Pre-Conditioning

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Well....it's the final countdown! Less than a week till the procedure proceeds.

My countdownCountdown
The final days held some instructions for me to clean up my act, and really get things together. Basically, I get to use some special soaps for the next week, and attend some last-minute appointments. 

My Friday appointments were both pre-operation/Pre-OP assessments at VCU, to double-check all my medications, mental state, and any other health concerns that may have popped up since the last visit.

The first was a "History and Physical/Surgical Consent" that consisted of some basic questions about my birthday, smoking/drinking habits, and what medications I was taking. The second, an "Anesthesia Evaluation" consisted of questions about my birthday, smoking/drinking habits, and what medications I was taking. Seeing a pattern here? 

Please. No. 
The doctors did attempt to answer some questions about the procedure and recovery process, but unfortunately neither could really get into too much detail about my operations. They did their best, but all we could get was that I will be very tired, have some headaches, and may be normal in 6 weeks. Any information helps, but it was still a bit scary to think I would become the Walking Dead for more than a month. 

The true item of importance from that 6 hour visit was the soap kit and its instructions. That kit from the last update? That's in use now...and all of those official-looking bottles have their own special purpose to prep me for this week's operation. 

 Overall, it isn't too bad...Our water bill is hurting worse than my personal well-being. So I really shouldn't complain. Especially after the news I received today from my 2nd pre-OP appointment. 

This Monday'so appointment was a basic check-up also, with more of the same questions as the other two previous visits, but a bit of happiness sprung through the crappy Virginia muggy, pouring rain. 

First, we got a more specific run-through of my actual surgery procedure... 
Locations: 
VCU Peri-Surgical Unit

Gateway Building, 5th Floor 

1200 E. Marshall St.
VCU Center for Sleep Center2529 Professional Road
Richmond, VA 23235
  1. Thursday, Jan. 26: EEG Electrode Placements- 7:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. (ish)
    1. This procedure will open my head to place electrodes on my brain surface, in order to get a SUPER CLOSE reading of my seizure activity, to properly draw a line around the area that will be removed to stop these annoying little blackouts. 
    2. Post-surgery, I will be moved to an ICU to recover.
  2. Friday, 27-Saturday 28(maybe Sunday 29): ICU Recovery Time. 
    1. I'll be laying low, probably with some headaches, and very little movement. This will likely be Pixar Movie time, and some family bonding time.  
  3. Sunday 29/Monday 30-Feb. 1: EMU-Epilepsy Monitoring Unit 
    1. During the week, they will watch my brain activity during my seizures, to get that zoomed-in accurate picture of my removal area. Again, probably SUPER BORED...so PLEASE COME VISIT ME OR CALL OR TEXT!!!! I love you all, and company would be AMAZING this week!! <3 <3 xoxoxoxo
  4. Thurs, Feb. 2: Craniotomy-Frontal Lobe Removal
    1. Surgery Part II: This is the actual "slice-and-dice" where a chunk of my head is coming out. They will be removing the portion of my brain that was found to be causing my seizures. Scary...but worth it. No more seizures is the point of this, and I'm fully in support of this goal! 
  5. Friday, 3-Saturday 4(maybe Sunday 5): ICU Recovery Time
    1. I'll be laying low again, with some headaches and swellings, and apparently some Physical Therapy time to get me up and walking around...a few days of pain is still worth full recovery..
...and that's where the happy news comes in. My recovery time...the time that I will be out of it, and having headaches, and can't walk, and sleeping constantly...is only a few weeks. Not 2 months, not 6 months, DEFINITELY not a year....only a few weeks. 

It took until this appointment with my real doctor to reveal this very happy truth. I'm on a 4-week timeline of taking some slow recovery: 

Week 1: Some headaches, lethargy, slow moving...lots of Netflix and Crosswords...and sleeping more than my cat
Week 2: Fewer headaches, some naps, walking around slow for most of the day...still lots of crosswords and TV
Week 3: Maybe a few naps? Some basic slow exercise, up and walking, and my bedtime still pretty early
Week 4: Pretty much back to normal! Taking some crazy movement slow, no bouncing...but DEFINITELY not a Walking Dead. 

I can't explain how amazing it feels to have a faster recovery than expected. I can entertain anyone that wants to visit (please do! 😃) 

Everyone has been AMAZING with so much support for our entire family, and if I was a crier, I would be grabbing tissues daily from the generosity and nice messages these past weeks. THANK YOU ALL!!! I'll keep everyone up-to-date later this week as we move into my hospital room for a bit.