Healing

Its been about a month since my surgery and so far, so good.  I'm still tried a lot and my voice gets strained easily, but it gets a little better every day.  I've been really lucky that my school was so understanding and compassionate and was able to arrange for me to have so much time to rest and recuperate.  I know it wasn't a "major" surgery, but having the time and ability to let my body recover at its own pace has been a fabulous luxury.  Sure, it's no vacation on a tropical island...but I'll take it.

Adventures in Healthcare: Thyroidectomy, part 6: Almost There!

Wow...this has been a long series, I didn't mean for it to be, but I've tried to be really thorough in my descriptions and experiences.  When I was researching all the stuff that was about to happen to me, there wasn't much information out there, and even less about having the procedure done in Korea.  So, I really wanted to leave a complete accounting so maybe it will help someone in the future.

At any rate, we're coming close to the end of my hospital stay.


So, this is day 3, the day after surgery.  I start with more meds...I get something to reduce sputum, a thyroid replacement hormone, and an ibuprofen.  They ask how much pain I'm in, on a scale of 1 to 10, and I'm probably about a 5 right now.  It's more the whiplash feeling than anything else.  The nurse brings me a gargle solution to reduce the chance of infection and I need to gargle for 15+ seconds 3-4 times a day, but be careful to not tip my head back.  Have you ever gargled without tipping your head back?  I pretty much just let it dribble down my face while I attempted to gargle.

I have breakfast and vitals check, and they free me from the IV needle.  Being able to freely use my left arm and no longer having to drag the IV pole around really improved m mood.  It's a slow day, and I spend it mostly reading, playing around on Facebook, messaging friends, and eating.  Apparently, I was determined to make up for all the calories I missed out on the day before.

The surgeon comes by to see me.  He tells me the surgery went well, and that the cancer had not metastasized so I still have half my thyroid.  Yay, me!  Actually, it's really good news because a lot of times the remaining part will be able to produce enough hormone on its own and I won't need to be on medication for the rest of my life.  The full pathology would be ready when I came back for my post-surgery check-up in a few weeks.  Then he dropped the best news, I'd probably get to go home the next day!  A full day earlier than expected.

It's fantastic news!  I'm already bored out of my skull after one day of recovery.  Plus, that's a day less to pay for hospital care...so saving that extra 500,000+ won would go a long way.

I'm pretty much left to my own devices the whole day.  A couple of vitals and jp checks, but that's about it.  By the time I'm ready to sleep that night, my pain in down to about a 3.

Day 4, the ward doctor comes by and says I can go home later that day.  He removes my jp drain and changes the bandages.  He says I can have a shower.  So, I clean up and change back into my regular clothing.  I can take the bandage off in 3 or 4 days, but I shouldn't worry with the glue holding y incision together.  That's an interesting thought, that I'm basically super-glued back together.  There's a few more instructions, and they set my check-up appointment for 2 weeks later.

Finally discharged and on my way home!

Adventures in Healthcare: Thyroidectomy, part 5: Surgery

Finally, we've made it to surgery.

Sunday night, they nurse comes to take blood and place an IV needle, but not the saline bag.  I honestly have no idea why she had to place the needle the night before.  And it's uncomfortable.  Just to be clear, having an IV isn't anything I ever thought looked comfortable, but having one in is really unpleasant. Because, first of all, it's a needle stuck in my arm and second, I can feel the needle every time I move.  Anyway, I try to get some sleep despite my discomfort.

Adventures in Healthcare: Thyroidectomy, part 4: Ward Life

Let's talk about "ward life" today.

When I booked my surgery, I had an option of staying in a ward (with 4 roommates), a semi-private room (with 2 roomies), or a private room.  Well, I'm poor spinster, schoolteacher-cat lady (yes, I couldn't be more of a stereotype if I tried) so I needed to go with the cheapest option...staying in the ward.  The word "ward" brings up an image of World War II battlefield hospitals (in my mind anyway) and since I had never stayed overnight in a hospital before, was anxiety-inducing in my little introverted self.

Adventures in Healthcare: Thyroidectomy, part 3: Admission

Had to take a few days break from all this writing.  Reliving all this is exhausting.

Anyway, the next stop in the adventure is being admitted to the hospital.

I got an email from the International Clinic that I would be contacted by the hospital on Saturday around noon with instructions for me so I can admit.  So, Saturday morning I had to rush around and get to and home from the market before noon so I am home and not distracted from what the nurse has to say.  I wake up early and run to get the last few things I needed for my recovery time...and proceed to have a small, crying nervous-breakdown in the store because they don't have my flavor mouthwash.  Yes, at this point in my life I am THAT stressed and emotional.

Anyway, I pull myself together, get checked out, and get my stuff home.

Adventures in Healthcare: Thyroidectomy, part 2: Pre-surgery

July 3, I had to go in for pre-surgery testing.  I've never had surgery before, so I was expecting a couple of basics, but it ended up being a ENT visit, blood work, x-ray, urine test, CT scan, ECG, and ANOTHER appointment with the surgeon.

Not to mention, I was already irritated because I had to go into work for an hour and half and THEN go have all these tests done.  I mean, I get it's "my job" but they really could have just given me the whole day off, but apparently that's not how things work here.

Adventures in Health Care: Thyroidectomy, part 1

So, today, I want to talk about my surgery experience here in Korea.  Again, it was another first, although not one I was looking forward to.  This is quite a long experience, so this will be a multi-entry posting.

A few months ago, I told you that I had thyroid cancer...aka, "the best cancer."  And I'm going to do a quick PSA: Ok, NO cancer is good cancer...let's be clear...and although it's not life-threatening and people can live without their thyroid, it's just a $hit thing to say that "it's not serious."  I know...I KNOW...people are just trying to be comforting and supportive when they say things like this, but really, it's unhelpful and comes across as dismissive.  Yes, I knew I wasn't likely to die, but there was always the possibility of it spreading into my throat, vocal cords and lymph nodes.  So, while I was very lucky that this was NOT my case, still...when you are talking to someone about their illness, try hard to not trivialize their thoughts and feelings.  ANY illness takes a mental and emotional toll, not just a physical one, so please use a little sensitivity.

But I digress.

First, of course, there was some drama concerning my surgery date.  SIGH.

Experiencing Hanbok!

A couple weeks ago was another first time experience for me....and after almost 4 years, it's nice that things can still be new.  My friend Rez and I went to GoGuan Studios for the "hanbok experience."

Full disclaimer, I have worn a hanbok before...I was about 2...and I don't remember it except for the pictures.  At any rate, I've been trying to mark things off my "Korean Bucket List."  And I think hanbok are gorgeous...so flowy and colorful!

The Results are In!

I have the results from my DNA test...you know, from way back last year.  Actually, they have been in for some time...it took 2-3 months from the time I picked up my kit to the time the results hit my email...but life got in the way and I am just now sitting down to write my blog post about it.

Drum roll, please....

So, it's Been A While...

It's been a while...damn near close to a year, but it's been a hell of a year.  I won't go into everything in this post, but I will work to get everything caught up soonish.

That being said, I am hoping to get active on this blog again.

But, like I said, it's been a hell of a year.

Moving to Seoul was great/terrible for me.  Ha!  So, it was great, I have access to tons more here and I really do like my school (mostly), and my place is pretty accessible to most of the places I like to go.  The major plus being that I only have to go to one school and I can take a 5 minute bus ride rather than a 10 minute walk, 40 minute ride, 10 minute walk then get through the day before I have to repeat the commute.  But, on the flip side of that, last year my school/co-teachers were uber-demanding and constantly criticizing everything while offering no real help/solutions to the point that I nearly had a nervous breakdown.  Knock on wood, this year has been better, even though I haven't dramatically changed much, but my co-teachers changed and are incredibly supportive and encouraging...I mean, co-teachers really make or break your experience here.

But because my work situation was so sever last year, I really got my introvert on and would retire to my room for almost all the time I wasn't at work.  I got really into my crafting hobbies and am quite good at them, so I still like to while away the hours watching youtube and crocheting.

The biggest thing is that this past year I had both a cancer scare and a cancer diagnosis.  Just before I moved to Seoul the doctors found a lump on my thyroid, biopsied it, and decided I was fine but to come back every six months.  Ok, so I thought "crisis averted" because, after all, lots of people live with thyroid nodules.

No.

I went back for my periodic check this last February and they decided that the lump was 1cm bigger (which is a lot considering it was 2 cm when they first found it) and needed to biopsy again.  This time it came back as cancerous.

Just f'-ing great.

Now what?

Apparently, thyroid cancer is the "best cancer" to have.  Like if you have to choose a type of cancer, then you should choose thyroid cancer.  Generally, it's slow growing and its uncommon to spread.  That being said, since my (now) tumor is already quite large, I need to not dilly-dally on treatment.  So, I'm spending my summer vacation having a partial thyroidectomy and the recovering a little before I have to go back and teach an intensive English camp.

So I was depressed...a lot...spent hours crying and feeling sorry for myself because "I have f'ing cancer" and the only treatment option for me is to stay in a foreign country where I don't speak much of the language and have to be without my support network and have surgery and getting back to the grindstone.

Then I got angry...because I am a "good damn person" and work so hard and care so much (even when it costs me) and my reward is cancer.  Not cool, universe...NOT cool.  Especially because I thought I was finally going to get to China to see the Terra-cotta Warriors...I know that seems silly to some, but the Terra-cotta army was really what inspired my interest (and eventual Masters) in Anthropology and it would break my heart to leave this side of the world without seeing them in person.  So vacation plans iced.

So, now what?

Just waiting for my surgery date.