Johanna's surgery
 

Hi guys,

Just to let you know I spoke to Joe (Johanna's DH) and he reported that she is out of surgery and inthe recovery room. He is not able to see her yet so I will check in with him later for an update. He did say the surgeron said it all went well.

I will also try to stop by later to visit her for a few minutes and let you all know how she is doing.

Sending you :hug: Johanna

Thanks Shelley..
 

:Thanx: Shelley :You-Rock: ,
For updating us on Johanna's surgery. Please let her know that I am thinking of her and give her a Gentle cyber hug for me :hug: ..
Hugs :hug:
Dawn

Thank you Shelly, I can't wait to hear how she's doing!
Anne

Our Kat is in a room and resting comfortably and is very tired.

More to come. I'll be sure deliver everyone's hugs :grouphug:

Hi I have an update.

Johanna hunkered down last night :Sick: with Hubby and watched Heroes. The first couple of hours were rough. She was pretty worn out last night. :Zzzz: Luckily she has a pretty cushy private room so she can rest.

She says it's like having a baby but without the baby. Maybe we can wrap her rib in a blanky...:eek:

I just talked to her and she says Hi :Wave-Hello: (thats her waving with her good arm...well better arm) and thanks to everyone here. :Thanx:

I'll let her explain the details but it sounds like "the rib had the nerve totally kinked up" (thats techincal doctor speak). In the end it sounds like they only did the rib removal and not the scalenectomy.

She was even making jokes that it felt like someone ripped her rib out....:ROTFLMAO:

She is probably eating some :icecream: right now and I think she is giving the nurse some :Soapbox: and some :mf_argue: about her pain meds. She just wants some stuff to make her feel normal...:Head-Spin: (that's whats at the bottom of her posts)

That's all I got for now. :hug:

Give Johanna on my love
 

Please pass on all my love and best wishes. Four weeks out, and I am still recovering but I'm definitely on the right road. I'll send a more comprehensive update on a different thread.

:hug: Annie

Hi Annie,

Hope you are doing well and recovering nicely. Super Joyce asked about you this morning. She says hello.:Wave-Hello:

After PT this morning I went to the hospital to visit Johanna. I wanted to share her morphine drip but it did not quite work out. :thud:

She looked good however and I got to see her scar (very cool) :p

I also got to meet her husband, what a cutie!!!! :wink:

She is probably going home today to rest and relax. So :hug:

hi everyone..
shelley it was great to see you this AM...:D I have missed our coffee so mucn over the past weeks. Doc stll hasn't been by yet, i guess he is in surgery or something. no big deal as i am not in any big hurry to go. They are taking good care of me and my mom is taking good care of my kiddos. even better- meanie day nurse from last two days is not here today. New day nurse much better. Night nurse has been fantastic all along.

ice cream project at a stall because i haven't convinced them to bring me any yet, :( we'll see about lunch today.

not much energy for typing, but wanted to say that i really appreciate everyone's kind words and thoughts.

i'll check in again soon,

johanna

Hi Johanna,

You sound great. What hospital are you in? I have been in St. Johns and Cedars. Be good to you and take it easy. Peace, Roz :hug:

Hey girl - glad to see a short post from you - I'd worry if it was a long post!

Peace to you!

take care
 

Take Care Johanna and rest up!

Peggy

Johanna,
 

I wish you a good and quick recovery!!!!!
All the best and take care!
Barbara

Best Wishes
 

Wishing you a steady and painfree (fingers crossed) recovery. Great to see you on line but please don't overdo it.
Hope by now you have managed to get some ice cream.
Best Wishes and a gentle hug from the UK
Hx

home sweet home
 

made it home last night, a bit rocky and hurting a bit more than i would like. :Wheel:you can tell how lousy i feel by how long it took me to check in today.:D definitely missing the support of that nice hospital bed. took an awfully long time to get comfy on the couch. the recliner is OK, too, but couch is better for melting in to.


home nurse stopped by, good thing because the dressing on my drain was leaking. :holysheep: I'll be glad to see that sucker (literally) go tomorrow.



I noticed that my whole underarm is pretty numb. dr reil says it is because so many small nerves go through the area of the incision (under the arm) he said the arm ones usually grow back but that some people always have a numb armpit, anyone else have this experience? he said woemn especailly don't like it because hard to shave.


Roz- I was at St Johns. really good food, but i guess i'll have to report on the jello and peach cobbler because there was just no ice cream to be found!

my mommy went out today to buy me some mint choccy chip for tonights snack.:circlelove:

ooooookay, all done for now.

hugs and thanks to everyone!!!

johanna

:Wave-Hello: Hi Johanna,
It's so good to hear from you... Be sure to rest allot...:Zzzz: It won't be long and you will feel like your going to want to do more than you should..:Ponder: Trust me.. Hold yourself back and don't do it...:I-Agree:
That incision in the old arm pit is the worst!!!! :Noooo: It gets so Yucky and it is so hard to try and keep dry... You won't want to shave for awhile... Just a little hint... Once the dressing or Steri-Strip start to come off or come off... you can dab them with cotton... The big problem I had too was it felt like it chaffed :eek: so when I knew the incision was closed I took some cotton balls and kind of stretched them out so they were thinner and I tucked them up in my arm pit... Boy it sure did help...
The shaving thing... Well I kind of started to do it at the sink so I could look in the mirror it was a little easier that way... Plus you do miss allot at first in the shower but it does get better...
I bet your PT Super Joyce will cover your nerves and get those working again...
So rest up and eat all that :icecream:
Many Hugs :hug:
Dawn

Welcome Home
 

Hi Johanna,

Glad to see you are home and melting into the couch. I know what you mean because I melt into my tempurpedic bed all night and a lot of daytime too.

I hope each day gets better for you as you rest. Have a speedy recovery and remember - NO complications. I mean other than the nerve things everyone feels post op. They hand around awhile. I even had numbness in my scar from abdominal surgery. It went away in six months, so that wasn't bad. Enjoy your choccy chip ice cream tonight and I hope you have sweet dreams.

Hope

So glad to hear you are doing well jo!! I had my surgery under the arm on january 30th and I still have some numbness at the bottom of my armpit but i have alot of numbness in the back of my arm and back of my lower shoulder. The worst numbness and pain I am still having is from where they had to put in the chest tube to drain the fluid out of my chest. The whole front of my rib cage is still numb from that and I have alot of nerve pain along the edge of my rib cage in the front , I guess from the chest tube rubbing there.
Please don't overdo it hun!! It will really set you back if you do. I will continue to pray for a safe and speedy recovery for you! take care, cindy

I wonder if you need to desensitize the area?
 

Johanna,
Did they talk to you about desensitiazing the area that is numb?

After my rib resection I had a lot of numbness and burning in my armpit and down the arm and my back.

The physical therapists gave me information to desensitizing the area by:

* brushing the area very gently with a wash cloth increasing the strength of the brushing as tolerated( I think it was twice a day not sure, I'll have to try to find paper work)once you can tolerate the wash cloth go to the next step. Start very gently at first.
*brush the area very softly with a very soft hair brush (I found mine at Mother's Market) increasing the strength of brushing until you can tolerate it well. Very gently at first
*massager wand -use on the affected area with increasing contact as tolerated, very gently at first

I'm not a doctor and I'm not prescribing this to you. This is what my physical therapist recommended to me and the numbess and burning resolved. It did take I think at least a month to get to the point you feel like you don't need to desentize the area.

MMMMmmm mint chocky-chip, my favorite! :I-Agree:
2nd favorite: the sherbet at P/SL hospital! :icecream:

rest up, heal well and use ice on those scars if you can! Yes, 2+ years out and my armpits are still numb. Shaving them feels like I'm shaving with broken glass! :eek:

:hug:
Anne

Johanna, I'm glad to hear you're home and recovering! Since I haven't had surgery, I can't give you any practical tips...just some warm wishes coming your way for a quick recovery and maybe...maybe...a return to a almost-normal life??? :hug:

Joh
 

I bet its good to be home all comfy.
The pain is hell after surgery.
Hang in there.
Things do look up week by week, k?
XXOO

getting drain out=serious pain releif. almost felt human yesterday :)

surgeon also prescribed one extra non tylenol containing med so i could take it a little more often than the vicodin. feeling MUCH MUCH better not being on the hairy edge of controlled pain.....

xoxoxo to all of you out there...thanks for the warm thoughts.

Johanna