I went to bed at a reasonable hour knowing darn well that sleeping would not be easy. Though I'm sure I'll do a lot of sleeping the next couple of days. I hope all goes well!
Left Sue about 9:50 am to pick up our daughter Monica at the airport. Returned to the hospital at 11:30 am. Sue:
Had quite a bit of a wait before the official OR ride came to pick me up. I was wheeled to the OR waiting area and the very first thing I saw as we went in was 6-8 white doctor's coats hanging all in a row on a rack on the wall and I remember thinking how nice they looked! I was not on any drugs at this point. My driver parked my stretcher and brought me a heated blanket, which felt wonderful. The place was quite chilly! It was a pretty big room and there was a lot of hustling and chatter among the people there and everyone was very busy. Someone came along and put an X on the side that I was going to be operated on. I was given a lovely cap to put on my head, even though I knew darn well that I wouldn't need it later on. After waiting for a while Dr. Jannetta came to talk to me and he held my hand and asked if I was ready and I asked him if he had a good night sleep and we both answered "YES". Shortly thereafter an anesthesiologist came to start an IV on my left hand. It hurt a lot, so he said he felt bad and decided to try my right hand instead, and it wasn’t wonderful, but it felt better! The rest of the anesthesia team came and introduced themselves and the OR Nurse did as well. After what seemed an eternity they wheeled me into the OR. I remember looking at the clock and it was 11:30am. I had to slide onto the operating table. The OR Nurse was busy scrubbing and they put a mask over my face and told me to breath in the oxygen. While I was breathing in the oxygen they proceeded to tuck me in very tightly (I hate being tucked in). The last thing I remember was someone telling me that they were going to give me something to relax me. And that’s the last thing I remember till I started to wake up in the recovery room with people asking me all kinds of questions. If I knew who I was, where I was, what day it was, etc. I remember my head was killing me at that point and I was very hot. I also noticed that I had a small scratch in the middle of my forehead and I was told that it was from the contraption they had put on my head to keep it still. I also remember asking about this contraption during one of the doctor’s visits and a doctor said to me you really don’t want to know!. Vinnie:
1:30 pm got a call that Sue went into surgery late.
2:25 pm Dr. Jannetta showed up and said it was tough, but all went fine. He drew a picture of the work and explained what he did.
5:15 pm saw Sue in recovery. She was groggy and kept complaining that she was very hot. I was kept in the recovery room overnight due to the fact that they didn't have a room for me. I was nauseous and had a nasty headache during the night. Did a lot of sleeping as well. The nurses were very prompt in giving pain medication.
Thursday, October 3, 2002 - "MVD-Day":
I had a pretty restless night (I wonder why?), so I was glad when it was time to finally get up and get going! Knowing there would be rush hour traffic to contend with we left the hotel at 7:30 am. We went through the admitting process and found everyone extremely pleasant and helpful. They took me to a room to change into the fashionable hospital garb right down to the booties. At this point I felt my dignity went right out the window. A nurse came in and took my vitals and did some blood work. Then a physician's assistant came in (Troy) and went over a few of the things that we needed to know and asked if we had any questions. Vinnie:Left Sue about 9:50 am to pick up our daughter Monica at the airport. Returned to the hospital at 11:30 am. Sue:
Had quite a bit of a wait before the official OR ride came to pick me up. I was wheeled to the OR waiting area and the very first thing I saw as we went in was 6-8 white doctor's coats hanging all in a row on a rack on the wall and I remember thinking how nice they looked! I was not on any drugs at this point. My driver parked my stretcher and brought me a heated blanket, which felt wonderful. The place was quite chilly! It was a pretty big room and there was a lot of hustling and chatter among the people there and everyone was very busy. Someone came along and put an X on the side that I was going to be operated on. I was given a lovely cap to put on my head, even though I knew darn well that I wouldn't need it later on. After waiting for a while Dr. Jannetta came to talk to me and he held my hand and asked if I was ready and I asked him if he had a good night sleep and we both answered "YES". Shortly thereafter an anesthesiologist came to start an IV on my left hand. It hurt a lot, so he said he felt bad and decided to try my right hand instead, and it wasn’t wonderful, but it felt better! The rest of the anesthesia team came and introduced themselves and the OR Nurse did as well. After what seemed an eternity they wheeled me into the OR. I remember looking at the clock and it was 11:30am. I had to slide onto the operating table. The OR Nurse was busy scrubbing and they put a mask over my face and told me to breath in the oxygen. While I was breathing in the oxygen they proceeded to tuck me in very tightly (I hate being tucked in). The last thing I remember was someone telling me that they were going to give me something to relax me. And that’s the last thing I remember till I started to wake up in the recovery room with people asking me all kinds of questions. If I knew who I was, where I was, what day it was, etc. I remember my head was killing me at that point and I was very hot. I also noticed that I had a small scratch in the middle of my forehead and I was told that it was from the contraption they had put on my head to keep it still. I also remember asking about this contraption during one of the doctor’s visits and a doctor said to me you really don’t want to know!. Vinnie:
1:30 pm got a call that Sue went into surgery late.
2:25 pm Dr. Jannetta showed up and said it was tough, but all went fine. He drew a picture of the work and explained what he did.
5:15 pm saw Sue in recovery. She was groggy and kept complaining that she was very hot. I was kept in the recovery room overnight due to the fact that they didn't have a room for me. I was nauseous and had a nasty headache during the night. Did a lot of sleeping as well. The nurses were very prompt in giving pain medication.
Friday, October 4, 2002 - The Day After:
In the morning, I was brought some Jell-O and juice, but the thought of eating made me feel even worse. My husband and daughter arrived at around 10 am and shortly thereafter they told us that I was going to be taken to a room. So later that morning I was in a regular room and still feeling awful! They had catheterized me, but when I was in my room they took it out. I needed help to go to and from the bathroom as I was very light headed. The process of getting up and going to the bathroom was pretty hard. I pretty much kept my head still throughout the day and my eyes closed, which seemed to help. When they brought my dinner tray, my daughter had to take it out of the room because the smell made me feel worse! I’m told all this is normal and this too shall pass. Friday night I threw up the little bit that I had consumed that day. And that was the only episode that I had as far as throwing up goes, thank goodness.Saturday, October 5, 2002 - Two Days Post-op:
The night was long and I cat napped all night long. I'm still fighting the nausea and headache. I'm beginning to think that part of the problem with the headache might be my sinuses. The nurses were very attentive and came in very frequently to take my vitals or to just plain check on me by waking me up to make sure I was okay. Today I seem to feel a little better! Still not much of an appetite. I was able to eat a few spoonfuls of cereal and some sherbet. Then for dinner I actually ate half a sandwich. Everyone kept telling me how great I looked and how well I was doing. All I could think to myself was "who are they talking about?" I actually perked up as the day went on and took a peek at myself, which was scary! I did notice that the HFS side had a great deal of weakness and I had flutters under the eye and by my nose. I was told this would get better as time went on. I must say my face was very calm, which was a good feeling! I actually went for a couple of little strolls holding on to my husband and daughter. On my second stroll I went to visit a HFSA fellow member who had his MVD the same day that I did and he looked wonderful. By Saturday night I actually got into my jammies, which I could have cared less about up to that point. Nausea was minimal today and I also ended up taking something for my sinus headache and felt better. Because of the weakness my eye on my HFS side wasn’t closing all the way, so I was given a cream to put in at night and my eye was taped shut.Sunday, October 6, 2002 - Three Days Post-op:
Another pretty restless night! But that's not unusual in a hospital! Troy, a physician's assistant came in to see me bright and early! So happy and perky! Nearly blinded me when he turned the lights on! I knew he was there for the great unveiling! He pulled the tape off my incision and I must say the tape wasn't going to let go easily. So needless to say it hurt like h--- until he got it all off. The incision is about 2 1/2 inches and my hair was shaved very neatly behind my ear. You may view the incision picture a little further down the page. He also told me that, as per Dr. Jannetta's instructions, I needed to shower and wash my hair. All I could think at that point was dream on! And he also said that I was being discharged that day! In all honesty, I truly didn't think that it would happen as I was still feeling very shaky and didn't think that I could do all that. As the morning went on the nurse brought in a shower chair, so the shower/hair wash didn’t seem so difficult anymore. I ate breakfast first and actually enjoyed it, I still can’t face the smell of coffee. My husband and daughter came and I was able to shower and wash my hair, which took a pretty long time. I got dressed and we were able to relax and eat lunch before I was actually discharged. I never thought that I would actually be able to leave when I woke up that morning. Troy (physician’s assistant) had assured me that he has seen patients come around and I would as well, and I did! This was so different from when I had the surgery done in 1985. I was actually admitted the day before the surgery and was in the hospital for over a week. The ride to Hawthorn Suites went well and I pretty much spent the rest of the day relaxing. We had pizza delivered and it felt good to be able to enjoy food again.Monday, October 7, 2002 - Four Days Post-op:
What a difference a day makes! Taking a shower and washing my hair came much easier today. Spent a quiet day relaxing, reading, napping and watching TV. I must admit that I'm feeling much better than I thought I would! Being that the worst was over, our daughter decided to go on a little shopping therapy. Vinnie and I sent out for Chinese Food and watched a movie. Tomorrow we have a follow up appointment with Dr. Jannetta and we'll be heading home!Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - Five Days Post-op and Date of Departure for Home:
We got up bright and early as we needed to pack up and load up the car. Other than get myself ready and pack my own things my husband and daughter did the rest. I had a 10 am appointment with Dr. Jannetta. First Ricky, Dr. J's assistant, came in as asked some questions and I had some as well. Then Dr. Jannetta came in and we talked about the noticeable weakness on my HFS side and he feels that it should improve. We talked about exercises or therapy that I could do after a few weeks post-op. On the positive side my face is calm and even though I had experienced a random spasm, Dr. J. feels it should all calm down in a month or so. After our visit with Dr. J. and a hug good-bye we began our long journey home. The plan was to drive to Hoboken, NJ and drop our daughter off, so she could get her car and drive to our home in CT to be with me for a few days. I was a bit concerned as to how I would handle the drive home. Once again I was pleasantly surprised by my well being. By the time we arrived at my daughter’s place, I truly couldn’t take the car anymore. So I stayed over night at her place and my husband continued on home. He just needed to be home. My daughter and I will drive the final two hours tomorrow and then I will also be Home Sweet Home!Wednesday, October 9, 2002 - Six Days Post-op:
Had a tough time getting to sleep last night, but didn't feel too bad when I got up this morning. My daughter loaded up her car and the final lap of my MVD journey was about to begin. The ride went well with only one stop to stretch my legs and go to the bathroom. When we arrived home my husband was waiting for us with a wonderful lunch. By this point my nausea is totally gone and my appetite pretty much back to normal. Our oldest daughter, son-in-law, and two little grandsons came for a delicious dinner, cooked by my husband, and it was so nice to see them and be surrounded by my precious family. My face is still calm with the exception of the flutters, which I can see, but do not feel. The one problem that I did have after I returned home and I know it is of a delicate nature and I hope it doesn't offend anyone, but I thought it would be helpful to share. The topic of having a Bowel Movement was never addressed at the hospital, so unfortunately I went through h--- and back when I got home. You’re not supposed to strain after this surgery, which surprises me that the nurses didn’t address this matter before I was discharged. My suggestion to those of you that will be having an MVD in the future is that you make sure everything is working when you leave the hospital. Trust me! It was a very upsetting time not only for me, but also for my husband and daughter. We even ended up calling up Dr. J.’s office for some helpful hints.Thursday, October 10, 2002 - Seven Days Post-op:
Home Sweet Home! It was wonderful waking up in my own bed! It seems like a dream that it's all over and things went so well! Thank God! Today I get my staples removed! Vinnie was very disappointed that I insisted that our doctor should do it rather than he do it. The thought of having Vinnie remove my staples was quite disturbing to me! Even though Kathy told him that it's easy to do. Plus a doctor would know better as to what he was dealing with and if perhaps they weren't quite ready to be removed. For those of you who allowed a family member to remove your staples, I applaud you! I continue to feel amazingly well and much to my surprise I don't need a lot of sleep during the day. The thing that makes me very happy is that I've regained a little bit of strength on my MVD side and my face is so calm! It still seems like a dream. A wonderful dream! I don't know if this should be included in my dairy. But I also felt the need to share the non-medical part of this journey. Having my MVD not only affected me, but it affected my family as well. For those of you who take the time to read this, enjoy! My husband and daughter were very loving and supportive through this whole ordeal! Monica took personal family illness time to be with us. She had given our married daughter an assignment of things she needed to do so she could bring them to Pittsburgh with her to make Mom happy after the surgery. When I was brought to my room, Monica put up our little grandson's pictures on the wall next to my bed. She also became Martha Stewart by cutting up some pretty material she had brought which she used to cover my night table, etc., and put family framed pictures near by. Everyone that came into the room loved the decor. My little grandson's had made pillowcases with their handprints, which Monica put on my pillows. The older boy made a recording of the story The Three Little Pigs, which I'm sure will be a classic for years to come. The boys also painted a pair of sock slippers and made a couple of rock people. It took me a couple of days to truly appreciate the time and love that went into the "lets make mom/Grammy happy after her MVD" effort. Vinnie’s assignment was to bring a couple of family videos. Monica got a VCR on Sunday and we enjoyed watching them. I am truly blessed! I think that doing all this was my daughter’s way of coping.Friday, October 11, 2002 - Eight Days Post-op:
Recovery continues to go well. Had company for lunch and after the commotion I needed to rest a bit. I've read several diaries and I'm very grateful that my hearing is fine and my balance is good. I also did not experience the fullness in the ear like some others have.Saturday, October 12, 2002 - Nine Days Post-op:
I'm still taking pain medication when retiring at night, in hopes that it will keep the pain from getting bad during the night and help me sleep. I'm thrilled that the weakness in my HFS side is better and my smile doesn't look so awful! I'm still getting small flutters in my upper lip and under my left eye. I don't feel them, but notice them when I look in the mirror. My face is calm otherwise. The one thing that continues to be a source of discomfort is my left eye. Because of the weakness it doesn't blink enough and it causes dryness and a great deal of irritation. I put a special cream, which was given to me at the hospital, in at night and that seems to help. I also use drops during the day as needed, but the relief doesn't last for very long.Sunday, October 13, 2002 - Ten Days Post-op:
I continue to make progress and I'm loving my "SPASM FREE" face! I had quite a few visitors and everyone was happy and amazed as to how well I was doing. Was pretty pooped when everyone left so I took a nice nap. My neighbor and dear friend cooked us dinner and it was wonderful. This same friend flew out to Pittsburgh the day after my surgery to be with me. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw her walk into the room. Unfortunately I wasn't very good company, which she totally understood. The outpouring of love and kindness has been incredible!Monday, October 14, 2002 - Eleven Days Post-op:
Didn't sleep well last night, so today I needed more rest. It's nice to have the luxury to be able to rest when one needs to. I'm still doing well and I'm truly enjoying the calmness in my face.Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - Twelve Days Post-op:
I think napping during the day is backfiring during the night. Not a great sleeping night, but I still need to lay down during the day. I'm able to lay down on the incision side with little or no discomfort. I'm still taking pain medication before I go to bed. My incision seems to be healing and I feel pain on and off during the day. Still having the flutters. Had a bit of a scare when I laughed and experienced a couple of mini spasms. They didn't last long, but I felt a wave of panic come over me. I'm still holding on to what I was told that in some cases it takes time for things to totally calm down.Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - Thirteen Days Post-op:
Today I went on my first outing! I went out to lunch with my daughter and stopped at a store where she needed to pick something up. It felt good to get out for a little while. Took a little nap in the afternoon and then I cooked a simple meal for my husband and me. I continue to have a good recovery.Thursday, October 17, 2002 - Fourteen Days Post-op:
Slept a little better last night. I still can't get over as to how well I feel! The biggest challenge I still face is totally an emotional one. The flutters under my eye and by my mouth don't really concern me because I don't feel them when they occur. I have to try not to let it get to me after a couple of episodes with actual spasms. I have to remember what I was told during my post-op visit that it was going to be up and down for a while, but it should stop in time. I'm going to end my dairy at the two-week point. Will give an update on my first anniversary. I hope that my dairy will be helpful to those who are planning to have a MVD and the newcomers to our group. A great big THANK YOU goes to all my friends at HFSA who gave me so much support and encouragement! And after so many years of being afflicted by HFS I finally felt that I was not alone. And last, but not least, a huge THANK YOU to Dr. Jannetta who’s not only a great neurosurgeon, but also a very caring human being. Thanks for giving me my life back! Kindly continue your good thoughts and prayers and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
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Sue Nofi, November 11, 2002Back to top HFSA HOME
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Sue Nofi, November 11, 2002