All this talk about my surgery is finally over. Yes, I finally did it. I got my left submandibular gland (that's a salivary gland) removed. So what's all this hullabaloo about? Well, let me chronicle its development through my twitter posts. If you had been following me, you'd probably already read some of these.
That's the bad thing about tumors because it's hard to tell if you have them. They don't hurt at all (and they don't even bother you) but you can feel them because they're hard as stone! So you should definitely be wary when you feel these things in your body. You can't really see this lump in my neck unless I face in front of the camera or at a really bad angle, like this one...
Taken 2 days before the surgery on our way to Cebu.
Sometimes I think it helps to be a
vanidosa or something because if I weren't meticulously looking at my pictures thinking how my face has become not proportioned with my left jaw/neck slightly bulging, then I wouldn't have brought any attention to this tumor. But thank goodness, we got it checked out before it has gotten malignant. Since the biopsy showed it to be benign, the doctor advised we should have it removed because in fact, it has been growing for 1-2 years and will continue to grow bigger and become cancerous in the future.
After the surgery, the doctors said the tumor that was removed along with the entire gland resembled a quail egg or
kwek-kwek, only it was black.
Remember the kwek-kwek from Carl's birthday? Maybe I swallowed one of these things and it got stuck on my throat? LOL!
Unfortunately, I didn't get a look at it (but even if I did, I wouldn't remember it because I would have been groggy still) so I have no picture of the specimen because it was sent for further biopsy/pathology immediately.
Thank God the 2-hour surgery went smoothly albeit I had to stay in the recovery room for 6 long hours because there were only 4 orderlies on duty! Understaffed much? Nevertheless, I would like to thank everyone who prayed with me and came over to visit me at the hospital, my family and relatives who took care of me, my NoodleBoy who stayed with me giving up sleep for a few nights and wiped my vomit (eeek!), as well as some friends in the virtual world who sent me their support. Yes, I did go online before I went into surgery. Tee hee.
I couldn't eat much after the surgery yet because I was dizzy following the general anesthesia and my neck hurt like hell, both inside and outside...
Obviously below you can see the joy that lit up my face and took the pain away almost instantly... at the sight of
Häagen-Dazs!
Haaga-what?! You know, the ice cream! Yup, they still have it in Cebu and they have it in minicups, too! Few other times I've had Häagen-Dazs was back during my college days when my roommate and I would rush to Ayala Cebu to get scoops and scoops of Mint Chocolate Chip. Yup, that was the time I fell in love with the flavor. And ever since, it has been my favorite ice cream... running 11 years now.
But this time though, when mom brought me the all-new
Caramel Biscuits and Cream, I knew this was exactly the thing I needed after a long and arduous surgery of removing the tumor and my salivary gland completely... and the fear that I was going to lose my sense of taste!!! GOODBYE PAIN, HELLO PAMPERING!!!
Of note, no worries about saliva production because I still have 5 other salivary glands in my body (our bodies got 6 actually) and 1 gland removed will not really leave me with a dry mouth. ;) So praise the Lord!!! Yay!!!
The scary part about this surgery though, if I did not have a skillful doctor, a wonderful God-fearing anesthesiologist, and a great team at the operating room, is that I might be left with some nerve damage. Since there are three nerves that lie close to the submandibular gland, I could have had
weakness of the lower lip, numbness of the tongue/loss of taste, and worse,
restricted tongue movement if any of those nerves have been damaged or bruised. WHOA!!! Can you just try to picture that out?!
But that's all behind me now... But I do have this scar right now, which I hope fades in time, to remind me not to take things for granted especially when it comes to my health.
Alrighty then, now it's time to put Häagen-Dazs to the test and show you how it really melts one away into a happy state.
DO NOT DISTURB. Slow melting in progress. Oh the softness of the ice cream's texture! The extra sweet and bursting flavor... Don't you just want to melt with me? Tee hee.
Just like how ice cream makes you feel better after a visit to the dentist, Häagen-Dazs ice cream also melts away the pain... even after a "major, major" surgery. ;)
