On Wednesday, July 30th, 2025, Shawn had surgery to repair his fractured skull and broken nose.
In the week and half after my fall, leading up to the surgery, I actually felt better every day and the unsightly dent wasn't noticeable after the first night in the hospital. We were worried there may have been some issues missed with the first CT scan, so on Monday before the surgery I got an additional scan done to check for any bleeding or other problems. The scan looked good (as good as a busted head can look), and I was cleared for surgery.
For the day of surgery, I wasn't scheduled until the afternoon, and I was a little worried I'd be starving or feeling terrible by the time we started. The anxiety staved off the hunger, and I actually felt wonderful. I told Andrea that it was the best I'd felt since the accident, and I felt energetic and like I should be going out for a jog on the beach.
I was prepped for surgery, although the surgeon was running a little behind schedule. Andrea was allowed back in to the pre-operative room so she could wait with me and we watched some basketball to pass the time. The surgeon, Dr. Yang, checked in eventually and marked up my head a little with her pen. We briefly discussed what was going to happen and she offhandedly mentioned that they'd printed 3d models of my skull to visualize the operation. I was thrilled when she said that I could have the models after the procedure. Andrea gave me a kiss for good luck and they wheeled me back to the operating room. It was quite the production, in a large room, with lots of people. I remember moving over to the official table, the anesthesiologist talking to me, and then I was gone.
After surgery was a bit of a blur for me, but I was rolled in to the recovery room and I got to have some visitors. Andrea, Grandma Alice, Grandpa Rick, Abby, and Paige all came to check on me. Surprisingly, as complex as the surgery was, there was a possibility they would send the patient home on the same day. Since my surgery didn't start until late in the afternoon, I was expecting to stay the night. Andrea was willing to stay with me, but my mom volunteered and it was nice to have nurse Alice overnight.
Night one was terrible. Skip this paragraph unless you're interested in gory details. I had nothing to eat before surgery, and afterwards I was not hungry, but very thirsty. I chugged down a bunch of apple juice and cranberry juice, which tasted amazing. Unfortunately, I started feeling nauseous some time after midnight. I was given zofran, but it did nothing for me. Thankfully I'd asked for a barf bag, and I nearly filled the entire thing. The strain of the vomiting busted something in my head and blood was dripping freely. After I got cleaned up, I tried to get some sleep, but the pain was terrible. I had been trying to urinate for hours and finally I had to ask for help. I had a straight catheter inserted and while it was awful, it was a relief. Mom and I finally got about an hour or two of sleep in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Thursday started off rough, I was exhausted from the long night, and Alice ordered breakfast. I was thinking it sounded like a terrible idea and I wasn't hungry at all. Thinking that, I was surprised to find that the breakfast sandwich smelled good. My mom fed me some teeny tiny bites, and it as amazing how rejuvenating just a few bites could be.
I slowly felt better throughout the day, and some of the surgical residents and students stopped by to check on me and change my dressings. Family came to visit and eventually the case managers and nurses, asking if we were ready for discharge. I talked it over with the physicians and as poorly as the night has gone, we decided I'd be better off staying one more night.
The second night was much better, and I was able to get up out of bed to use the restroom, walk around the unit, and be more mobile. On Friday morning, I was discharged fairly early and Andrea picked me up with Abby. It was good to get home, Paige was waiting for me with Millie Mae, and the pupper dawg was very happy to see me. I took a long shower once I got inside, and Andrea helped me to shave the last bit of hair on the back of my head that the surgical team hadn't been able to reach during surgery.
Since getting home, I've had ups and downs. It's been mostly up, but the pain has been constant and annoying. Millie Mae has kept me company constantly throughout the process, and everyone's been good helping me out so I don't have to lift anything or stress.
Andrea helped me to take a few before/after pics, which I'll eventually update down the road once things heal more and I get the splint and stitches off. I've also downloaded some of the Mayo Clinic images from my chart, and combined a few to make animated GIFs. I've also tried to take some pics of my skulls, but the clear plastic they're made from is hard to photograph.
Hopefully will have some good updates in the future. I definitely want to thank everyone for all the help, Andrea has been my strongest advocate, my mother was an angel staying the nights with me, and thanks to my father for driving to pick up Connor from Tallahassee.
Video of my drain removal is private, because it's gross and awful.
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