Thank God for turtlenecks!

So as I was reading through the various posts on my blog, I realized that I never posted an update about my surgery. Some of you may be sitting at the edge of your seats at this point dying to hear the gory details. Well, forget it! I was asleep (of course) during the entire thing. And really it wasn't nearly as bad as I had made it out to be (go figure) during all of my obsessive worrying prior to the actual surgery.

My neck was pretty sore for the first few days. It is amazing how heavy my head is! Just holding it up wore me out. I would sit at the dinner table with my head in my hands for added support. Mike kept asking if I was okay and my reply was always, "My head is just too heavy!" (For those of you who are surprised by this...keep in mind that while I may act, sound, and write like an "airhead" at times, I really do have a very dense brain lodged between my ears.)

The doctor removed my stitches the day before Thanksgiving. He said it wouldn't hurt, but he lied. It pinched when he pulled them out! He did caution me to leave the glue bandage on until the following Monday so the incision wouldn't reopen accidentally!!!

What!?!
If there is a chance of my neck falling back open, I really don't think we should be removing the stitches yet! What was he thinking???

Anyway, it has now been almost two weeks since the surgery, and I am feeling much better. I still get pretty tired by the end of the day, but I am back at work and slowly easing back into an exercise routine. I don't really even take Advil for pain or discomfort anymore. Good, good, good. And the purple mark the surgeon put on my neck is almost completely worn off, so the incision is not as obvious. Yay! It is still a bit swollen, but the doctor assured me that wouldn't last more than six months! Gee, that's comforting. And now it just feels like I have a gummy worm stuck in my neck right above my collarbone. Fun stuff!

I still try to keep it covered up when I am teaching, since the fifth graders asked me not to "gross them out" with my neck! I'm just glad that I love wearing turtlenecks in the winter.