I am back! I had surgery just over a week ago and am slowly and painfully trying to heal. Unfortunately, the surgery was far more challenging than expected (for the surgeon and for me). I woke up in the operating room and felt far better with regards to the pain I had been in - night and day different. Then I saw the clock... it was many hours later than I had expected. The surgery was challenging from the beginning (intubation was not the standard put you out and away they go) as I had a significantly shifted trachea because of the tumour in my left side of the thyroid. The tumour was not able to be completely removed and I did lose a significant function during the procedure - part of my voice.
After an overnight stay (not the original plan) and a horrible breakfast (apparently the normal plan), I was able to go home reasonably early in the morning. I only saw one person I knew in the hospital on the way to the car!
My recovery has been slow and I have had lots of issues keeping warm and keeping cool, but I am improving every day. The most notable issue is that I have a permanent loss of the vocal cords on my left side, as the surgeon needed to cut the nerve to get most of the tumour out. This will be something that I will have to get used to over the coming months, and I am definitely sensitive about my voice. Being on opiates for several months has been the most significant challenge, but I think that I am now through the worst of it. We will learn soon whether this journey is over or whether it is just beginning - the pathology results should come at my follow-up visit with the surgeon next week.
Yesterday, I was able to go for a walk to the local plaza and freeze my butt off in the cold weather! I went for coffee at the local bagel house and as I asked (in my hoarse voice) for my order, the always friendly owner said that his humidifier broke and he could barely speak when he woke up. I didn't quite know what to say, so I lifted my chin, pointed to my very new scar and said that mine wasn't a humidifier problem. I think I shocked the poor guy...
On the way home, I found this perfect leaf that I just had to digitally preserve. The fall colours are still great, even with all of the wind we have been having recently knocking most of them down.
All I need to do now is to rest, get my energy back, and start doing some of the normal things that will get me back closer to the way things were. Cooking is one of the things that has fallen by the wayside, so hopefully soon I will start making food again.
As I write this, it is exactly one month before Wendy and I go on our cruise to the Caribbean! I definitely have to get back enough energy to do that!
Hello Prof. Eric! I'm a student of yours and I recently found out about your blog. I just wanted to come on here and learn more about why you've been absent. I hope that you'll feel better soon, and I'll be sure to keep you in my prayers.
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