WARNING: Graphic photos are at the bottom of this post. Do not view if it will make you sick!
The next morning, I went to see my family doctor, Dr. Clark. He didn't seem AS urgent and ordered an ultrasound instead. He, too, thought it might be some sort of inflamed muscle. That calmed my nerves quite a bit. Well, the ultrasound ended up showing a lipoma, which is nothing more than a fatty tumor or mass. NOT dangerous! I was sooo relieved, and so was my family! Dr. Clark wanted me to sit on it for a month and then re-evaluate, but I just wanted it gone!
So I showed it to my dad, and he agreed. He hooked me up with Dr. Brian Gill, a general surgeon in Provo. I met with him last week, and he was absolutely WONDERFUL. Very kind and comforting! Surgery was scheduled for yesterday morning at 7:30 am. It went perfectly!
We left here at 5 am and drove down. A big thank you to Robyn for coming over that early to be with the kids!! When we got there, they did blood work and vital signs and got my IV started. My gown is called a "Bair Paw" system, where you hook it up to a hose, and it blows warm air all over you, like you're sitting in a big warm bag. It was SO awesome, haha! I want one! Much better than a heated blanket.
The nurse had Nate draw a red circle around the lump, just to be safe. That would be awful if they did the wrong shoulder! :) I said goodbye to him then, and was taken to the "holding room". This is where you go to meet your anesthetist and go to surgery. That room sort of freaked me out. It was full of patients, and some of them were already out of it from the Versed drug (the knock you out med that calms you way down). I don't know, I just didn't like it in there! But luckily my dad came in to visit me there!
I was actually having the surgery done in HIS operating room, where he does all of his surgeries every Tuesday. It was SO SO comforting having him with me the whole time. He was the last person I saw before I was OUT.
When I woke up, I was obviously out of it for awhile. I just sipped apple juice and tried to have coherent conversations with Nate. My dad and Dr. Gill both said the surgery went perfectly! Yay! The lipoma measured about 5 cm, so it was a good size. I immediately felt that getting it removed and not waiting had been the right decision. My dad took some photos during the procedure, which I had asked him to! I'm sort of morbid, but I wanted to see!
First of all though, my friend, Josh, had named my tumor. 'Timmy the Tumor'. He came up with it while we were running the Thankful 13. Hilarious. He even drew this, and we got quite the laugh out of it!
HAHA!
Anyway, so here are a few pictures from yesterday.
My doctor's name is Brian Gill. When he met me in the holding room, he wrote a B on the tumor, and it made me laugh. He said it was for "Brian", but I'll pretend it was for "Becca". :) This is such an unflattering picture of me....ha!
STOP HERE if you don't want to see the gory stuff!!!
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So there you have it! So long, Timmy!
I'm so grateful that it didn't end up being anything worse. They are still going to send Timmy to the lab to be tested, but it's pretty much been confirmed by ultrasound that he's just a fatty blob.
So glad that's over. Time to recover and enjoy the Holidays! Another big thank you to Robyn, Nate, Noelle and the several others for helping out and letting me rest!
11 comments:
I feel like I just watched Timmy being born. Please congratulate your father in documenting Timmy ... too well?!
Either way, I am glad you are feeling and doing better! Your scar is Bad A--!
Brace yourself for the "It IS a toooomor" jokes.
I'm glad it went well. Dumb question, but how do we not bleed to death when we have surgery? Amazing stuff. I can relate to your pre-surgery jitters. I was so nervous leading up to my appendectomy. And I was all alone! Jonathan was home with the kids and I had never met any of the medical staff. Every one took great care of me though. Happy healing.
PS--Timmy being born. That made me LOL.
That looks pretty big!! It is crazy seeing pictures like that. I've never seen what my cyst looks like, I've only seen a scope of my neck. Haha but I'm glad everything went well :) I don't like the anesthesia part too. My body goes into immediate panic mode until I'm out. Hahaha, oh the joys of surgery.
And a big thank you (from Becky) to mom, dad and the orthodontist, good looking teeth.
Mom got no thanks, but I do exist. Have been watching Steve and Andrea's four kids for the last four days. So I was not any help. Thanks to Robyn for helping with the kids.
I did tell Becky she had a tumor, when I saw her shoulder, and told her to go to the doctor. She was "thrilled" with my diagnosis, but you know, Mothers are usually right.
Wow! Loved the pictures. I have pictures of Gavin being pulled out of my C-section incision though. I'm so glad you're ok!!! Now you have an awesome scar story.
Ask your dad if he'd fly here for my surgery please. What a comforting presence he'd be .... even with his camera! (LOVED the gory pics btw.) I'm glad he was there for you and that it all went well. Happy healing!
If needs be I can also send Marcia a Thank You for telling you it was a TOOOOMAR.
Addresses please?
OMG. OMG. OMG. That was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen.
But, the good news is that you look fabulous in that second pic down. Who looks that good on a normal day, but less going into surgery? Well done!
Holy Hannah!! This is just fascinating! I'm glad you got such great photos. I'm also glad you are healing up quickly.
I read but closed my eyes as I scrolled down to comment, lol! So glad it all went well. Freaked me out when you first told me but so happy you got it looked after so quickly! Now you can just let yourself heal, which shouldn't be a problem with your body in such a healthy state!
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