scarred.

I believe that scars tell stories.  I can tell you the story about the faded scar on the inside of my left forearm from when I burned myself on the grill the week that I graduated high school, the story about the scar on my foot from a bike accident when I was 5, the story about the scar on my right knee from a bike accident when I was 29 (yes), the story about the crescent-shaped scar right below that from when I fell through my neighbors' not-yet-fully-constructed deck onto their concrete basement floor when I was 3 (also true), or the story about the scar on my right shin that looks like someone put out a cigarette on my leg - it was actually from my dermatologist removing a mole when I was in high school.  I guess my right leg has been through some rough times.

I am not exactly a gentle person, and I often have bruises on my legs or arms since I  a) tend to walk into things and b) bruise easily (not really the best combination).  In fact, when I was getting prepped for surgery, the nurse asked me if I had fallen recently.  I didn't respond right away and then said, "On purpose?  Does sliding into third base count?"  Then she asked me if I had any cuts or scrapes on my body.  I immediately said yes and showed her the open scrape on my left knee, the raspberry on my left ankle, and the bruise on my right calf.  I explained that I had played a doubleheader softball game on Monday night.  She understood. 

So now I have a new scar and a new story to tell.  I'm not sure yet just how I will tell this story, but as my scar fades, I think my story will become more clear.  

Without further ado:

the BEFORE picture - this was actually taken the first day in May that I went to my doctor for the lump on my neck (do you see it?)

 

and the AFTER shot - here is my beautifully scarred neck!

see, scars are cool

My scar is improving every day - it is still a little puffy and jagged, but it looks much better than it did a week ago.  Hopefully it will just be a thin line in a few months.  

I had my follow up appointment with Dr. Raeburn today and got a good report.  He said my scar looks "as good as it can at this point", my voice sounds better than he expected, and my pathology report came back as expected - also good news.  I had more blood drawn to test my calcium levels one more time, so there is a chance we will be able to tell if my parathyroids have finally started working yet (but sometimes it takes up to a month for them to work again).  

I am cleared to go back to work next week, but will start with half days just so that I don't go crazy right off the bat.  So, I'll ease back into it and thankfully my bosses are very understanding and think that's a good idea as well.  I have to make an appointment with a ENT/Speech doctor to see what we can do about my voice, but otherwise all reports are good!  Praise the Lord!

Now we are going to play a fun game called "How Much Did My Scar Cost?".  If you would like to play, please leave a comment with your official guess.  I have reviewed my online health insurance portal and the final number is the total of all claims submitted (and now approved) for services rendered from 8/8 - 8/11.  This includes, but is not limited to: Dr. Raeburn and the elves, an 11.5 hour surgery including operating room fees/incidentals, anesthesiologist, many pairs of blue latex gloves, nurses, housekeeping, unlimited pudding snack packs from the Nutrition fridge (until they ran out), lab rats testing my blood every 6 hours, one visit from the swallowing doctor, delicious meals of things like warm strawberry smoothies and bland mac and cheese, 3 nights and 3 days in room 814, and lots of sanitizing foam (foam when you enter and leave the room!). 

Make your best guess - I will close the guessing on Sunday night.  My immediate family and Theresa are ineligible because they know the answer already.  The winner will receive his or her choice of a handmade craft item... this you don't want to miss out on.  Happy guessing!

Lastly - Saltine update.  I am happy to say that with the help of Krystal and our friend Zach, I am down to 6.5 sleeves.  These saltines do make quite a tasty snack, but there are only so many saltines that one can eat.  It has been suggested that I attempt the "10 saltines in 60 seconds" challenge.  Maybe.

-g