I'm home. I'm good.
Hoo boy. You never know how you're going to feel after a routine, easy craniotomy performed by a well respected brain surgeon. I guess I didn't need to worry too much, because after 6-ish hours of digging inside my head, the surgeon called it good.
I went in to the Hull (Gatineau) hospital at 6:30am on Monday, April 7, was in the operating room by 8:30am, then woke up in the ICU around 3:00pm. I felt a bit groggy, but my left foot was moving! My left arm was still a bit sluggish, though. Very little pain, mostly around the incision.
The surgeon was happy with the work, said I'd be in the hospital maybe two days if all went well overnight. And all went well overnight, except for a scary left arm paralysis that lasted a minute when I sat up too fast. The staff were amazing, helpful and caring.
Two Days, One Night.
Next day, my energy was about the same, and physio evaluated me and cleared me to leave. We were in the car by 2:00pm, home by 2:30pm. My mother spent two nights over to help Joanne, and really got me moving. I did dishes, peeled garlic, prepared food, etc. This was a throwback to when she had open heart surgery 5 years before, and I went over to her place to push her to move around.
I am on Tylenol for pain, which is minimal. I have 34 titanium staples holding the scalp together, and those are coming out in 4 days.
Baby Steps.
I'm doing as well or even better than I had hoped, but recovering from a craniotomy is a slow steady progress. I'll be taking it easy for the next two months; no driving for 6 months; I might tag along to some of my clients' weddings that my sister is taking over if they will have me - just to see if I can do it; I'm currently fully expecting to be able to photograph my wedding clients 5 or more months out - that means you Tegan and Steph! (but I'll be bringing Francyne and Nathalie to make sure we get all the shots).
