4.27.2010

Day 1 of recovery

The phone rang at home this morning at 6:45am. It was Pablo pleading for me to go to the hospital. My mom was coming at 8am to get the kids and I was going to then head straight to the hospital. Due to the stupid snow that had fallen, it took me almost an hour to get to the hospital when it should only have taken about 20 minutes. Pablo was still in the recovery room when I got there at 9am because they hadn't found him a bed yet. We chatted about yesterday and I was really surprised that he remembered everything that had happened after the surgery.

Today was a really rough day for him. The pain is quite bad and got much worse as the day progressed. The left side of his face started swelling too and there is a chance that he might end up with a swollen black eye. The big incision from where they went in to get at the tumour required 30 staples and then he has 3 staples in his forehead and in two other locations at the back of his head from the pins that were utilized to put his head in a vice to prevent his head from moving during surgery. He is itchy like crazy and keeps trying to scratch his head only to touch areas with staples followed by a bit of swearing.

The surgeon who assisted in the surgery came by to see how he was doing and he repeated alot of what I was told by the head surgeon yesterday. He added that they were surprised to find that Pablo's tumour was a soft one. Turns out soft tumours are good and hard tumours are a pain in the ass. Because his turned out to be a soft tumour, it was that much easier to remove it. We have to wait another 6 days for the pathology results but the impression I got from this surgeon and the surgeon yesterday is that they'd be surprised if it was cancerous.

Pablo is going to stay at the hospital for a few more days I think. He has to get his pain under control and then they have to verify that he can 'do his business' properly, walk up a flight of stairs, eat, etc. We haven't tried the stairs but we went for a walk and he did really well. I went to the cafeteria to get myself a sandwich and Pablo requested a tuna sandwich which he gobbled up but chewing is rough. One thing the surgeon mentioned this morning is that in order to get to the tumour, they had to cut the muscle which allows you to chew so it'll be 2 to 3 months before the muscle is at 100% again. So no chewing steak for awhile...

When I was having a look at the incision, I noticed some letters in marker on the side of his neck and on his forehead - 'MFS'. We came to the conclusion that it was the assisting surgeon's initials and Pablo explained they do that because 1 in 5000 patients in Canada get opened up on the wrong side. Scary thought.

I'm hoping he'll be able to come home by Friday. It would be awesome to have him home for the weekend.

Time for some much needed sleep...sitting in a chair next to Pablo's bed for 9.5 hours was exhausting but I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else...

8 comments:

  1. I'm sorry he's in so much pain but the news continues to be good--soft tumor, etc. (You can accuse him of being soft in the head later.)

    I'm still here sending good thoughts--including thoughts for sleep for everyone! Hugs, Julia.

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  2. I'll say a prayer that it's good news for you, very promising though from what you've been told.

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  3. I'm sorry that he's in pain, but otherwise it sounds like everything is going really well :)

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  4. Really amazing how well he is doing..amazing he is not in more pain really all considered, so lucky so wonderful...cheers Katherine

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  5. ((((((Julia+Pablo)))))),

    Try to get this book from amazon.com or from your local library: "The Therapeutic Touch: How to Use Your Hands to Help or to Heal" by Dolores Krieger (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067176537X).

    The Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario (http://www.therapeutictouchontario.org) also holds workshops and sells a DVD about Therapeutic Touch.

    Therapeutic Touch is amazing. I used it on my Mom when she had colo-rectal cancer. It calmed her and relieved a lot of the pain. I also used it on my son when he had an infected mosquito bite on his back. I used it at night just before he went to bed and the next morning, there was no sign at all of the bite. Totally floored me.

    It's gonna take Pablo awhile to heal. Surgery is a real assault on the human body. But, the Therapeutic Touch, together with the love and prayers that surround him from his family and friends and people that care what happens to him will help him heal faster.

    Make sure you explain to Isabella that Daddy had a boo-boo inside his head and the doctors had to use some big equipment to fix it. Tell her he's all better now, but, he looks kind of scary because the equipment was so big.

    You're doing just what you need to do, Julia, loving him. Love can accomplish miracles. And Pablo is doing his part, too ... a very positive attitude does wonders.

    I'm so happy for you guys. Have patience for the total healing ... can take up to six months after major surgery. One day Pablo's gonna wake up and say "Wow, I feel like my old self again. I feel great." There's a lot of swamp to slog through before then. Have patience. Your steps are being guided by The Universe.

    BIG HUGS (and love and healing prayers).

    Barb

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  6. Thanks you guys. Yesterday and today were rough for Pablo but I keep reminding him that it's going to get better. Barb - when I have a sec I'll look into that book.

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  7. So great to hear it went well!! xoxo

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