Ok, it's been about 48 hours since the surgery, and I know - you want play-by-play commentary.
I arrived at the surgical facility at 8:00 AM. The nurse took me and my husband back, had me sign off on the procedure and the wound care instructions. A new doctor, Dr. I came in to introduce himself - he would be assisting Dr. S. And then, I put on my gown, and Dr. S came in to meet my husband and talk about our game plan.
The CT scan looked good - it hadn't gotten down to the bone. His one caveat is that, having never worked with this exact type of tumor before, he couldn't say for sure he would be able to get all of it, if it wasn't all clustered - he said it in a better medical way, but that's the gist. We talked about the suture, possible wound issues, etc. I asked if he thought we were dealing with Pilomatrical Carcinoma and he said he was sure of it.
They got me on the table and stuck this ground wire on me - since they'd need to cauterize me for bleeding.
And with that, Nurse M started draping the area and cutting back my hair. She then kicked my husband out, and started giving me the lidocaine shots to numb the area.
With that, Drs. I and S came in and started cutting. We talked while they worked - about travel, food, work - Dr. S was teaching Dr. I while they worked, and I could tell he was a very good, patient teacher. Nurse M had told me that is what she liked about Dr. S. I had to agree. I remember telling them that I could tell this was a happy workplace.
After some time, they took they first section of tumor to the lab for a good look. They told me it would take about an hour. They packed the wound, sat me up and let Matt come in. We waited for a bit, then I asked to use the bathroom - so she unhooked my ground wire and I headed to the ladies' room. I started to seep through my bandages, so I made it quick, and when I got back, she settled me back in and rewrapped me much tighter.
After about an hour, she came back and told me they'd need to go back in and take more - but thankfully, they wouldn't have to go wider - just deeper.
Think about that for a second. The wound, at that point, measured 5 centimeters by 7 centimeters Not insignificant. Think too about how 'deep' it is from scalp to skull... not very!
By then, the lidocaine was starting to wear off, I was starting to hurt, and I was definitely feeling panicky. I asked Nurse M if I would be able to get a little more lidocaine before they started again, and she assured me she would re-inject the entire area before they got started.
They kicked my husband out again, and got back to work. This time, they were cutting for a much shorter time, and in what felt like minutes, they rewrapped me and took another chunk of scalp to pathology.
My husband came back in, and this time, I didn't have much energy to talk or focus. Another hour passed, and they came back with good news. All clear - time to close it up.
Because of the size and type of the wound, there would be some strategy. They would have
to use a purse-string type suture. Go ahead, look up what that looks like. I'll be waiting.
Yeah, it's freaky. Nice, huh?
Anyway, that's what they did. And that brought the aperture down to about 2 cm sq opening. Which they covered with a cotton ball, saturated in vaseline -they covered that with a piece of gauze, then sewed all that together. They called it a bolster, and yeah, look that up while you're at it.
Basically, I'm walking around with the make-up removal aisle of the drugstore strapped to my scalp.
So, anyway - they closed it up, and bandaged me again with Telfa and Coban (non-stick gauze pads and that stretchy bandagey stuff that sticks to itself, but not you). They had to go under my chin and around the head a bunch to get it to stay, and it gave me a faux mohawk kind of look. Nurse M cleaned up some of the blood I'd gotten pretty much all over my head and neck - and sent me home with peroxide, more Coban and more Telfa. Oh, and... a scrip for Loritab.
I made an appointment to get my sutures out on Wednesday, and with that, my husband and I headed to the car. We caucused, decided to get the scrip filled and have lunch out on the town. I found, thankfully, a baseball cap in the trunk, and we ended up at a pub in our neighborhood. Well, with my jaw racheted down, I couldn't do much to eat - so I ended up with cheese fries. They were awesome. I also managed to choke down a cookie - what a trooper!
We got my narcotics, and headed home. By then, it was about 3PM. I ended up taking a pill, then zonking out for a nap.
I got up at five, killed some time with my Kindle, we ordered a pizza, watched True Grit (the new one) and went to bed.
I woke up early yesterday, felt good - but still glad to have the day off. I went to a fabric store and bought a few pieces of fabric to be used in disguising my scary scalp. I watched far too many hours of shitty TV and attempted to eat sensibly. I did pretty well. I also cleaned my husband's bathroom and put up a new shower curtain liner. I even made dinner.
Last night, I met my friend Rosie for Project Runway, and felt fine.
In fact, I wasn't at all tired for bed last night, but I sacked out pretty quickly once my head hit the pillow.
Today, I came back to work with a scarf tied firmly over my wound. And nobody has said a word, leading me to believe that someone must have spread the word to be nice to my cancer surviving ass.
Or, people really just don't notice anything.
Either way, the next big milestone is tomorrow - I can wash my hair. Selectively. And I don't have to bandage up, which means I can try to go scarfless! Tuesday, when the gauze comes off and cotton gets removed, then I get to wash with reckless abandon. Sort of.
I cannot wait, because dang, it's itchy.
But, I don't have a tumor on my scalp anymore, and that's a good thing.
Lest you think I'm done posting, I'm not.
Because if you're reading this, it's probably because you want to know what happens next.
As soon as I find out, I'll let you know.
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