My ThyCa Journey: Just beat it!

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Life threatening illnesses and injuries, hospital admissions and surgeries are nothing new to me. In 2016, I was diagnosed with lumbar disc bulge while in 2018, I had an appendectomy. So upon learning my papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) diagnosis and hearing the word "surgery" from my doctor, I was not worried at all. I told myself: I didn't go through life's hardships for no reason.

Aside from my positive outlook in life, the fact that everything happened so quickly left me with no time to process my emotions. All I knew was the only way to survive was to stay mentally and physically strong.

Here's a quick run down of how things escalated:

January 18, 2024 - Executive Check Up
April 9, 2024 - ENT Follow up check up
April 15, 2024 - Fine Needle Biopsy (FNA)
April 22, 2024 - I got the result of my FNA, it was positive for malignancy
May 17, 2024 - Hospital Admission
May 18, 2024 - Schedule of Total Thyroidectomy with neck dissection
May 21, 2024 - Hospital Discharge

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May 17, 2024: A day before my operation

I was told by my ENT Surgeon that there were no restrictions in food and physical activities days leading to my surgery. I stayed physically active as much as possible running 2-3 times a week. On the morning before my admission, I went out for an early morning 10-km run.

After a sumptuous lunch at Jollibee, I admitted myself to Cebu Doctors' University Hospital. My ENT Surgeon took care of everything for me, from coordinating with the admission section, looking for anethesiologist and endocrinologist and aligning schedules of the operating room. With this, my admission process was smooth, pleasant and exciting even.

Upon admission, they handed over a health kit containing hygiene essentials and a blue lab gown that I wore during the operation.

I'm blessed to be living in Cebu City, one of the major cities in the Philippines, where quality health care is accessible. The hospital is roughly 20 minutes away from home and everything I would need is within reach. The hospital is nothing fancy but it's decent and comfortable; that's all that matters.

They charge $45 per day for the room which includes 3 meals. Hospital meals are notorious for being on the bland side and this one was not an exemption. I wouldn't say it was that bad but could be improved. The planner in me knew this would happen so I brought my own pink himalayan salt.

Later in the afternoon, my ever supportive boyfriend arrived. Since I could no longer go out, he bought stuff for me.

There was no need to insert an IV until 9 in the evening when they started to prepare me for the surgery; I was free to move for the firt few hours of my admission. I was determined that throughout his operation, I don't want to look sickly. I want to look fabulous and energetic no matter what; I even brought my make-up kit with me. 😂 Before heading to sleep, my boyfriend and I had a quick skincare routine. I'm so glad I did this! My face felt moisturized the entire time I was in the hospital! This felt like we're having a mini staycation. 😅

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May 18, 2024: Moment of truth!

Morning came and I had to be up early to prep for my operation. My operation was scheduled at around 8 AM but as early as 6 AM, nurses checked on me and ensured all is set.

I'd want to document until the operation room but phones weren't allowed there. I can tell from what I saw the intense preparation they did. Everyone was pre-occupied. A few doctors came to me, they were the friendliest. When it was time to start, the anestheologist calmly mentioned "We'll put you to sleep now"

About 5 hours later, I was back in my room. I spent almost 2 hours in the recovery room listening to the nurses rant about a co-worker. It was amusing to listen to their stories while recovering from the anesthesia. At this point, I felt sleepy and generally weak. But I guess not too weak to take a lot of selfies 😂

My neck and upper chest were tightly wrapped in bondages which prevented me from moving my neck with ease. Since I had an extensive left neck dissection, my left shoulder blades, left upper chest, lower portion of my left jaw and my entire neck were all tight and numb; it's as if it's swollen inside. I was hesitant to move my neck as I used to; each move was calculated to avoid any injury. But my doctor assured me all I felt were normal and will eventually go away.

About 5-6 hours after I arrived in my room, I was able to gather my strength to stand, pee on my own and walk around. I felt my energy was slowly coming back. I couldn't raise my arms to fix my fair so my boyfriend gladly did it for me.

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May 19, 2024 - Can I eat now?

The following day, my first order of business was breakfast! It was my first meal after my surgery. To facilitate a faster healing process, I'm supposed to follow a low fat, high protein diet. I had a long list of food to avoid.

Before my doctors could come and check on me, I ensured I was presentable enough to face them. So I wash my face every day, put on very light makeup and of course, my boyfriend fixed my hair again. The high bun wasn't the best hairstyle for me but it did the job any way. 😅

The resident of my surgeon coming by to change the dressing and making sure everything is in order. A Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain was inserted near my upper collar bone. It was my first time seeing and using a JP drain and it could spark anxiety. It drains excess blood from my surgery stitch so you can see blood slowly coming out.

Later that morning, my ENT Surgeon Dr. Marlon Oclarence visited me and asked me how I felt or if there were any problems. I told him of the numbness and tightness I felt in my neck and shoulder; similarly, he said all are normal side effects of the surgery.

In the afternoon, I watched movies, TV series, sleep, eat and walk outside my room. Nurses came in every now and then to check on my IV, give my medicine via IV, check on my temperature. Everything was okay except for my neck. It felt too heavy so I need my boyfriend to help me sit down or lift/support my head whenever I change my sleeping or sitting position. It sucks!

_{View from outside my room. I come here every now and then especially when I get bored in my room. It helped me regulate my mind to stay on the positive side, too.}

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May 20, 2024 - Family day!

With the coming of the new week, came with it the gift of friends and family. Only a handful of people knew what was going on in my life but they're exactly the only people I need during these difficult times.

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May 21, 2024 - Adios!

Aside from all the medicine I had to finish and bloodworks I need to endure, one of the leading indicators that I can be discharged and recuperate at home is the color of the fluid my JP drain collected. The first picture shows the bloody red watery drain collected a few hours after my surgery versus the right one which contained lesser and clearer liquid. With this, my doctor notified me of my discharge. It was the 3rd day after my surgery.

I don't want to narrate how stressful the discharge process was; let's keep in under slow and painful folder never to be revisited ever again. At this point, I was just thankful that I only had to cover a portion of the total cost of the procedure as my insurance covered most of it.

For my parting words, well at least for this blog.😅

When asked "Is it scary?" I'd say "Not as scary as we’ve seen in movies and TV series."

But don't take my word for it. I warn you. It maybe scary for most especially if you haven't been hospitalized and worse, operated before. In my case, I was relaxed the entire time.

“Are you shocked this all happened?” I was! I mean who on Earth wouldn't be, right? I'm at my healthiest, most active physical state in my entire life. I ran 2-3 times I week. I do yoga and strength training at home. I cook my own meals from scratch filled with green vegetables. I couldn't help but ask "Why me?" But I dared not.

“Did I got angry with God for all of these happening when I’m absolutely at the peak of my life?”

The old Pat would’ve sulked a day in darkness, cried nonstop and lost hope right there and then. Questioned God what the heck is all this? If there's something I’m just so happy and grateful this time is that I know better now. You see when you’ve reached the deepest and coldest dungeons in life and by some divine power overcame those, you’d be a different person.

And you’d call me insane for saying this but this is not the hardest thing I went through in life. In fact, it felt like everything, absolutely everything in my life has been taken cared of before this thing blew out of proportion.

One day, all this will make sense. For now, I'm overflowing with joy for the gift of life, family, work and peace.

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