Thyroidectomy

It was the day of surgery and the nerves started coming. I was ready to get this horrible disease out of my body. I feared the surgeon would not be able to get it all. I feared it had spread. I feared the ugly battle scar the surgery would leave behind.

I arrived at the Cleveland Clinic bright and early. I was taken back to pre-op to get prepped for surgery. I changed into a hospital gown and slipper socks. Then, I got the best thing of being in the hospital, the warm blanket! I sat there in the hospital bed anxious and nervous about my surgery. The doctors finally gave me some medications to calm my nerves and I started to feel a little more at ease.

My family and friend Suehad were able to come back and see me before the surgery. I guess the medication made me act a little loopy. I had a stuffed animal flamingo and began to talk to it and pet it. Drugs are a powerful thing; it’s crazy how much they can affect your mind.

So, after some time with my family, I was wheeled off to surgery. I was put on the operating table and hooked up to several different machines. I was then told to count backwards from 10.

The next thing I remember is waking up in recovery. I woke up feeling extremely anxious and in pain. The pain wasn’t too severe but, the anxiety was what bothered me the most. Anxiety is probably one of the hardest things to deal with. It feels like you’re having a heart attack and your going to throw up. I just wanted to go back to sleep and wake up when I was at home in my bed.

The nurse came by and asked how I was feeling and gave me medication for pain. My mom and dad were able to come in and see me once I was fully awake. I kept asking for my sister, I just wanted to see my sister but she was not allowed to come back until I was in my room. I asked the nurse if she knew if I was going to have to get radiation. She told me she did not know and that I would have to ask the doctor. Being in the drugged state, I got mad at the nurse and told her she was no help. My family tells me that I offended the nurse but I honestly don’t even remember talking to her.

I was taken to my room for the night, which, was basically set up like an emergency room. I did not have my own room or even a room shared with just one other person; just curtains separated the beds. It was really frustrating at night because they could not turn off lights. They gave me an eye mask and headphones but I just wanted to get out of there. I had to keep using the restroom every 5 minutes and I would kick my slipper socks off every time so the nurse had to keep coming to get me to take me to the restroom and put my socks on. I left bad but I can’t sleep with my socks on.

I was supposed to have a bunch of my gymnastics friends come visit me but the weather was crazy that day so none of them made it. My family and Suehad were there for a while but then they had to go. I had a hard time sleeping with the lights being on and my anxiety of being in a different place was a killer.  I was ready to get out of there. I was happy to wake up in the morning and see my daddy there. (I am such a daddy’s girl) J

I finally got discharged and was told that I would need to take a calcium supplement and tums for a while because; when you have a thyroidectomy your parathyroid glands get messed with. This causes them to shut down and makes your calcium levels low.

For the following days after surgery I did not feel much pain. My neck was sore but, the pain was minimal and I was able to get off my pain medications right away. The numbness, tingling, and fatigue were the worst part. As the days went by it continued to get worse.  I called Dr. Shin several times and she told me to keep taking the supplements and tums and she promised it would subside.  Now, I hate tums. I hate them so much I want to gag from the smell of them. The numbness, tingling, and fatigue became so great that I was taking these like they were candy.  It was miserable! I was moving to Georgia in a few days and I did not want to deal with this.

Thoughts of moving to Georgia kept my mind occupied and the hope that I wouldn’t have to get radiation helped as well. I felt useless. I couldn’t pack. I couldn’t lift anything over 5 pounds. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t workout. I just wanted my life to be back to normal and I not have to sleep 15+ hours a day in order to function.

I needed prayer and I needed guidance. I was being stubborn and not trusting in God.