02/22/2022
A huge thank you for all the prayers and support this past week. I apologize for the lack of updates but this surgery was much harder than I anticipated and I wasn’t feeling up to updating.
My surgery last week took just under 13 hours and I was moved straight from OR to ICU since it was after visiting hours the surgeon took Jimmie up to the ICU about 8:45 pm and told them to let him see me once I was awake. Due to some miscommunication at the ICU he finally left at 2 am and was never able to see me or get any kind of additional updates. I remember waking up in ICU and kept asking where he was and why he wasn’t in there. So this was super frustrating for both of us. I was so drugged up after 13+ hours of anesthesia but I remember thinking what in the hell have I done. This was so much worse than any other surgery i have ever had.
The next day my blood pressure kept dropping super low and they gave me fluids to try to get it back up. It slowly started to improve and also go potassium supplements. My days are kind of jumbled together but I believe the second night they drew labs at midnight. I asked why they couldn’t use my port as it was left in after chemo specifically for this reason and they kept telling me it was an infection risk factor but instead poked me 3 times before finally getting blood draw. So we went through this same thing over the next few days. I was too foggy from the pain meds to argue too much but it made absolutely no sense to me. I ended up getting a magnesium infusion and more potassium. By Saturday my hemoglobin level was at 8.0 (and had been trending down for several days). and anything below that requires a blood transfusion but I didn’t want them to draw anymore labs unless they used my port so they ended up sending me home with iron pills and folic acid to try to bring my hemoglobin up. Sunday I felt awful and went first thing this morning for labs to check hemoglobin level. I seriously just cried when the gal at lab told me she wasn’t allowed to access my port for draws. After she saw my arms she went and got different butterfly needle to use and thankfully got it the first time and was super gentle. My hemoglobin is slowly on the rise and just over 9 so I didn’t have to get a blood transfusion today. It’s been a rough week but I am finally starting to feel a little better and hopefully it continues to improve.
Please keep me in your prayers over the next few weeks as I continue to heal and recover. On a positive note, the surgery itself went well and everything is healing nicely! I have a great support group around me. Jimmie as always is my rock and made sure everything was taken care of with me and at home, Olivia stepped up to help with Arianna and stuff around the house, my parents and Tiffany for helping with Arianna and my sweet Arianna who has even been a big help with getting me whatever I need since I’ve been home. I have had so many offers to help and I greatly appreciate it!
