tacK iN & OuT: "Natutuwa ako"

"Natutuwa ako!" Those are the words that kept coming out my mouth after I was discharged from the hospital. I AM HAPPY because my surgery was a super mega complete success, I kept noticing a lot of improvements and since my face won't show how happy I am, I kept on blurting out: "Natutuwa ako." and "Ang saya ko." Haha! So get ready, I'll enumerate all those improvements. Ready. Get set. Go. ;P

The day before the big day.. Talitha & I were fooling around

Of course the removal of the tumor was a success. Right after I got out of the Operating room going to the ICU (for further monitoring), I can say that I was already 100% conscious. I've had a lot of open-head surgery and I know how it feels like the first time I open my eyes after. I am already fine after, but I'm not fully conscious yet. Basta it felt like I just woke up from my usual sleep. Parang, wala lang. ;) I even thanked my doctors. I looked at Dr. Lope and said, "Thank you." Then switched my glance to Dr. Jose, my anesthesiologist and said, "Thank you." I am fully aware. I thanked them because I felt like the operation was a success, though I really have no idea of the outcome yet. Then I closed my eyes and went back to sleep not because I felt tired but just to rest because I am a patient. Haha. Though I was half aware of everything they are doing to me when I reached my bed in the ICU. When my mom & sister came to visit me after a while, I was very talkative and kept reminding them to update my facebook page & hold on to my cellphone always. I asked them who came to visit and did they let them write on my banner? Haha.

ICU. Picture taking is restricted. Pasaway ang ina!

The doctors and nurses kept asking me: Does my head hurt? No. Do I feel any pain? No. Dizzy? No. Do I feel like vomiting? No. Any discomfort? No. And then I realized that every time I would say no, I would also move my head from left to right, so I raised my head every time and tell them that I can even raise it. Show-off! ;P Haha.

Knocked out by Pacquiao. Haha.

Another great thing is, I could read the lips of the nurses that were taking care of me in the ICU. Ang daldal ko! ;P I only stayed in the ICU in less than 24 hours and I went back to my room already. I didn't even had the opportunity to get bored. Haha. Plus my tummy didn't felt sad at all because I was already allowed to have liquid diet the next morning, then soft diet, then full meal diet. Hahaha.

No dextrose anymore!

I still didn't feel any discomfort. As in. Nothing. I can even sit without support, so my doctor told me to sit rather than always staying on the bed, which I like a lot. :) It's too tiring to always lay on bed.

Facebook.

Five days after my surgery, I was already discharged from the hospital. Yey! Home sweet home. Though my face is still swelling then, but it will subside and it did. After Holy week, the stitches were removed already.

Removal of stitches. I was checking my right eye if I could see what Dr. Lopez is doing and I did!

And I felt and SAW a lot of improvements ever since.

Before I had the surgery, my cochlear implant hearing device wasn't really working. Dra. Chiong said that the active tumor (that was removed) might be causing a high pressure that affected the cochlear implant device inside my head. So, my cochlear implant is working again. The sound is back! It's not too clear like before, but it's back! Just like before!

Aided Hearing Test by Talitha Karisse L. Yarza, MCAud

The last time I had my Aided Hearing Test few months before the surgery, I wasn't able to hear any sound, just the vibration of the loud sound. But when I had the hearing test few weeks after my surgery, I was so amazed every time I would raise my hand and show them that I am able to hear it. "Natutuwa ako!" And BTW, my sister, Talitha was the one who conducted my hearing test. She's currently enrolled there, atUP-PGH Grad school and taking up Clinical Audiology. So Dr. Rina asked her to do it. Share lang. Haha. Anyway, natutuwa ako! Haha!

Ever since I had these tumors in my head, I would often have a headache (tolerable but heavy) whenever I feel hot (on my head) and when I would touch my head, it would feel so hot like I have a fever (even though I don't) and when you touch my head, you could feel the hot vapor coming out. Even if the weather is not really hot, my head is still hot. Talitha & I are fond of putting ice on our faces and I noticed that whenever it reaches my forehead, it melts faster that anywhere in my face. My mom said that whenever she would put a cold towel on my head, it easily becomes warm. After the surgery while I was still in the hospital, I noticed that my head is still hot. I kept touching it whenever I feel cold. Instant warmer. ;P But after a few days, when I touched my forehead, it's not hot. The next day, not hot. I didn't tell anyone my observation until after a week, I conclude that the hot temperature of my head was already gone and told everyone about it. "Natutuwa ako!"

Since my right eye & face was still swelling when I came out of the hospital and there are stitches, I won't be able to wear my eyeglasses. But. But. But. I can manage to see well enough even without wearing it! Before, if I'm not wearing my glasses, it's difficult to see in an open area. Basta it's herd. I could see, but it hard to recognize anything that I'm not familiar with. Though my vision's not clear still and I need to wear glasses for it, basta dati talaga can't talaga! So, "Natutuwa ako."

With or without glasses, I find it hard to look for familiar faces within a crowd. But not anymore! When we went to unimart in greenhills, Talitha, Maro & I was in front then our parents were behind us. And then Talitha noticed that we were ahead of our parents coz someone greeted them (someone who was able to watched us in cheche lazaro presents.. hehe) and since Talitha was pushing me, she turned me to face my parents about a few meters away, but I saw them at once signaling with their hands to come to them. I saw them in a crowded place! "Natutuwa ako."

and the best part is... *drum roll*

THE VISION OF MY RIGHT EYE BECAME CLEARER!!!

It's still blurry because the cornea has a scar on it, but it really became clearer unlike before. Remember, I used to say that it is almost blind already? Because it is. Now it used to be "almost blind". I can now define colors & shapes, unlike before, I could only see a silhouette image and it is color blind. I could see a dark, darker & darkest in the dark with minimal light, unlike before, I can't really see anything in the dark. When there's a blackout, I need to stay close in 2 candlelight in order to see something, anything. Basta, it's not almost blind anymore. I just don't have a 20/20 vision & my right cornea has a scar. "Natutuwa ako!"

GOD is great!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! Nakakatuwa noh?