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:
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