It's the day after surgery, and I'm doing really well! I can't thank everyone enough for all the support and well wishes. I went into this surgery having no expectations so that I couldn't be disappointed if reality didn't live up to what I pictured in my head and I think that is the best thing I could have done. I put everything I had into the last surgery. I hoped that it would fix me... I hoped for a miracle. The lymph node transfer has definitely helped and I'm glad I did it but going into it I expected a lot more so when it came up short I was a little devastated. I have not had the same experience this time and I don't think I could be happier with the results.
We arrived at the hospital at 6:30. They took me back to the pre-op area and got me ready. I had the same nurse from my last surgery so that was kind of cool. She remembered me and we got to talk and reminisce a little as she prepared me for the surgeons. My favorite part of having surgeries is the time between being wheeled into the surgical room and slowly drifting off to sleep. When I wake up I always try my hardest to think back to the last thing I can remember before falling asleep. This time I remember being wheeling into the room, they helped me switch over to the surgical table, they stretched my arms out on the arm boards, and all the doctors were standing by my feet. My surgeon called in the time and then I was gone. The surgery lasted about 3 hours. I woke up around noon in some pain, but they quickly helped to get that under control. As soon as the pain settled my mom came back to see me. I woke up not completely out of it so sadly no funny videos this time. I did talk to my sister Jessica on the phone when my mom came back. She said it was funny because I just wanted to tell her everything, but other than that I was good to go. My doctor came to check on me real quick before they discharged me, and then they wheeled me out. The nurse that wheeled me to the car was very "impressed" with my coordination so soon after waking up from surgery. He was very nice. My surgeon talked to my parents before I woke up and let them know the surgery went very well. They were able to get a liter and a half of whatever they take out with liposuction from my calf and thigh. They made 4 incisions which gave them access to do the liposuction, and they took quite a bit off of the bump on my ankle in the scar revision. The goal for the scar revision was to make it look more uniform by taking off as much of the skin graft as possible so eventually only the piece of my neck skin will be there. This will make it look less patchy which will make me happier. I am still in some pain, but I do have medicine for that. As long as I remember to take the drugs on time the pain stays under control. I have to keep it wrapped up to prevent further swelling which has been kind of hard because my leg has been leaking fluid so my bandages keep getting dirty. I've already rewrapped it about 5 times. Good thing lymphedema has trained me to be a professional wrapper. As long as my leg is wrapped and I'm properly impaired I can walk around a little bit which I like because I'm pretty independent. I am happy with the results so far and can't wait to see what it looks like when it is all healed up. I will be posting some before and after picture later down the line for you guys after everything has settled down and I’ve had time to heal a bit more. Thanks for being awesome, everyone! Comments are closed.
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AuthorHi, my name is Sydney, and I have Primary Lymphedema. I created this blog to share my journey, and I hope that by sharing my story I can help those who are on a similar path. Archives
April 2017
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