Nancy's Spa Day - Lipo and a Face Lift

[lauralynn]

Hey Dave,
Thanks for getting the scarf out!  I'm so glad Nancy is doing well.  Hope she'll be able to hold food down soon.  Tell Nancy that I will talk to her soon. 

Love,
Laura

[Pooter]

Woo Woo! Glad surgery is over and healing has started.. Thanks for updating us!

Regards,
Brian

[ppearl214]

The view out her window is great. A park with two baseball diamonds below, then the Charles river with tour boats going under the Salt-and-Pepper bridge. A perfect sunny day!

Dave

I know that view, Dave.  For those not familiar with the "salt and pepper", those are the small towers (that look like salt/pepper shakers) on the Longfellow Bridge over the Charles, connecting Cambridge and downtown Boston, not far from the Hatchshell (where the Boston Pops play on July 4)

Hi Dave, not sure if you have seen me around here but Nancy and I have tossed back and forth... and barring issues, hoping you both are still making the brunch in Worcester on 4/19.  Will keep tabs on you all for that.

I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to chime in on this but computer issues have me bogged and I'm lucky to log on here right now. I know that view from MGH, having spent much time there myself for other issues.....  I'm so thrilled that Nancy is now a "postie" and want to thank you for the updates. I've been lurking for the updates and tickled the "magic scarf" has once again, done the trick.

Please give Nancy my very best wishes... and congrats for being a "postie". Please remind her to take it easy... and yourself, as well.  We need you healthy too!  Hang in there and sending my infamous wellness wishes and hugglez to her.. and to you.

BTW, if you get to sneak down Storrow and get off at Fenway, Dice-K is pitching today and if you stand out on Yawkey, maybe you can catch a BoSox Homer!

Be well!
Phyl

[Syl]

Dave:

Thanks for the updates. She seems to be doing fine. Hope she keeps this up so she can go home.

Syl

[elliemae]

Hi, Dave
I'm generally a lurker on the forum, but have been following Nancy's spa day since I first saw her wonderful "lipo and face lift" description!

I'm so glad to hear she is doing well. And you too!  As long as you're in/at MGH, you should go over to the Yawkey Center and go to Cancer Care patients' area on (I think) the 9th (maybe 8th?) floor.  There's a wonderful roof deck there facing the river that s/b very relaxing this time of year (it was kinda COLD in December when I last visited after my radio-therapy!!)

Hope you're back in NH soon!  And maybe we will see you on the 19th in Worcester!
Elaine

[Jim Scott]

Hi, Dave:

Just popping in to check on Nancy's progress.  Based on your last post, she seems to be doing quite well.  Her first day reads a lot like mine was.  I was stuck in the ICU for 4 days - with the constant racket and too-frequent awakenings to be checked for something or other when, at least the first day, all I wanted was sleep.  I didn't experience headaches, but a '3' doesn't seem to be debilitating and should be certainly manageable. with the help of medication.  Nancy's appetite should return when the effects of the anesthesia have dissipated, usually by the second or third day, post-op.  This was my experience.  That Nancy's face appears symmetrical and she isn't showing signs of facial paralysis or even double vision (I had that for a few days) is very encouraging. 

As you noted, this is a tough surgery and the initial recovery can be arduous.  However, I trust that Nancy, who gives the distinct impression of being a feisty lady, will emerge from this experience in good shape and ready to regain normalcy as soon as possible.  Enjoy the wonders of Boston. 

Jim

[NancyMc]

Just thought you'd like to know; Nancy has been sitting up in a chair most of the afternoon, not too much headache pain, and she decided she wanted to walk a bit. Took a nice walk and did great! The nurse said she had never seen an AN patient progress so rapidly. She is, in fact, a feisty lady, as has been said. She had an exam by a physical therapist this afternoon, and they were able to get her to have double vision with some of their eye exercises, though, so I'll have to correct my earlier claims about that.

Dave

[yardtick]

Glad to hear Nancy's surgery was successful.

Anne Marie 

[MAlegant]

Congratulations on "rockin' it", I knew you would.  Take care, both of you, sounds like you're off to a good start on recovery.
Marci

[lori67]

Did we mention that the first day sucks?     Sorry, no nicer way to phrase it.  But I'll bet tomorrow will be much, much better.  Great to hear she's up and walking!  She'll be walking right out the door before you know it!

Lori

[anissa]

Woo Hoo, up and walking on the day after surgery, Go Nancy!!!  Thinking about you both...

[NancyMc]

Hi all,

Nancy wants to know about the bandage on her head. It's tied really tight and keeps creeping down over one eye, so it's a real source of irritation. The nurse seems to think it will need to stay on for 5 or 6 days. Any similar experiences, anyone?

Dave

[nteeman]

Hi all,

Nancy wants to know about the bandage on her head. It's tied really tight and keeps creeping down over one eye, so it's a real source of irritation. The nurse seems to think it will need to stay on for 5 or 6 days. Any similar experiences, anyone?

Dave

Dave,

I believe they changed my bandage the day after surgery. The next day they removed it completely. And that was the end of having a bandage on my incision.

Send my best wishes to Nancy.

Neal

[joebloggs]

Yup,

I had the whole bandage pain in the butt too...it starts to squash your eye, a real pain.  After a couple of days I started stretching it a bit so I could push it up a little away from my eye.  My op was on Wednesday and they cut the bandage off on Sunday.  Such a relief I can't tell you.  By about Saturday I was starting to feel a bit itchy underneath the bandage too which was annoying.  

Is Nancy's throat still sore?  Mine was a bit sore for a few days from the tube and I did tiny little coughs because I thought my brains might spill out if I did a big cough!  I was really craving a toasted english muffin and once I got one, well... bliss!  They're quite scratchy little buggers and so when you swallow a piece it kind of scratches your throat which was a nice feeling!  

All in all sounds like Nancy is absolutely caning the recover which is great!  Her experiences so far are on a par with mine pretty much.

Give her my love and tell her she'll be hurtling round the corridors there in no time!

xx

[EJTampa]

Hi all,

Nancy wants to know about the bandage on her head. It's tied really tight and keeps creeping down over one eye, so it's a real source of irritation. The nurse seems to think it will need to stay on for 5 or 6 days. Any similar experiences, anyone?

Dave

Hi Dave and Nancy,
 
My bandage did the EXACT same thing!  It was slipping down over my eye, and eventually the sticky part was on my eyebrow as well.  I had surgery on a Thursday and the bandage came off (we took it off) on Sunday.  They wanted us to try to keep it on until then, so we did.  I lost many eyebrow hairs that day.  I had some double vision too, but I don't know if it was from the surgery or the bandage squishing down on my eye .
 
I must say, it sounds like Nancy is progressing very similarly to the way I did.  I didn't have the cough or loss of apetite, so I was eating subway subs for lunch the day after surgery .  I was told I'd have to stay another night in ICU when no regular rooms opened up.  At that point, my doctor came in and I asked him if I could go home.  Luckily, he said "absolutely you can".
 
I had to 1) be able to manage pain with oral meds (I wasn't having lots of pain).  2) be able to walk.  3) Be able to urinate after removing the catheter (That IV drip was flowing right through me anyway).  and  4) Keep food down, which was no problem.
 
I'm so glad that Nancy is doing well!  I know she is having some discomfort, because we all remember our first few days, but would rather forget them .  Once the bandage is off and she's been home for a few days, she'll start feeling much better. 
 
Thanks for keeping us updated and don't forget to gets some sleep yourself too!
 
Ernie