Post craniotomy: my recovery journey

February 27th, 2025 2:49PM

The neurosurgeon came out to have the usual ‘talk’ with Reggie in the waiting room post OP to let him know everything went fine and as expected.  He told Reggie that he was very pleased with the surgery; that it was not a rare surgery but a very hard surgery.  The surgeon stated he was able to remove 97% of the tumor, the other 3% he left alone; as it was wrapped around a major artery. We were glad to know all this AFTER the surgery. 🙏 Altogether, it took roughly 4 hours and 15 minutes.

Soon after, I was wheeled back into our room in the ICU unit. I don’t really remember a whole lot that afternoon, but there were several people in the waiting room with Reggie while during surgery.  Reggie was very thankful for all these people there to support him, especially after code blue was called soon after surgery began.  Needless to say, he was relieved to know from the waiting room receptionist that it was not for me. 

The first thing I remember after waking up, was someone telling me to wiggle my fingers, toes, asking me what 6x3 and 7x4 was.  At this point I was very annoyed and didn’t feel like answering silly questions. Lol  I just remember I didn’t feel like opening my eyes and just felt extremely thirsty and was begging for some sweet tea. They asked if I knew where I was at, I stated that I assume I’m back in the icebox—because every room in that hospital was -5° so technically I wasn’t wrong! 😉 

That same evening, we had a few visitors stop in and visit.  Again, I don’t really recall a whole lot of that afternoon.  My pain level was at a 0 because I’m pretty sure I was still extremely medicated. However, one thing I won’t forget post op was having our preachers wife hold the puke bucket while my stomach decided it definitely didn’t like that sweet tea I just chugged after surgery. 🤣 Bless you, Rose! 🤍 Sometime through the night after surgery, my ear on the right side decided it was going to go shut.  I couldn’t hear out of it at all. It felt like I had 19 layers of duct tape on my ear. That was the worst feeling ever — it caused me to be dizzy & very nauseated.
Friday morning — very early, they wheeled me down for another MRI.  The entire time on the way down there, I was dreading the thought of laying completely flat on the cot for 40 minutes. That thought alone was making me sick to my stomach. The young gentleman asked what radio station I wanted to listen to while they took the MRI, and I asked them to turn on KLove.  The first song that came on was ‘Somebody Prayed’.  After listening to that entire song, I pretty well fell asleep in the MRI machine and felt a 100% peace come over me. I was going to get through this! 🙏 

Days 2-3 were ROUGH. The surgeon told us things were going to get worse before they got better. I wanted to believe him, but I also felt that my headaches were pretty intense prior to surgery— so how much worse could it be? The surgeon told us he had to work around my neck muscle on the right side, that he basically picked it up and moved it to the side. I experienced neck spasms like nothing I’ve experienced in my life.  Pain on these days were a 10, my neck was so stiff that I could not even handle the thought of turning from side to side in bed. Saturday was probably the worst day, I felt so weak and nothing food wise was appealing. I got out of bed a few times, but after I passed out during a bathroom break — they pretty much made me stay in bed the rest of that day. 
Speed up to Sunday morning, with lots of prayers, gum chewing, exercising my jaw, the ear decided to open up on Sunday morning. It made a loud pop and everything was instantly so much better.  I do know our church family had specific prayer for me that morning and it just felt like a God squeeze when my ear finally opened. My ears, still to this day, have a lot of whooshing and swishing sounds but it’s only when things are super quiet and let’s face it, with 3 young tweens in the house, it’s never super quiet around here. 🤣

Sunday morning I was feeling the best I had felt since surgery on Thursday. The nurses were talking of sending us home.  However, my heart rate decided that it wanted to go all crazy and so they decided to hold me in for an another night of monitoring before sending me home.  All test and lab work came back negative for everything.  At this point, I was taking a Tylenol every 8 hours because the other pain med was making me fell nasty sick.  I assume my heart rate was associated to the pain my body was feeling. 

Monday morning, March 3rd 8am — the doctors once again made their rounds. I felt and looked like a brand new person.  Was able to walk to halls, get out of bed unassisted and pretty well do whatever I pleased.  They stated that all test results were trending in the direction they needed to, and that I will be going home today.  We were so excited to finally be headed home.  We missed our children so much.  They were never allowed to come to the hospital.  However, by the time we finally came home — it was 8pm that night.  It was such a bittersweet homecoming and they were so glad to see us.  

Speed up to Friday March 21st (our 10th anniversary!)— my original post op appt was schedule for March 19th.  The neurosurgeon had a family emergency come up and they had to reschedule my appointment, this left me feeling very anxious as the stitches were completely healed over and I was dreading the thought of having to let them in for even longer! Thankfully, just 2 days postponed and we were headed to Evansville to get all 20 sutures removed and learn of the biopsy report. Dr Uluc came in and looked at my incision, told me I could drive again, and that the biopsy report stated his original opinion of the tumor; that it was benign.  PTL! 🙏 best anniversary gift ever. 

I have wrestled with a lot of different emotions since all this.  In other words, I’ve asked myself what is God trying to teach me through this experience? How was this fair?  God decided to keep me around, while others around me with similar stories, some children WAY younger than me— going through chemo and radiation, inoperable tumors.  It just doesn’t feel fair.  It isn’t. We can’t understand why things like this happen. 
We aren’t here by chance, nor are we here just to live for ourselves without any thought of God. God made us, and life’s greatest joy comes from knowing Him and living for Him every day.  I’m alive for a specific reason. You’re alive for a specific reason. God spared my life because it wasn’t my time to go. There is still work to be done.
God wants us to come to know Him personally—and we can, by asking Jesus Christ to come into our lives. Only one thing separates us from God, and that is our sin. But by His death on the cross Christ destroyed that barrier sin had erected. 
Let’s not ignore God any longer, but by faith commit your life to Christ today! Then ask Him to help you live for Him every day! 
My story could’ve ended so differently, I’m praising God for allowing me to work for Him just a little while longer.  🙏