Surgery!

Awake eating crackers with my Vicodin so thought I'd update!

We arrived in Irvine the evening before surgery. The drive was full of traffic but we expected it because of the time and area we were traveling in. We checked into our hotel and then went to pick up takeout at The Cheesecake Factory, which we passed on our way in. This is a memory from back when I first knew my Mom. She took me there for my 22nd birthday, along with my GriefShare leaders. We didn't know they existed outside of Houston so we HAD to eat there! We took it back to the hotel so that we could watch NCIS. I checked in at Disneyland on Facebook (we were within walking distance!) to be funny. Afterwards, I took my pre-surgery Hibiclens shower and we turned in. I actually slept pretty well until about 4am. Up at 6am to get ready for surgery! Another Hibiclens shower and we packed up and loaded the car. We were only 5 minutes from the hospital so it was a quick drive. Left the car with Valet (free for outpatient surgeries!) and headed upstairs. Signed some paperwork and waited a bit, then got pulled back. Changed into my gown, funny socks and hair net, and moved into pre-OP. I had a few sweet nurses to get me ready for surgery. Met both Anesthesiologists, saw the surgeon, and saw his resident. My surgery was scheduled for 9:45, but delayed until 10:15 due to the Dr. overlooking my allergy to Penicillin, which meant the antibiotics on my IV (not turned on yet) and the antibiotics that had been prescribed for home were both cousins of Penicillin and not safe. So we had to wait for them to change the IV antibiotics before we could get started. I remember the Anesthesiologist giving me something to relax, and when i started feeling it i told my Mom "I'm starting to go, tell me bye!" Haha. As they wheeled me off I said back to her "I'm coming back as a Bionic Woman!" hahaha! I remember being in the OR almost "gone," when a nurse tried to take my stuffed Pooh and Piglet. I shot my eyes over to her and i read her lips saying "Oh, not yet!" That's the last thing I remember until after! I was in a lot of pain when I woke up from surgery. The nurse slowly gave me 2 doses of IV pain meds before the last one finally took the edge off. My golden response to anesthesia held true: no nausea whatsoever! I was downing ice chips as fast as my Mom would let me. She was being very stingy with them and even took them away at one point. My first words after waking up were in response to this, saying "Killy potty!" That's a funny way of saying party pooper for anyone who doesn't know :P I believe we left a little after 2. I didn't sleep the whole drive because my jaw was killing me. I have problems with that jaw hurting anyway, and it used to pop every time I opened my mouth up until I got a dental bridge on that side of my mouth about a year and a half ago. So no surprise it was so painful, but of course that doesn't help it feel better! The vibrations of driving and the stop-start in traffic and in town made the pain worse. I ate an applesauce pouch at the beginning of the drive to get something in my stomach, then I snacked on saltines the whole way home on and off. We stopped to use the restroom at one point (boy I must have been a sight! I tried not to notice the stares but it was impossible lol) and Mom got me a small sprite to sip on. The water seemed too heavy in my stomach. Got home about 5:30. I was very glad to arrive home! I took a 2 hour nap and then ate some ramen noodle soup. Uploaded pictures to Facebook and then wanted to lay down in bed. I watched a couple TV shows while eating popcicles (the popcicles I never ate after my tonsillectomy in December haha) and went to sleep at about midnight. Cody woke me up just before 2, pawing my arm to get back under the covers. This was so sweet to me, because he never sleeps with me all night anymore. He waits until I fall asleep and then he moves to his bed in the kitchen or to the living room. So the fact that he took the time to wake me up (not easy as his way of getting attention is whining, I guess he figured out the need to paw me lol) made me feel good :) It was almost time for meds so I got up and took them. And here I am eating saltines updating here! I'll post more as I move along in my recovery. I go back to see the surgeon on 3/7, and activation is 3/20!

Insurance Approval and Surgery Scheduled!

Got word on Tuesday that the insurance approved the surgery! We were given the option of having the surgery as soon as February 27 or March 6! I jumped at February 27 as that's only 1 week away! I also got the first of two Pneumococcal Meningitis vaccines that I need prior to surgery (CI implantees are at a slightly higher risk of developing this type of meningitis). WOWzers was that shot painful afterwards! Much worse than after a Tetanus shot! I have to get the booster in 8 weeks as well. Yuck! I'm very happy to get the surgery out of the way before midterms. I won't miss anything important at school, and I have all of my subs lined up for my 3 weeks off of work (starting tonight). All of my Professors are being very understanding and supportive. I will only miss one in-class assignment that can not be made up, but it's a very tiny amount of points and I was assured it would not affect my grade at all. For my other classes I have already begun handing in homework early that would be due while I am out. I plan to have it all finished and turned in by Tuesday. If I have time I want to get another week ahead beyond that so that I'm not doing homework while recovering.I took off of work tonight so that I could get ahead on some assignments, and took off on Sunday so that my Mom and I can attend the San Fransisco BEA Social! This is a gathering for those who have AB implants, who are in the process of getting, who are candidates, etc. They do it quarterly and I will get to attend it just days before my surgery, just in time! The men and women on the message board for AB are absolutely wonderful, and many of them will be there. It will be nice to put faces to screen names! It is a 4 hour drive in the opposite direction of UCI where I'm having my surgery. Mom and I will split the driving so it's not so hard on her come Tuesday and Wednesday when she'll be doing all of the driving. Although now that I type that I realize that there's no reason I can't drive us there! We will be driving to Irvine on Tuesday, the day before surgery, after I finish my classes and a tutoring appointment. So we'll leave at approximately 3pm and be there in time to have a late-ish dinner. Don't know my surgery or arrival time yet, but I do know they will try and get me in as close to first as possible since the procedure is outpatient and we have a 3 hour drive home, not including traffic. Praying we can get home before dark as it stinks major to drive down the Grapevine in the dark! I will return to UCI the following Thursday, March 7, for my post-op appt. After that, I will wait up to another 5 weeks before I can be activated! This means that I will be hearing before the semester ends! I will also be hearing before my Uncle's retirement party in D.C. in May, and a tour of Gallaudet University while were there! How much I will understand is unknown but I have high hopes due to my hearing history.

SO! On the list to accomplish before Tuesday is to;
1. Finish all of next week's homework and turn it all in
2. Do even more homework if I have time
3. Buy a button-up pajama shirt for post-op (not allowed to lift your arms over your head post-op)
4. Buy "Floaties" for my glasses, which will keep my glasses on my head despite the giant cup and bandage over my ear.
5. Pack a "Post-OP Car Ride Home" bag
6. Pack an overnight bag
7. Pack a "just-in-case-I-have-to-be-admitted-overnight" bag (haha)
8. Get post-op prescriptions filled
9. Anything else my brain can't think of at this time of night :P

I probably won't  get to writing my post about why I chose AB (Advanced Bionics) before surgery, but I will definitely get to it no later than Spring Break :) AB is years ahead of the other 2 cochlear implant companies and I am very blessed to have had the choice in which brand I wanted. In that post I will talk about the processor that I ordered and the additional one that I will get once it's approved by the FDA.

That's all for now, need to finish a homework assignment before I can call it a night! Thanks for everyone's support :)

Meeting the Surgeon & Pre-OP

Today was a very productive day for us at UCI! We went down to meet the Surgeon to talk about getting the implant. We had been squeezed in by the Audiologist so were prepared for a couple hour wait. I almost finished a homework assignment when we got pulled back, a mere 15 minutes after our appointment time! Someone took my vitals and put us in a room. Soon after the Surgeon's Resident came in. She asked a bunch of questions, as well as went over all things CI surgery. What he will do, risks, discharge, activation, etc. She then took a look in my ears and got the nasty surprise of my jacked up eardrums 4 weeks after repair. I got to watch on a TV screen, much clearer than using a hand mirror and otoscope :P It was pretty gross, so she suctioned a lot of the blood clots out. Then she decided to leave it for the Surgeon. He came in a bit later and left once he realized the Resident had taken my CT and MRI CD's to upload them. He went to look at those and came back. He said they looked great; nothing to contraindicate an implant. He went over some things about surgery and post-OP, and asked if I had decided which implant I wanted. I have decided on the Advanced Bionics implant for many reasons (which I still need to post about!). He took a look in my ears and got more blood clots out. Then he decided we would do all of my pre-op stuff that day to avoid more trips (we live 3hrs away). The pre-op nurse came in and went over the pre-surgery and surgery-day stuff. She tried to get the Audiologist in so we could choose processors, colors, cable lengths, etc, but she had just started a hearing test so we will be doing that by email. She sent us over to Radiology to get a chest x-ray done. I have asthma and the Surgeon wanted to ensure my lungs were clear before surgery. I had to put my pigtails in a ponytail on the top of my head for the x-ray, and most definitely looked like Alex-Lou-Hoo! The x-ray techs got a kick out of it! They were very interested to hear about the CI and how I would hear with it. Then we went to the Lab for, well, labs, haha. My lab tech loved my Piglet (who has accompanied me to both of my appt's)! Even said Bye to him when we left (so my Mom says ha)! Then it was time to get back on the road! Traffic, traffic, more traffic, and a stop at In-n-Out later, we made it home safe and sound, feeling very blessed :) Right now were waiting for insurance approval, and then we will schedule the Big Day! Were shooting for March 20 (he only does surgery on Wednesdays). Spring Break is that following week, so I will get the required week of down-time, plus a few days, and only miss 2 days of school. Activation will follow 6 weeks later! I will be activated in time for my brother and sister's visit, as well as my Uncle's retirement party in DC! Super stoked!!