Tune-In-Tuesday: January 26, 2021 Battery Replacement Surgery

I had my deep brain stimulation battery replacement surgery done yesterday. I had to be at the hospital at 7am. I thought I might get one last work-out done on my stationary bike before going to the hospital, but I did not - ha! I wasn't feeling it, plus, I couldn't have anything to drink, so I just slept in. :) I got up and got a shower and put comfy lounge wear on. I didn't have to put contacts in or make-up on and I didn't have to do my hair, so I was ready in like 10 minutes. Mom picked me up around 6:40am. It was pouring down rain. The one time, I have to get up super early and actually go somewhere, it's pouring rain and I'd rather be sleeping. Oh well!

Before leaving for the hospital. No contact lenses, no make-up - all natural!

Mom and I made it to the hospital at 7am on the dot. For those that really know me, you know I love to be early. My mom on the other hand likes to be right on time. It made me a little anxious to be right on time, but in the end it didn't matter - haha! As soon as I walked in the door they took my temperature. It must have been fine as they let me in! Since I had pre-registered, I didn't really have to do anything. I got checked in and Mom and I waited. We watched the same news stories 3 times I think. There was a story on the new Chick-Fil-A sandwich that was coming out that day - a grilled spicy chicken sandwich. That sounded SO GOOD. I hadn't eaten anything since about 7pm the night before, so I was a little hungry. 

Sitting in the waiting room at the hospital

We finally made it back to pre-op where I had to change into the ever-sexy hospital gown and grippy socks. The socks threw me for a loop -  they were gray and not yellow. I've always gotten yellow "fall-risk" socks. Not this time. I guess I wasn't a fall risk! But then the nurse came in and adorned my wrist with a yellow bracelet with "Fall Risk" written on it. Yep, still a fall risk. My surgeon requested that I get Tylenol and an Oxycodone by mouth before the surgery, so I took that. The anesthesiologist came in and went over things and confirmed that I'd be put under general anesthesia and not just Propofol. For once, I didn't contest. I have this innate fear of never waking up from anesthesia, but maybe the Oxy was taking effect. I just didn't contest to being put fully out. After the anesthesiologist left, a tech came in to do an EKG. She said that the anesthesiologist ordered it. I told her, she probably wouldn't be able to get a read on it because of the battery, but she tried anyway. She couldn't get a read. :) She spoke with the nurse and the nurse said that maybe they could do it in surgery after the old battery was taken out and before the new one was put in. She said she's update the anesthesiologist. After the tech left the Medtronic rep came in. Medtronic is the company that makes the batteries that control the deep brain stimulator. The rep, Peyton, was the same rep I initially had at Vanderbilt. It was good to see him again. He did all his tests and said I may feel things as he ran his tests, but I didn't. After he left, the nurse came back in and put the IV in. Ya'll, lidocaine is the way to go. She numbed my wrist up with it before attempting the IV and I didn't feel a thing. I didn't even feel the burn she said I might feel after the lidocaine was in. This stuff should be MANDATORY before any needle stick, it's that good! She got a vein in my wrist with her first stick, but then it blew. Ya'll, I hate needle sticks. I don't mind IV's, but it's the initial finding the vein and the actual stick that I get queasy at. I can't look as they are finding the vein and then inserting the needle. I can look afterwards, just not as they are doing it. You'd think with everything I've had done, that I would be fine with this, but I am not! I can see others getting it done but when it comes to me, I'm a baby. So after the first blown vein, the nurse decided to get it in the crook of my arm. She again got it with the first stick and this time it didn't blow - yay! 

Sexy hospital wear!

Fall Risk!

Pre-Op

Sexy hair-net :)  Just about to go back to surgery

Then Mom and I waited and waited and waited some more. I make it sound awful and super long, but it really wasn't. Pre-op was pretty busy when we first got there, but at one point it was like a ghost town. It sounded like we and maybe one other patient were back there. My mom said it looked like a ghost town. Then, just as quickly as it had become a ghost town, it picked back up again. My surgeon, Dr. B. came by. I'm embarrassed to say I didn't recognize him! He had to say his name before I did. :) I hadn't seen him in 2 and 1/2 years because I met with his nurse practitioner for all my pre-op stuff. He was all masked up and everything, so I just didn't recognize him. He went over everything and the risks but assured me he'd never had anyone with the complications he said could happen. He said his first patient was just being wheeled out of the OR, so the OR had to be cleaned but then I'd be up. After he left, Mom and I waited some more. I had to pee, so that was a little bit of an ordeal to get me unhooked from the IV stand and since I can't walk well, getting the nurse to help me. But, the mission was accomplished and I made it back to my gurney without falling. After a little while, a nurse from anesthesia (I think - then again it might have been another anesthesiologist) and the OR nurse came by to get me. The anesthesiologist asked if I wanted anything to calm me down on the way to the OR and I said yes. Anything and everything helps! And it did indeed help. They rolled me into the OR and the last thing I remember was a mask on my face. Wait! That means at some point, they took my other mask (the one I came in with because of COVID) off! I don't remember that. So I must have been really enjoying whatever meds they gave me. :)

I woke up in post-op. My nurse was Tony, but he was about to go on break, so Terry stepped in and helped out. My throat was super agitated this time coming out of anesthesia and every time I tried to take a deep breath it caused me to cough. I must have been cold at one point because I had the Bair Hugger on with heat. As Terry took my temperature she said she wanted to make sure she wasn't roasting me like a turkey! Turns out my temperature was a little high at 99, so they stopped the heat and took the Bair hugger off. They took my  temp again and it was 100. It was going the wrong way. My blood oxygen level was a little low for their liking too at 91 (which in my mind seemed OK, but I'm not a nurse or a doctor!). So Terry was having me take slow deep breaths. My blood oxygen levels eventually went up to 97. I think my blood pressure was a little high (I remember seeing 132 on the screen, I think). Terry listened to my heart and lungs and she said they sounded clear, so that was good! She didn't know why I was having trouble taking a deep breath. Every time I took a deep breath it caused me to cough - like a deep from the chest cough. I do remember Terry telling me if I had to cough to put my mask (the one used because of COVID) back on. :) Oops! I could breathe fine as long as I didn't take deep breaths. It was a catch 22. If I breathed shallow, I didn't cough, but my my blood oxygen was low and my BP was higher. If I breathed deep, I had to cough, but my blood oxygen levels were higher and my BP was lower. The body is a fascinating thing! Terry tried to get me to eat or drink something, but at that time, all I wanted was ice chips. Tony came back and said that rain was coming down in buckets outside! He took over my care again and made me drink water and eat saltines. :)

How did I not know that there are phases of post-op? Maybe I did and I've forgotten, but I was initially in Phase 1. Once my breathing was OK, I was moved to Phase 2. That's when Mom got to come back. My nurse in Phase 2 was Alexis. I really think the only thing I had to do in Phase 2 was pee before they let me go, but, I could be wrong. I did still have all the OR meds in me. :) I stayed in Phase 2 awhile. After peeing, they let me get dressed and eventually, I was discharged. Mom asked if I would like to try that new grilled spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A that I had seen on TV  before surgery and I said yes. I was starving! So we stopped by Chick-Fil-A and got one. We made another stop at Walgreens for pain meds. Mom asked if I wanted to stay with her and Dad, but I just wanted my own bed, so she took me to my house. We got to my house at 3pm. I ate the sandwich (it was SO good!), updated Facebook with a quick message and then took a three hour nap. Mom told me to call her when I got up because she didn't want to take the risk of calling and waking me up. So, I called her when I got up and spoke to her and Dad. She told me she spoke with my surgeon (while we were still at the hospital) and he said that the surgery last 45 minutes and everything went well. He gave me internal stiches (to minimize the scar) so there was no need for me to get stiches removed. I'll see him in a month for a follow-up. 

The internal stiches fascinated me. I get them being used in different parts of surgery, but to close up the cut?! I didn't know how that worked. At 9:30pm I finally decided to text my doctor brother to see if he could explain. He called me and explained it (I still can't explain it, so ask my brother if you know him or ask someone else, but don't ask me!) and we talked awhile. I told him it's so nice to have a doctor in the family. My own personal doctor - ha! I told him I was going to call him every hour that night on the hour - haha!! In reality, I try NOT to bug him with medical questions. But it is comforting to know that he's there. I told him I was given a "book" of papers to read upon discharge. I think he might have thought I was joking, but after I got off the phone with him, I counted. There were 32 pages of post-op care and other medical sheets to read through - 32 pages!!!! I sent my brother a text and (jokingly) asked if I needed to initial each one and get them notarized. He responded with "Yes, after memorizing each one." Yes, doctor! 

So I'm all charged up and ready to go! Well, kind of. Sort of. Not really. While I do have a new battery and it's working, it may take up to two weeks to see any improvement in walking. So, it's back to waiting. After all of this, I can truly say that I am THANKFUL that I had to start using a walker again to get around before the surgery because it makes me realize how much the DBS does work and how much freedom it does give me. I know this, but in the day-to-day activities and frustrations, I forget how great a BLESSING this deep brain stimulation and the doctors who know all about it are to me. So, here's to another 2.5 years (at least) of battery life before my next tune-up! 

I do want to say THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for me or sent me a text or called me or even just responded to my Facebook message. The comments and texts yesterday before my surgery settled my heart. I was literally in pre-op reading them! This was a "routine" surgery. Nothing fancy or hard about it and yet it's still surgery and I was still nervous about it. But I felt all the prayers ya'll sent up on my behalf. God calmed my heart and my mind. At one point, I literally prayed: "Please God, don't let me die. Please may I wake up after the surgery." I'm only including this in the blog to show you that I'm not always stoic or "OK" with things. I have an active imagination and I love watching medical dramas, so I freak myself out and worry myself sick. This isn't for sympathy, it's to say thank you for all those who took even just 30 seconds to say a prayer for me. Prayer does indeed work and God is so very compassionate and loving. 

Me today (1/26/21), the day after surgery. Still wearing what I wore yesterday, but sporting a sexy bandage! :)

Always remember....God's Got This!

Tune-In-Tuesday: January 19, 2021

It's been a hectic two weeks since I last updated. I had my pre-anesthesia testing done on January 13. That took awhile. I pre-registered for the DBS battery replacement surgery that will take place on January 25. I got all the paperwork and financial and insurance stuff done. Then I moved over to the medical side of it which was just really answering a bunch a questions. I did get weighed (I really dislike that part!). They took my blood pressure and it was 190/80. WHAT?! They knew that wasn't right, so we waited a few minutes and they took it again and it was 125/80 - MUCH better!!! I'm telling you - that white coat syndrome is real (although in this case, there were no doctors and no white coats, just a nurse in scrubs). They also wanted to do an EKG but I can't get one done because my DBS system messes with it. I found this out by mistake when I had my first DBS battery replacement done in 2018. They did do one then (or tried to do one) and it came out with a starburst on the screen and NO results. :) So I reminded them of that and we had to skip the EKG again. Once I was done with all the pre-anesthesia stuff, I called my primary care doctor who also happens to be located at the hospital. I had to have blood drawn before a scheduled appointment with him. Thankfully, they could fit me in, so I went over to his office and had that done. I got to my car at 4:45pm. I'd been at the hospital for an hour and 45 minutes!

 Today, I had a return visit to my primary care doctor to check my sodium levels. Back in October during a routine physical he found that my sodium level was dangerously low. Normal is between 135-145 and mine was 129. So, he had me start eating more salt. Yes, he actually told me to eat MORE salt. Today, he told me that my levels were good. They were at 137. BUT, he also told me to keep eating all the salt I had been eating since October. He put it down on paper too, by writing me a "prescription" in which he said "Stephanie is on a high sodium (salt) diet." He signed it and everything! HAHAHA. I'm the one who requested a "prescription" for this lest anyone ask why I'm adding so much salt to things. I don't eat a lot of salt to begin with (duh!), so having to remember to add salt/eat salt has been a bit of a challenge for me. He also listened to my heart, which made me feel better about not getting the EKG with the pre-testing and declared that I was good to go for surgery on Monday. 

Side note here: I told my primary care doctor he's the one that jinxed me. He asked me back in October if I had had any surgeries in 2020 and I told him "For once, NO!" And then came December and I found out the battery in my DBS device needs to  be replaced and to do that I need surgery. See - he jinxed me!  At the end of today's appointment he apologized for jinxing me and wished me well with the surgery. All is forgiven. ;) 

Friday, I have to have a COVID test done. It's mandatory before surgery.

And that's it. You should be caught up on everything now. 

Thank you for reading and following along. May you have a blessed rest of your week and always remember.... God's God This! 

Tune-In-Tuesday (but on a Thursday): January 7, 2021: Neurosurgery Update

I saw my neurosurgeon today - rather, I saw his Physician Assistant and we've set up a date to get the battery in my deep brain stimulation device changed out. January 25 is the day. I have to do pre-anesthesia testing on the January 13 and get a COVID test on January 22, but should all of that come back good, I'll get the battery replaced on January 25. Until then, I'll continue to use the walker to prevent any falls. I spoke with the PA about the pain I've been experiencing at the site of the battery and she said that she would make it a point to tell Dr. B. (my surgeon) about it. We're both pretty sure it stems from the initial placement of the battery. My neurosurgeon in Nashville said he placed it under a muscle so that it wouldn't protrude as much. So that may be why it aches when I exercise or lay on it.

I've been going through old pictures and papers of when I initially had the deep brain stimulation surgery and I came upon a curious thing. It was a note that my mom had written and it says that the battery will last 3-5 years. For some reason, I had thought it was 5-10 years and that my battery was just wearing out prematurely, but it always helps to go back to notes or documents that tell the truth. So my battery needing to be replaced around every 2.5 years I guess is normal. The last time I had it replaced was on August 16, 2018. So I'm right on schedule for a new one.

If you really know me, you know, I don't like surgery. So, I'm nervous. It's not a "big" surgery in the least bit. It's "routine" and pretty short as surgeries go, yet I still get nervous. Prayers are very much appreciated.

Thanks again for following along and reading.

I do know that in ALL things, God's Got This!