May 3rd was the proposed day to be released from the hospital, but my pain level was not under control and I was still on IV pain medicine, so the doctors kept me in the hospital until Tuesday. Now that the epidural had worn off, I started noticing a pain in my left hand. A risk in surgery is having a blown vein while you are under anesthesia and it turns out that happened to me. I did not notice the bruising and pain until the epidural wore off. The pain from this complication got so bad, I could no longer use my left hand, they built me a splint and it took three weeks to heal.
May 3rd and 4th were the worst days because we were trying to find a pain medicine that worked for me before I was released. Unfortunately, you could call me Goldilocks because nothing worked. We started with Oxycontin, which is the standard prescription pain medicine used after a surgery of this caliber. This medication gave me terrible nightmares, made me jumpy and ultimately made me vomit. Which is the worst possible thing to do after chest surgery. Later we tried Tramadol and I had the same issue, ended up vomiting again. At this point, I was feeling even more defeated. I want my pain under control, I want to eat more than beef broth and white rice, and I want to have an oral medication that would not make me vomit.
The new goal was to be released on Tuesday, May 5th. We had already changed the flight, Airbnb, and rental car twice and I just wanted to see Jim and be home. Throughout my stay in the hospital I had multiple nurses including Melanie, Emily, Amanda, Tyler, Audrey, Wyatt, Andrea, Breanna, Alissa, Sadie, Rachel, Anne and more. Everyone was so thoughtful and kind throughout my stay, but as we know, there is always going to be one… one that just does not meet the standards set by the rest. This one was Kathy… and on this day, in my exhausted state, I had to argue with her about my treatment. Thanks to a family member, I knew another prescription pain medication that I could try that might work for me. Kathy came in and had another dose of Tramadol to give me. I refused to take it because it made me throw up earlier that day. Why would I take something that I know is going to make me sick?! I asked her if I could try Dilaudid. She said yes, that it was in my chart as an option, but it would not matter what I took, no matter what it was, I was going to throw up, so I might as well just take the Tramadol. She said the doctor would not give me a prescription of Dilaudid to take home and it was a waste of time. What is worse, is that she was training a sweet new girl, as she was arguing with me. She was so rude, but I pushed on and said I wanted to at least try the Dilaudid. She rolled her eyes and switched out the medication but was clearly annoyed with my request. I am so glad I persevered because the Dilaudid WORKED, I did NOT throw up and I WAS able to get the prescription filled at home.
May 4
Tuesday afternoon I was finally released from the Mayo Clinic! Before I left, one of the residents (David) was able to do me the biggest favor. I asked the doctors to take a picture of the mass after surgery and he was able to get me a printout of it. He said it was the hardest task of his day because the hospital did not have any color printers! He was my hero!
Tan Thymoma in the Center
Packing up to leave, a nurse helped me pack all the extra binders, gauze, incentive spirometer, cup, etc. to take home for my recovery. I was able to pick up my prescription on the first floor as I left and Jim and another family member picked me up out front. I cried when I got to see their faces. I was so overwhelmed and happy to be out and to have that surgery in the rear view. They took great care of me and we had a wheelchair that got me through the airport in Minnesota and in Tennessee. I was allowed on and off the plane first and flew first class to be as comfortable as possible. The car ride there, the takeoff and landing was painful, but I made it. Finally home, back with my fur-babies and back to my own bed. What a crazy journey the previous 16 months had been.
In the weeks leading up to the surgery, my close group of girlfriends and I facetimed each week. During these calls, they would check in on me and help me talk through what was to come and what to expect. During these conversations, we decided to name my tumor. Everyone meet Thelma. Thelma the Thymoma! Thelma is the tan mass that had grown in the middle of the thymus gland. After the mass was biopsied and removed, the Doctors at Mayo changed the diagnoses. The mass is a Thymoma, a thymic hyperplasia, but it was NOT CANCER! I was so surprised to hear that and am still a little confused by it. The doctor said the small biopsy from February showed some malignant cells, but once they biopsied the larger mass, it turned out not to be malignant. This is another finding that I have mixed emotions about. I am so glad to find out that I didn’t / don’t have cancer…. but this leads me to the next question, what caused the Thymoma to grow?
