All is well!

It took a little longer than expected with my surgery today because they are required to first do a COVID-19 test prior to any surgery requiring anesthesia.  With all I've been through, I've gotten fairly used dealing with pain, especially pain that is temporary.  But I must admit that the Covid test is really not any fun at all.  They stick that thing all the way up and down your nose until you can feel it coming out in your throat!  It tickles in a weird/bad way and is very uncomfortable as it goes all the way down.  And just when you think it's over, it's time to repeat the process on your other nostril!

Thankfully they have the new rapid test there at Northside and can get results in just a little more than an hour.  At about the 1 hour 20 minute mark, the surgeon (Dr. Levy of Northside Radiology) came into the room to describe what was going to happen during the port replacement.  But given that I still had not heard the results of my test, I asked him.  His immediate response was "Oh you're positive".  "What!?!" I responded.  He went on to explain, with a wink and a smile, "you're positively going to get this surgery because your covid test came back negative!".  Yup, I'm a victim of my own sense of humor as this is exactly the sort of thing I would say if I were in his shoes.  But all kidding aside, he was great and his supporting team of nurses and techs were among the best I've ever seen!

New port in green, old port area in red, painful area in yellow

I stayed mostly awake during the surgery but felt no pain other than the initial incision.  Post Op was a breeze too; I scarfed down a turkey sandwich, drank a ginger ale, and took home a couple of packs of Oreos and other snacks.  Six hours later as I'm writing this post, I'm feeling the pain set in (especially in the area show in yellow), but it's not all that bad . . . I've had much worse.  It is important though to try to stay ahead of the pain, so I'll be taking another pain pill soon and head to bed.

Thank you everyone who said a prayer for me or sent positive vibes my way during this procedure.  I felt it all!  Between your support/caring and the awesome medical team at Northside, this was a big success and I can put it all behind me.

Have a great weekend everyone!