Moving Out and Up

I survived my first week of work. Actually, I more than survived - I flourished. I really did love it. Let's back up a bit though, shall we?

Wednesday was my last day of work. I wore a fun, new, work-inappropriate dress from Francesca's:

I spent most of the day writing instructions for my replacement, whom they have yet to hire. Around 3, we all pretty much stopped working and started getting ready for our little shindig. My co-workers gave me these beautiful roses they coined as "Vera Bradley roses" because of the pattern that reminded them of all my Vera Bradley accessories. We made sangria and my boss bought my two favorite wines - Kim Crawford sauvignon blanc and Cupcake sauvignon blanc. A few colleagues came over and we ate and drank and chatted. When it was just our department and spouses left, my boss gave me a hug and said she wanted to leave before me or else she'd be an emotional wreck watching me leave. It's nice to feel so loved and appreciated at work. A few of us stayed till about 7 or so, and then I met some friends at a bar for dinner and more drinks. I think I finally got home around midnight.

I spent Thursday and Friday just enjoying some time off. I unplugged as much as I could and slowly began packing, which I did the bulk of on Saturday.

Sunday was tough for me. I had packed up my car on Saturday night save a few bags, but I woke up with a pit in my stomach knowing in a few hours, I'd have to leave Rags until the weekend. About two weeks ago, something changed in his behavior. He stopped letting my dad take him for walks if I was home, and started following me everywhere, even into the bathroom. I think it was mostly because I was recovering from surgery and spending more time in bed, but also because I was packing up boxes and he knew what that meant. I cried like a baby when I kissed him goodbye and said what I say every morning before work, "I'll see you later baby!" He cried and scratched at the door which he very rarely does - he knew.

I cried again as I drove away, again on the phone with my mom on the highway, and a few more times on the the 90-minute drive to Woburn. I knew I'd see him Friday night, but I cried because I felt bad for him. He was confused and scared. But I know it'll be a good change for both of us when we finally have our own (almost) space again.

Unpacking was uneventful, aside from being ungodly hot. I didn't even really unpack. I hung up my hangers in Julia's spare closet and put my toothbrush in the bathroom. I'm basically living out of boxes, bags, and suitcases until August 1. It's just not worth the work to unpack and then do it all again in three weeks.

Having Juls and Donny as "roommates" is nothing new since I've stayed with them so often. But Julia's cooking is top notch and I feel like a houseguest since she just does her thing in the kitchen while Donny and I drool over the smells and then devour the end results. Kitty has taken a liking to me and now doesn't mind me sharing her space. Buster is a lovebug as always, and is getting better about stealing my food off the plate while I'm eating. When I'm sitting on the couch, we're about the same height so if I were him, I'd try to steal my food, too!

I do look forward to being in my condo as of August 1, but it's more likely that I won't sleep there until the 3rd or 4th. As of right now, I'm sitting on my bed in Longmeadow. I got back here last night to spend the weekend with Rags. He was SO happy to see me, and has hardly left my side. Dad and I went out to breakfast this morning (I was up before him - that happens about twice a year) and Rags freaked out when we left, but he is happily dozing about 8 inches away from me right now.

More about the job and commute next time!

Bad Makeup

It really does look like I'm wearing uneven, excessive purple eyeshadow and eyeliner. I went over to HR this morning to sign a bunch of crap that says today is my last day, and was sitting very close to one of the women. She didn't say anything about my eyes. I know she could see the purpleness. She probably assumes I'm being beaten and that's why I'm running off to Boston.

Shower Photos

I was so busy hosting (and sweating and hiding behind my sunglasses) on Saturday at Julia's shower that I only took a few photos. She took a ton, and we promise to share them soon. But because everyone keeps asking, here are the few I took.

Mushroom cookies made by little girls! Clearly my life is worthless if children can bake better than me. And the little signs I made for all the food. The terra cot pots they're in are hidden.

Some of my favorite parts of the shower. First, the garland. There was one in each color on the three tables. And then the pots for the cutlery. All handmade.

Juls and her mom with the enormous, beautiful, and delicious cake - one of the only things we didn't make.

The gift/card table.

Barbara (owner of the home the shower was at) was getting rid of this chalkboard, so I decorated it with doilies, stamped them with JULIA and BRIDE, and used a chalkboard pen to write the countdown.

The favors are in the basket - seeds packets I designed myself and filled with forget-me-not seeds. The letter J was a perfect, last-minute find at TJ Maxx. The flowers were from one of the guests and so my watering can worked out as decorative and functional.  The galvanized steel pail held cards. The photos were displayed in front of doilies and strung along twine held up in two terra cotta pots with wooden stakes. We asked everyone to bring a photo of them with Juls. Of course, Donny's side didn't have this but what we brought worked.

Just some of her gifts. She is loved!

Juls with her mom, Tamara, and the homeowner/close family friend, Barbara.

Juls and me. Yes, I'm hiding my bruised, swollen eyes behind sunglasses and a hat.

Juls with Chelsea (Donny's sister, other bridesmaid) and me.

Cutting her cake. Love that her sandals and bracelets matched everything!

One Week Mark

Today marks two one-week milestones. It's been one week since my surgery. My eyes are exhausted and I'm guessing it's from my first full day of work since surgery, which was yesterday. Staring at the computer all day would make anyone's eyes tired, and I think my recovering eyes were just not quite ready for it.

Otherwise, I feel great. The stitches are dissolving and thus the incisions are healing, which means they're itchy. Almost burning sometimes. But it's a good sign.

Today is also one week from my first day in the office. Because I'll spend my first day as a Dana-Farber employee in a daylong orientation with all the other new employees (physicians, nurses, interns, etc.), my first day in my office with my new co-workers won't be until Tuesday.

See Ya, Surgeon!

Today is post-op day 6 and my eyes are feeling great. The bruising and swelling got worse around the 48-hour mark but has been improving since the weekend. I was able to throw Juls what I considered to be amazing bridal shower (huge post to come) that went off without a hitch on Saturday. Hiding behind sunglasses and a hat, no one had any idea how bruised I was except for her and her family.

I saw Dr. C this morning for my last appointment with him ever. As I'm moving to Boston this coming weekend, my insurance will no longer cover him. He was SO pleased with how my eyes look already. They are still very dark purple and swollen, but for the first time in more than two years, my eyelids are no longer retracted. I have been so overwhelmed with relief that I've been crying happy tears since my surgery - I finally look like my old self again.

The stitches are dissolvable and almost gone. The eyelids are almost perfectly even but the surgeon showed me massage techniques to bring the left lid down every so slightly to line up with the right. He gave me his cell phone number so I can text him photos of my eyes as they fully heal, and I am going to stop back in a few weeks to let him take official post-op photos once the swelling and bruising are gone.

I agreed be his poster child for thyroid eye disease treatment and repair. I wrote reviews on Google+, Yelp, HealthGrades, and his website since there seems to be so little out there about orbital decompression and eyelid repair. So much of what he and other oculofacial plastic surgeons do is cosmetic, and both of my surgeries were medically necessary, fully covered by insurance, but unheard of by almost all medical professionals I encountered along the way.

Eventually, I will need a cosmetic procedure to remove all the excess fat that Graves' deposited above between my eyes and eyebrows. And I'm quite sick of contact lenses, so I might consider LASIK down the road. But for now, I'm looking forward to have normal eyes with no more surgeries or appointments any time soon.

Not So Fast

After feeling like a million bucks for most of the day yesterday, my eyes reminded me that the trauma they endured on Tuesday was a bigger deal than I was giving them credit for. As I started getting more tired, my eyelids started hurting. It felt like a sinus headache in my eyebrows. I didn't want to, but I broke down and took a Percocet before bed. Fortunately, I slept like a baby again despite a lengthy afternoon nap.

This morning, I slept until almost 9. I woke up, iced my eyes a few times, made breakfast, and finally psyched myself up enough to go to Michaels. I had to get a few last-minute things for the shower. By the time I got home, I needed lunch and a Percocet...and fast.

I finished the last few shower projects high as a kite, including my big gift to Julia. Fortunately, my creativity can endure narcotic-induced silliness. I am getting so dang excited for Saturday - I just hope I feel a lot better than I did today.

Bilateral Repair of Upper Eyelid Retraction

Now there's a mouthful for ya. That's exactly what I had done at 11:30 a.m. yesterday. It was much easier than I expected and MUCH easier than my bilateral orbital decompression back in September.

Dad and I arrived at the hospital at 10 a.m. While in the waiting room, Dr. C (oculofacial surgeon) came out in his scrubs to say hi. He told me he was having a great day and feeling good about my surgery. That calmed my nerves.

Eventually, I was called back to my pre-op room. I was anxious and ready to cry, but before I knew it, I was being whisked into the OR. The surgery took one hour, and I had sedation with local anesthesia. My body doesn't tolerate general well (I get very sick) so this was great. I was asleep for the first half but the surgeon woke me up for the second half as I had to keep opening my eyes so he could make sure the eyelids were symmetrical. I felt pressure and could hear him cutting, but no pain. He is from Chicago so we discussed the Stanley Cup finals and my upcoming move to Boston while he was snipping away at my upper eyelid muscles. Before I knew it, surgery was over.

I spent about 90 minutes in recovery, and chugged four things of apple juice and downed three packets of graham crackers. I laid with ice on my eyes for a while because the right eyelid turned black almost immediately. I bruise easily so we knew this would happen. As soon as I could stand up and dress myself, they let me leave. As we were driving home, the novacaine was wearing off so I took a percocet and a half, which quickly took the edge off. I ate a LOT, dozed on and off, slept like a baby, and didn't need any pains meds past 7 last night.

Today, I woke up feeling great. I was slow to get moving but walked my dog, took a shower, washed my face, accidentally peeled the DermaBond off my right eyelid incision (but the incision is still intact, so I'm not worried), and even went into work for a few hours. I have an ointment for the incisions that I'm supposed to apply four times a day. I don't know if the stitches are dissolvable or not (they were for my OD) but I see the surgeon on Monday morning. He called last night to check up on me.

Right now, my eyelids look droopy but that's probably a combination of the swelling and the fatigue. I hope they look a little more natural in a few once when the swelling and bruising resolve. Honestly, the worst pain is the IV site in my left hand.

I'm just so relieved to know that I can drive (since I'm not taking painkillers) and throw Julia an awesome bridal shower on Saturday. I just can't lift anything but that's what Donny is for! I've invested in a big Fedora sunhat to A. hide the bruises and B. protect the incisions from the sun - I don't want ugly scars!

After working for a few hours, I was exhausted and took a three-hour nap. Upon waking, I wasn't very hungry but knew I needed to eat so I grilled myself a hot dog and some squash and zucchini. And I had my first glass of wine in 3+ weeks. Needless to say, I needed another nap afterward!

My plan tomorrow is to lay low, and maybe get my nails done if they're even open. The 4th really doesn't mean much to me. Last year, I spent it miserable with a massively swollen wrist from a kayaking injury. This year, I'll spend it less miserable but with much worse swelling. Juls invited me to the beach, but that's just not a good idea yet. I still tire easily, and the nurse warned me to stay out of the sun and heat as it will slow healing and aggravate the swelling. Saturday - the day of the shower - it's supposed to be 93 so I envision maybe a glass of two of sangria and LOTS of water.

Without further ado: