Recovery: The First Week

This is probably my longest post as I was recovering for a week and a lot has happened!

Day #1: Monday June 13
Surgery day (see previous blog).  I forgot to mention in the last post; last night after arriving home from Johns Hopkins, Dr. Della Santina made a personal house-call to see how things were going.  I thought this was really thoughtful of him!

Day #2: Tuesday, June 14
I didn’t really sleep very well last night.  I was hurting so badly all over, like body aching.  It must be the anesthesia.  It was so uncomfortable sleeping with that ear guard on, I just want to lay on my side. My head was hurting so badly, sometimes I felt like I was seeing stars float around my head.  I woke up a few times to go to the bathroom, but I couldn’t stand up on my own or walk at all.  Peter had to get up and help me.  The ringing in my ear was nonstop.  It got really loud at times and gave me a killer headache!  Mom woke me up  this morning around 8:00am to give me my antibiotic.  I was so thirsty! My mouth tasted awful, as if I had a mouthful of metal. I wasn’t ready to get up out of bed, so I fell back asleep.  I woke up a couple hours later and that was a good nap! I was feeling okay at this point, until I physically got out of bed. Mom asked if I wanted to take a shower, but what I really wanted was a bath. The bath felt good for my body! But I was still pretty dizzy.

Mom and Peter made breakfast for all of us.  I was having a headache the whole time as I was eating; the ringing is just nonstop!  I tried to get up and walk around, then rested most of the day on the couch and my bed.  I was taking my antibiotic every 8 hours, switching back and forth between tylenol and ibuprofen every 3-4 hours.  I tried to watch T.V. but it was too much stimulation for me. There were a few times throughout the day where I dropped something and I bent down to get it; or that I wanted to pour myself some water from the Brita pitcher in the fridge.  I got fussed at for it because I wasn’t allowed to bend over or pick up heavy objects (even though the Brita pitcher isn’t heavy, it felt heavy!).  I completely forget and had to really remind myself that it was okay to depend on others to do that stuff for me.  

Later that day, my headaches were getting worse, the room was spinning around for short periods of time.  I noticed that my neck was really stiff, and it hurt to turn left and right (almost like having a strep-throat).  I noticed on the discharge papers that we needed to contact the doctor right away if I was experience any neck stiffness.  We called Dr. Della Santina and told him our concerns.  He asked if I could lift my leg up to my chest, and my facial expression was like “what the heck?! How is this related to a stiff neck?!” It turns out that if you’re having a stiff neck, and your body is in pain when you lift your leg up to your chest, it could be symptoms of meningitis. He informed us to give my body another 24 hours to allow the anesthesia wear off; it is possible that I may have been pretty tense up during the operation.  Peter and my dad were supposed to go fishing, but Peter did not want leave my side.  Mom tried to get me to eat and drink more but I just wasn’t up to it.  I had to force myself to eat, but I ate a lot at dinner.  

I remember at one point, I had to sneeze. The nurses at the hospital told me that I had to sneeze with my mouth open; mom reminded me to do so.  I sneezed!  I made a mistake; although I did sneeze with my mouth open,  I pinched my nose shut.  I really shouldn’t have done this as the pressure made my ear hurt really bad. Towards the end of the day, I was starting to get antsy with the ear guard on my head.  I had to try not to scratch my ear and I really wanted that ear guard off.  I kept tugging it off my ear so there was no pressure on it.  It felt so good, but everyone kept fussing at me each time I did that.  The doctor and nurses said that I could take it off 48 hours after the surgery.  I was  hoping to take it off the next morning instead of that evening.  Every time I got up, my head began to hurt. I finally went to bed for the night.  

Day #3: Wednesday, June 15

Again, I didn’t sleep well throughout the night. I hated this. I hated not feeling so great, taking antibiotics, and not being able to sleep on my right side. I woke up again throughout the night to use the bathroom.  I still couldn’t get up and walk very well. That metal taste was in my mouth again.  I was wide awake around 6:30am.  The sun was up and shining through my window.  I love waking up to sunlight!  I felt a lot better that day, less body aches. But I was still sleepy, I fell back asleep and woke up after a couple of hours.  Mom saw me wake up and asked if I wanted to take off the ear guard.  I begged her yes and she took it off.   Oh my goodness! It felt so good!  I didn’t realize how much gauze was inside the ear guard.  We were told that it was possible I could bleed through the gauze pads, but there was hardly ANY blood on it.  

Peter told me last night that I couldn’t take it off in the morning because it wouldn’t have been 48 hours.  I really didn’t care and was happy mom helped me take it off. On the other hand, Peter was fussing at me! Oh well!  

The incision looked amazing!  Dr. Della Santina did a wonderful job! There really wasn’t any blood anywhere!  Now that the ear guard was off, my ear was feeling funny.  It was numb! It feels like novocain after dental work–you know that funny feeling in your face, it’s kind of like you can feel it but you can’t at the same time?  That’s how my ear felt. There was some bruising under the ear from the surgery but it really didn’t hurt at all! I rubbed my head where the magnet is and it was feeling pretty sore and tender.  I was trying to find a bump hoping to see if I could feel the magnet.  My head was still pretty swollen and I couldn’t find it.

This probably wasn’t a good time for Peter to joke around and say maybe the doctor looked into his pocket this morning, found the magnet and said “Oops! I was supposed to put this is Kayla’s head yesterday!”  So not funny, because I really did not like the idea of having to go back! I smacked him around for it.  Such a jokester.

I got up, with support again, to take a shower.  I was really excited about this because I really felt disgusting.  The hardest thing I faced taking a shower was washing my hair.  I got so dizzy from washing my hair that I felt really sick.  At the same time, I was really enjoying the water on me.  Now it was time to comb my hair.  This was really hard to do. I’m used to being able to wrap my hair up in a towel but I wasn’t able to do this today.  It took me a little longer than usual to comb out my hair and I had to use tangle tamer. Combing my hair on the right side was painful since that was the side I did had my surgery on. I got a little dizzy. We cleaned the incision with saline and hydrogen peroxide then put some antibiotic cream on it.

After eating breakfast…well, brunch, since it was already after 12:00pm, I was feeling a lot better. I was feeling like I could sit up and interact more.  Peter and my dad went fishing for a couple of hours.  Mom and I got to walk downstairs to the main lobby and check the mail. I thought I’d be okay going down the stairs, but I was wrong.  I took one look at the stairs and they were moving! I felt so sick.  Mom helped me walk down the stairs, I had my eyes closed part of the way, then just looked straight ahead instead of at the floor.  We walked back up after getting the mail and I started to feel okay.  Mom and I played Rumikub for awhile until I started getting another headache. This time I laid down on the couch and crashed.  I slept for about an hour or two, and I was having a good nap until I got woken up for another antibotic.  I fussed at my mom, I told her she was awful not knowing that I was in good sleep.  

Dad and Peter finally came back from fishing, and we all got to eat dinner together.  After eating dinner, we all got to play Rumikub for a couple of hours.  I was feeling pretty good at this time, but realized that I was really struggling to look over on my left side.  My skin around my right ear was feeling pretty tight.  Before I realized I needed to turn my whole body over towards the left, I kind of stretched the incision causing it to bleed just a little bit. We learned that the Tylenol was not helping me at all,  and within 30 minutes after taking ibuprofen, my headaches started to go away.  We decided to pitch the tylenol and stick with ibuprofen.  We ended our game close to midnight since I was tired and getting another headache.  We cleaned the incision again, put the ear guard back on (just to make sure I didn’t hurt my ear in my sleep) and took all the required medication before going to bed. I decided to take oxy tonight to help reduce the pain, hoping to get a good night of sleep.

Day #4: Thursday, June 14
Again, I was up multiple times throughout the night. I noticed the ringing was much worse during the night.  It increasingly got louder and more steady.  Sometimes it got so loud that it made my headache worse.  This was getting really annoying.  I also woke up around 6:30am.  I hate my internal clock; I don’t get it, when I know I have to get up early, it so hard to wake up. But when I know I get to sleep in, I wake up early. The body is so strange! I got up and took my antibiotic then.  As usual, I went back to bed and slept for a couple more hours.  I was noticing at this point that I get my best sleep when I fall back to bed after taking my morning antibiotic.

I was feeling better today.  I was noticing that not only did it hurt to yawn, sneeze, or have those mini burps, but it was hard to take a poop! It’s amazing how much this type of surgery affects your body. It hurts to add pressure to your ears.  Speaking of pressure, that’s all I was feeling in my ear.  I really needed to pop it.  Mom cleaned my incision this morning while Peter watched so he knew the drill for that evening after my parents left.  The incision was getting better each day and the bruising was starting to settle into my skin.  I got to take another shower, and it still made me dizzy when I washed my hair.  I was really hoping this will go away!

Peter decided to stay home from work today.  I was really happy about this as I didn’t want to be home by myself that evening.  I had a special lunch delivery today from my coworkers- Chinese food!  While I ate my lunch, I joined my dad and Peter on the couch to watch some T.V. Within a matter of minutes, Marla came by.  It was so nice to see her!  She has been a wonderful person, especially the past couple of months volunteering her time to interpret at my appointments and all.  I thanked her for her support before, during and after my surgery.  We got to talk about how I’ve been feeling the past few days. She said that she was really happy to hear my voice.  Sometimes, after a cochlear implant surgery, the patient’s voice can change.  Sometimes this happens after activation, so we’ll see what happens then!

Marla left to head back to work and my parents started packing up their things to head home.  Mom was becoming very emotional again as she didn’t want to leave me (for those who don’t know my mom, she gets teary-eyed every time we part ways! It’s rather sweet, though.)  She was reminding me of everything; to take my medication, take it easy, rest and relax, don’t drive until I’m ready to do so, call the doctor if I need anything, etc.  She is truly a wonderful mom.  Peter and I  decided to walk my parents out to their car, although I was hesitant at first of the stairs, since, like yesterday, they moved a lot.  I decided to walk out anyways to say our goodbyes. Peter helped me walk down the stairs.  This time, the stairs weren’t moving as much as they had been yesterday.   As soon as we walked outside, I got a headache, because it was so hot and bright.  This is the most I’ve walked in one setting since I got home from the hospital. We spent a few minutes outside chatting and making sure everything was good to go.  After we parted ways, Peter and I went back up to our apartment.  The minute we walked in, Peter started acting like a tough commander.  He stated that we had to go by his rules because mom and dad were gone; no more “Mr. Nice Guy.” He reminded me of what I couldn’t do and that I had to rely on him, then demanded me to rest on the couch.  What a goof ball!  I also realized at this point that Peter has been signing more with me.  I just cannot say how proud I am of him and his motivation in learning signs.  It helps so much when people are signing because depending on one ear is a lot more challenging than when I had both hearing aids on.  Apparently, it’s been harder to get my attention and I’m struggling more to localize sound.

We both basically lounged around and watched our show we’ve been binging on the past couple of weeks, Once Upon A Time. My headaches and dizziness were going away after I rested for awhile on the couch. As you can tell, I can only lay on my left side.  The body aches were coming back and my head was feeling tender and sore.  I begged Peter to massage my head where the magnet was; it felt so good.  After a while, I was becoming overstimulated with the T.V. and really wanted to go bed.  Peter had the opportunity to clean the incision behind my ear.  He made sure I was taking my medication and was documenting it on paper.  He has been a wonderful caretaker the past few days.  I guess he learned a lot from mom while she was here, since she’s a nurse and an expert at taking care of people! I decided to take oxy again tonight hoping to get a good night’s sleep.

Day 5, 6, 7, & 8: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday, June  17, 18 , 19, & 20

I have slowly been getting better the past couple of days.  I’m starting to sleep throughout the night, but the headaches and dizziness are still there.  My body still aches, but the good news is the stiffness in my neck is gone.  I’m still struggling to turn my head towards the left side and I’m having to turn my body. I’m having a lot of pain on the left side of my stomach.  I think it must be from all the medication I’m taking, or maybe because I really need to poop.  Either way, I know something is just not right.  I’m still having that metal taste in my mouth and realize it happens everytime I take my antibiotic. It doesn’t matter how much water I drink, or whatever I eat, the metal taste lasts for a couple of hours.  By the time it goes away, it’s time for another dose!  I’ll call the doctor Monday about this.  The incision gets better each and every day.  The bruising is slowly fading away.

I got to have some visitors on Friday and it was really nice to see them.  I have a chaise lounge couch in my living room. I was sitting in the corner, Peter was on one side and my friend, JQ, was on the other.  We were all signing and having a conversation.  When Peter and JQ were having a conversation, I caught myself turning my head left and right to follow their conversation, which was a bad idea.  I got another killer headache which ended our visit short. I realized that following conversations may be challenging, especially if I'm constantly turning my head left to right. Later this evening, one of Peter’s sisters, Maureen, came by to visit for awhile. We were sitting in the same seating arrangement as earlier, and right as Peter and Maureen started talking, I interrupted him to ask her to switch seats with Peter.  Now both Peter and Maureen were across from me, which made it easier to follow their conversation.

Saturday was the first day we got to get out of the apartment.  I wasn’t feeling comfortable driving yet, so Peter got to drive.  We needed to go to CVS and Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  I was feeling pretty good in the car.  I just wanted to wear my sunglasses, but I couldn’t  because they would be rubbing against the incision. Squinting, and trying to block the sunlight, gave me a small headache.  The drive itself was okay, but I was getting a little bit of motion sickness.  We decided to swing by the sporting goods store to look around.  I found myself slowing down, and my headache was getting worse. I started to lean against the shelves down the aisle and rub my head.  That was a sign that we needed to get going. It looked like it was hard on my body to be standing up and walking around for a long period of time.  The ride back home was a little nauseating.  I was happy to be home, but it was really nice to get out for a couple of hours.  My supervisor was incredibly nice enough to swing by and visit me.  I truly enjoyed seeing her and hearing about how things were going at work.  

I woke up Sunday feeling not so great.  I was feeling better from the surgery, but I was feeling achy and my stomach was just bothering me.  I decided to get up and cook breakfast.  This was the first time I was starting to feel back to my normal self.  As I was cooking breakfast, my body aches and stomach pain were going away–probably because I was distracting myself.  Peter had to go to work today, but I was feeling comfortable being home alone for a couple of hours.  My hometown friend, Erika, and her mom was driving back to Blacksburg from Pennsylvania.  They decided to stop by and see me on the way home.  It was wonderful, since I haven’t seen them since the Christmas holiday.  We all decided to go out to grab a late lunch and walk around World Market.  I was feeling pretty good about this.  In the two-hour frame we were out, my headache was tolerable, and wasn’t as bad as it had been yesterday.  I decided to tell myself that the ringing in the ear is something I was going to need to get used to until the activation day.  My body wasn’t hurting anymore and neither was my stomach.  It was really nice to be out and enjoying myself.  After we parted ways, I crashed and took a nap. Maybe I was a little tired.  That evening, I was feeling a lot better but not 100% okay going to work.  I wasn’t comfortable driving myself or doing a lot of work.  I had special permission to work from home the next day.  

Monday marked the first full week recovering from the surgery.  I looked back and saw that there was a lot happening during my first week recovering.  But, I was definitely getting better from the surgery, just still feeling like I was getting some side effects from the antibiotics. I really didn’t want to be using ice or the heating pad anymore on my body. I was having other bodily issues too.  I decided to go ahead and call the doctor at Johns Hopkins.  After finally getting through, I was told that I was having side effects from the antibiotic and that I needed to stop taking it.  I only had two pills left, so they were completely fine with this.  I was thrilled to be off the antibiotic because I was also getting fed up with the metal taste in my mouth.  

I was feeling motivated to do some work, clean around the apartment some, and cook for Peter and myself.  I was having a few headaches here and there, but they were only lasting for a short period of time. The ringing in the ear was still constantly annoying me. I caught up on all of my emails that I missed last week, and got to work on my end of the year requirements.  I was feeling pretty confident about getting out of my apartment the next day, for a couple of hours, for work.  I decided that Peter was going to be my chauffeur for work the rest of the week (this is the last week of school).  

That is basically my entire week in a detailed nutshell!  I had a good feeling that things were going to get better from this point on, and that I will be back to my normal self again.  

Below are some pictures of my incision during the first week of recovery. WARNING! Graphic pictures ahead!

Surgery Day

It has now been exactly a week after I've had my surgery.  I was feeling pretty loopy all week and now I'm able to sit down and write this.  

June 13 came around the corner very fast! A lot has happened over the past couple of weeks.  Peter and I went out of town to visit my family, then camping, and then he moved in with me!  For those who don’t know me, or haven’t met this boy, I’m in LOVE! I had a hotel booked in Baltimore for the night before the surgery.  My parents came up to stay for a few days.  Sunday morning, mom, dad, Peter and I packed our bags, loaded up the car and headed to Baltimore. We decided to spend our Sunday shopping, going to a brewery, and exploring the inner harbor in Baltimore.  I truly had a lot of fun and this was a great way to spend my last day using both hearing aids.

We woke up the next morning, got ready and checked out of the hotel. We arrived at the hospital just before 7:30am since the surgery was scheduled for 9:30am.  Marla, my interpreter/coworker/work-mom, was waiting for us in the lobby.  She volunteered her time to be my interpreter for the day.  When I went to check in, it turns out my surgery was postponed to 2pm! We were all thrown off! This meant we had to wait 5 hours before I could get admitted. My parents, Marla and Peter were feeling bad for me because I’m not allowed to eat or drink anything prior to the surgery. I felt bad for them having to wait 5 hours! But, everything worked out.  We all kept each other busy.  While we were waiting, we learned that Marla couldn’t interpret for me because she wasn’t on Johns Hopkins’ staff. Apparently, Johns Hopkins screens and hires all their  interpreters.  Now I was feeling bad that Marla drove all this way and she couldn’t even interpret.

12:30pm rolled around and my name was called.  Mom and I walked to the registration desk. They had an interpreter waiting for me. THANK GOODNESS! I was a little worried as they were telling me I would have to write back and forth with a paper and pencil. I wasn’t all about that! We completed the paperwork required for registration and I was taken in for prep.  I had to change out of my clothes into the hospital gown.  They hooked me up to the IV and double checked my paperwork.  A nurse marked my right ear since this was the ear that was getting implanted. Everyone kept coming in and asking me what my name and birthday was, the reason why I was there, etc. My poor mother was an emotional mess!  She was in tears and worrying about everything.  I had to comfort her. The anesthesiologist came in and discussed the anesthesia I would be using during surgery.  All of this took about two hours, and Peter got to wait with me all this time.  Mom, dad and Marla took turns coming in.  There was no way I was letting that boy go anywhere. The interpreter that I had left at exactly 2:00pm, but my surgery was postponed another half hour due to a prior surgery being delayed. Dr. Della Santina finally came in, and Marla got excited as she got to have an opportunity to interpret! Dr. Della Santina and I discussed the procedure to make sure the cochlear implant equipment was exactly what I ordered, that the right ear was getting implanted, etc. I had the opportunity to take a picture with him!  I was really excited about this.  

We waited a couple more minutes and the OR nurse finally came in to get me. I gave Peter my left hearing aid and a big hug.  I walked into the OR with the nurse in complete silence.  It was weird. I was overwhelmed with the operating room. There were so many people: Dr. Della Santina, the OR nurse, another nurse,  the anesthesiologist, an intern, and like 5 other people.  I was informed to lay down on the operating table.  I was so nervous!  I was choking up and trying to hold my tears. (I can’t even hold my tears in as I type this!) I was getting really scared. I kept thinking to myself that everything was going to be okay! I had to distract myself, so as I was being hooked up to the heart machine, I saw Dr. Della Santina was looking at me.  I decided to ask him a question, “How many cochlear implant surgeries have you done?” He scratched his chin and thought for a few seconds, pulled down his mask so I could read his lips, and said “I don’t know…probably over two hundred?” He continued to scratch his face and think. Basically the man has done a lot of implants! I wanted to ask him something else, but I got distracted by the OR nurse telling me that I was going to feel sleepy.

Next thing I know, I’m waking up in the recovery room. It was almost 6:00pm. I don’t know why, but everytime I wake up from anesthesia, I’m crying. There were two nurses near me, one was typing on the computer and another was filling out paper.  I slowly started falling back asleep, then waking up coughing. I had a breathing tube down my throat during the procedure. I drank up all the water that was in front of me and the nurse gave me graham crackers.  I don’t remember eating them all but apparently I ate them all fast.  I turned my head around and felt that there was something around my head.  I was wearing an ear guard to keep the ear safe.  I got out of bed with help from both nurses, and  into a chair.  Mom and Peter came in, and I got to put my hearing aid back in my left ear.  I was in and out with everything. There was a new interpreter sitting in front of me.  The nurse explained to us what needs to be done from this point on.  The nurse was explaining how I can’t lean over for a few days, pick anything up that’s over 10 pounds, or do strenuous activities.  Peter got my attention and said I have to rely on him.  The nurses added, “For ONE year! No dishes, no laundry, no cleaning for you!” I think Peter was about to get second thoughts here! I laughed.  I tried so hard to stay awake and listen to the nurse.  When we were done, I changed into my clothes and sat in a wheelchair.  I was wheeled out of the recovery room onto an elevator. How nauseating was this?! Ugh! I hated the elevator.  I felt so sick.  I was wheeled out of the outpatient center to the car where dad, mom and Marla were waiting. I climbed into the backseat and laid down on Peter’s lap while mom and dad were in the front seat.  I slept most of the way and eventually woke up as we were driving into Virginia.

We arrived home around 9pm.  I had to walk up to the second floor of my apartment, but I don’t really remember much of the walking.  I laid on the couch and begged for some chicken noodle soup and crackers. Mom gave me some crackers and I started eating a bunch of them. The soup was ready and I downed the soup.  I was starting to be fully awake, but dang, that headache was killing me. I knew I wasn’t feeling good.  I was rubbing my forehead and as I sat up, I threw up immediately into a bowl. I think I must have eaten those crackers and soup too fast!

I was ready to go back to sleep.  I took my antibiotic and went to bed.