One month on

I had my operation a month ago and while there have been some ups and downs, basically it is all going well. The scar seems to be healing and I have a lot more head movement now. It is still very numb and I have been told this may be permanent due to nerve damage, but to be honest this is the least of my worries. It is only a small area under my chin and around my neck and how often do you really need to feel that part anyway?

So, overall I am pleased with the way things are going. My blood is normal again, so it was definitely worth having it done. The funny thing about the scar is that I don't think I mind it, however, every time I go out I make sure I cover it with a scarf, so I obviously do mind it a bit. Perhaps as it settles I will feel less self conscious, and at least it is winter so the scarf doesn't look too out of place. I will be going back to work soon - probably next week - so we'll see how I feel when I have to stand in front of a whole room of people who can see it.

Anyway, I will report back on things in January, as it will have been 3 months by then. Hopefully, there will be a big difference.

Complications

Ok, so I had a bit of a complication last week. On Thursday I went to see my GP and she said that she thought my scar had a bit of an infection because it looked quite red and puffy and I was still in quite a lot of pain with it, so she prescribed me some antibiotics. I've never had any problems with antibiotics before, so I wasn't really worried too much. However, I woke up at about 1am and I felt like my throat was closing and it was really difficult to breathe. I was sweating and my heart was hammering, I got up but still felt really bad and was still struggling to breathe. My thought at this point was that something was happening internally - perhaps bleeding or swelling - I was absolutely terrified and I was so scared, I honestly thought that I was about to die. Anyway, I woke my hubby and we went to A&E, where they ran loads of tests and took loads of blood. They kept me in overnight and eventually came to the conclusion that I had had a bad reaction to the antibiotics. They gave me some more tablets to counteract the effects of the antibiotics and eventually sent me home.
That was 4 days ago now and I feel fine again. I think I probably scared myself more than anything else, but it was a very scary time nevertheless. However, at least my neck is starting to feel a lot better and I am regaining quite a lot of head movement, which is good because I have to drive this weekend and looking left and right will be quite important!

Two weeks later

Two weeks after the op and all is going well. The scar is starting to settle down now and the movement in the neck is starting to return. It is still very numb and it has been through a couple of different phases of pain, for a while it felt like the cut was going to re-open, that was a particularly unpleasant feeling. Then it began to feel very tight, with a dull pain, for a couple of days it just felt like an actual cut would feel and now it just aches and itches - it's strange how it keeps changing, but I guess that's just the healing process - or so everyone keeps telling me.

Anyway, I saw the specialist today and got some good news. My calcium levels have returned to normal, which means the operation was a success and I have been discharged - it's all over! It's a huge relief, I was worried that they would want to operate again. So, that just leaves me with a visit to the surgeon on the 1st December, then I should be back to normal again.

I haven't returned to work yet, I would like to have a bit more feeling and movement in my neck before I do that, but I feel like I am making good progress, so it shouldn't be too long. I will post another pic after the first month, just so you can see how it's looking.