Post Surgery Update

** this is a disclaimer to those with weak stomachs, if you have one I highly suggest not reading this post **


Its been almost a month since my surgery. Good news is it was cancer free! YEA!!! Bad news, its got infected or so the Doc thinks (I'll get to this part). They had to reopen the incision, put me on antibiotics and I (really its Bret) get to pack it until it heals from the inside out. Awesome... well kinda.

Two days after the stitches were removed I woke up to this....

And no that is not a goiter or a second chin, its the infected area. So I called the Doc and he said come in asap. I got there and he felt it, said we have to open it up. (what?) He numbed me up and where he poked me liquid almost immediately started leaking from the area. I waited in the room for about 5 minutes (long enough to go numb) when he came back in handed me a metal bowl and asked me to hold it under my neck just in case... good thing he handed me that bowl because as soon as he cut me open the bowl started filling up with this mixture of infection residue and an oil looking substance. (Perfect) As the bowl continued to fill he began saying how unusual this was and that he had never seen anything like it (oh even better) He then started in on what I needed to do to hopefully get it taken care of. (hopefully?... okay) Packing it daily with medicated gauze and covering it up with a massive piece of gauze for the leakage that would be coming from the wound. But to also keep in mind that since he had never seen the type of liquid that came out that it could be part of the cyst still producing fluid. (awesome)

not the best picture, but you can see the HUGE piece of gauze that is attached to my neck

I have been going in 2 times a week since and yesterday when I was there my hole is smaller (yea!) But when he was cleaning it before repacking, he removed what looked like a really long clear elastic unbreakable spaghetti noodle. He said he needed to ask another doc about whether this was a normal thing to be coming out of the area and that after talking to him he would let me know whether or not they need to go back in and see if there is still part of the cyst that is producing this strange substance. (Great) He then thanked me for being such a good sport about the whole thing (HELLO what else can I do?) And said he would call me by Friday to let me know what the new plan was.

So tomorrow I find out my fate.. to be honest I dont really care what he says as long as I dont have to wear these the rest of my life!!