuff...

The surgery ran a little longer than the family was anticipating, but about what the surgeon suggested at between 5 and 6 hours. I, of course, was blissfully unaware. The bliss ended rather abruptly when the woke me up in the OR in order to "cough out" the breathing tube - immediately followed by an urgent need to throw up!

Spent the entire night in the Recovery Room (no beds in Neuro ICU because some other brain surgery patient didn't apparently get out in time - clearly needs to toughen up a bit!) The RR is like a full body ER episode - complete with lots of noise, machines, trauma, etc. They were literally bringing people in all night - amazing. This, coupled with pretty intense head pain for me, meant pretty much no sleep all night. I was being tended by a neuro nurse - she had me and the other AN surgery patient from the day all to herself. Through-out the night, she checked stats, tested relfexes, gave meds, etc - lovely young woman. I was treated to a very nice "bath" at 2 AM - it felt good to be cleaned up a little.

Next day I was moved, at about 3 PM, to a Post Surgical ICU step-down room, which meant that a couple of my IVs were removed and also the catheter (at 1 AM - which is odd.) Next morning, before 8 AM , they moved me down the hall to a regular room. I was able to get up and walk to the bathroom - a huge event, believe me! By later that day, I was given the "all clear" to take a walk around the halls with Willie in attendance.

It was lovely having Mom, Dad, Willie, Kura and Ellen coming in and out and visiting me - and continuing to tell me I looked great (even though that was FAR from true!)

The biggest good surprise for me was that I seem to be escaping the extreme dizziness and imbalance issues that so many folks have. I walk very slowly, but my balance is okay for the most part.

The bad news is that my face is "numb" which is akind way of saying I have temporary palsy on my right side. So what does that mean? I have a very lopsided smile and a slightly droopy right eye. Eating is a bit challenging because I can't really operate the right side of my mouth - and things tend to not stay in my mouth if I am not careful. Soup was a complete disaster, as was rice (although both good for a few laughs!) The cheerios this morning were actually manageable!

The big question, of course, is how long the palsy will last - could be a couple of months, could be more like 5 or 6 months. No way to tell yet. So, everyone will have to adjust to my "pirate smile" for awhile.

I'll post some pics in the next few days - so you can all see my stunning headress from the hospital! It was like a giant,very tight turban - guess they needed it to make sure the skull actually stayed together! It was a huge relief when they took it off yesterday - literally felt like a giant tight headband had been removed - totally great!

I enjoyed my first shower and shampoo today - it was heaven! It wore me out, but worth every moment. You can't imagine how wonderful it was to get some of the crud off my hair! They only shaved a small inch long strip alongside my ear, but the remaining hair was "varnished" to the side of my head with something very much like cement. It will take several shampoos to get it all out, but at least I got a good start on it. And, the good news is that my hair completely covers the giant incision on the side of my head. Let's just hope it distracts somewhat from my asymetrical face!

More later - thanks for the comments and emails.