[Jawbone54]

Dakar, maybe this will get your Christian joke wheels turning...

I'm high as a kite right now, thanks to our good buddy, Percocet. I had a 2-inch long, 1.50-inch wide tumor removed from the base of my neck yesterday morning, and today I've been working on a presentation for my parents' 20th anniversary at their current job. In other words, I had to load up on the painkillers just to make it through the day. I probably won't be done until past midnight tonight.

So while I'm sitting here, giggling and getting media together, I figured I would share some of these shots with you.

Before the surgery:



Me looking dead-sexy:



The afermath:

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Dakar, maybe this will get your Christian joke wheels turning...

No, just my stomach.

[nonhuman]

Did they let you keep it in a jar?

[Big Mac]

Perhaps it was an alien implant.

[peeb]

Looks good - good luck with the recovery!

[Jawbone54]

Nope on keeping it, nonhuman. They had to send it to the lab to make sure it was benign.

Thank you, peeb. The doc told me he's about 99% sure that I'll be able to play in a golf tournament this Thursday.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Perhaps it was an alien implant.

I've been calling my incision the "alien abduction mark." Then the wife always reiterates how much she hates X-Files.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I've been calling my incision the "alien abduction mark." Then the wife always reiterates how much she hates X-Files.

LOL.

[OreoCookie]

Christian jokes? They're not half as funny as all the alien abduction jokes you're going to hear
Glad things went alright and that the aliens were nice enough not to cut out one of your kidneys in the process.

[subego]

Good luck and keep us psoted!

I also have to say, I found the expression on your face, even though you knew you were about to get sliced, to be very happy.

[Doofy]

Wow, how much did that surgery cost? I could have whipped that out in a half hour for you. With a blunt spoon and half a bottle of Jack.

[osiris]

Good luck Jawbone, I bet it's a relief to get something like that removed your body. Get well!

I'm sure a bunch of drunken MacNNers armed with sharp kitchen knives and a bottle of Jack could've saved you some dough though.

[Jawbone54]

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone.

subego, my wife and mother were in the room at the time and kept on complaining about how goofy I was acting. I actually recorded a pre-surgery video and then instructed my wife to lay my MBP in my lap as soon as I was semi-coherent. I had iMovie pulled up and ready, but unfortunately I was well within my senses by that time. There was no babbling about how much I hated Garth Brooks' music like after I had my wisdom teeth taken out.

I'll still put it up on YouTube later tonight, probably.

[freudling]

I am glad you can be this gitty about it. Even in the face of something like this...

All the best to you from Canada.

[design219]

Best wishes man. It's great that you can keep your jawbone up through stuff this.

[mrtew]

I think I have one of those! What was it like. Was it really a tumour or just more of a fatty cyst?

[Sherman Homan]

My wishes for a speedy recovery!

[Jawbone54]

mrtew, it was a benign tumor. That's all the info the doc gave me so far. Definitely wasn't a cyst. I'm going back for a follow-up next week to see what all the tests said.

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. Everything's gone great, except for the fact that I had the hiccups yesterday for four hours. Today the incision is much less sore than my chest cavity. Probably not going to upload the post-op video; it's pretty boring.

[brassplayersrock²]

i'm glad that everything came out okay. speedy recovery mr. d

[Railroader]

Congrats on the alien abduction successful surgery Jawbone54.

Speaking of funny stories involving anesthesia, my wife had a major 9 hour surgery and as they were putting her under, they told her to count down from 100. She looked directly at me and said "I'll say hi to Jesus for you". For the next 9+ hours I was a complete wreck. I couldn't leave the waiting area for fear the doctors would come looking for me, I sat with tears sitting on my lids the whole time. Anesthesia does weird things to people.

[Oisín]

mrtew, it was a benign tumor. That's all the info the doc gave me so far. Definitely wasn't a cyst.

I’m very glad to hear that, and quite impressed at how coolly you are taking all this.

Oh, and you look very adorable in your blue hospital gown and goofy facial expression.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

Speaking of funny stories involving anesthesia, my wife had a major 9 hour surgery and as they were putting her under, they told her to count down from 100. She looked directly at me and said "I'll say hi to Jesus for you". For the next 9+ hours I was a complete wreck. I couldn't leave the waiting area for fear the doctors would come looking for me, I sat with tears sitting on my lids the whole time. Anesthesia does weird things to people.

That was a horrible joke at the time, but looking back, it's absolutely hilarious. You got real-life LOL from me out of that.

Originally Posted by Oisín 

I’m very glad to hear that, and quite impressed at how coolly you are taking all this.

Oh, and you look very adorable in your blue hospital gown and goofy facial expression.

Everyone seems to like the fact that I was goofing around except for my wife. She got a bit nervous a few days prior when the doctor kept talking about "just making sure" with the tests later.

Seriously, in all likelihood, I knew it was just going to be a benign tumor that needed to be removed before it caused any problems due to its proximity to my spinal column. If the doctor had given any indication to think that it was possibly malignant, I would've been less jovial about it. He just gave me a "99.9% chance it's benign" speech and scheduled me for surgery.

I wasn't going to make my already uptight wife and mother any more upset by acting nervous about it. They tend to take everything seriously, so I was just trying to off-set it. They were actually doing fine until the woman at admittance asked if I had a living will.

Has anyone else had a tumor removed, or anything similar? I'm sure with the amount of people here, there are probably several stories to tell. If I'm not mistaken, don't we have some people who are fighting/have fought off cancer?

[subego]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Everyone seems to like the fact that I was goofing around except for my wife. She got a bit nervous a few days prior when the doctor kept talking about "just making sure" with the tests later.

She might have thought you were goofing to hide how genuinely nervous you were.

[ghporter]

Good luck with your recovery!!! It looks like they did a good job-after a year or two that scar won't be noticeable at all. What kind of tumor was it (said the student in a health care profession who's finishing a neurologically heavy semester)?

[OldManMac]

Good luck on the recovery!

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

That was a horrible joke at the time, but looking back, it's absolutely hilarious. You got real-life LOL from me out of that.

Oh, she wasn't joking. I think the anesthesia made her think she was going to die. The surgery was elective and not because of a life threatening situation either.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Good luck with your recovery!!! It looks like they did a good job-after a year or two that scar won't be noticeable at all. What kind of tumor was it (said the student in a health care profession who's finishing a neurologically heavy semester)?

Ha...wish I could tell you more about it. If you'd like, I'll post some information from the follow-up appointment.

Honestly, guys, I didn't expect much sympathy in this thread. I just wanted an excuse to gross Dakar out with some incision and tumor pictures. Regardless, it's been really nice to get all of the well wishes. I really appreciate it. We all squabble in these forums over anything and everything, but when it comes down to it, these forums are filled with good people (which is why I've come back for so long, I guess). You guys rock.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

Oh, she wasn't joking. I think the anesthesia made her think she was going to die. The surgery was electic and not because of a life threatening situation either.

I suppose surgery, no matter what kind, always feels life-threatening when you're finally on the table. Add a smidgeon of anesthesia, and BOOM...scare the hubby crapless.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I suppose surgery, no matter what kind, always feels life-threatening when you're finally on the table. Add a smidgeon of anesthesia, and BOOM...scare the hubby crapless.

She has mastered this.

[Andy8]

Sounds like it was a Lipoma - I had a few of these removed last year.

[mrtew]

Originally Posted by Andy8 

Sounds like it was a Lipoma - I had a few of these removed last year.

Yeah I think that's what I'm dealing with. Was it bad? Did it hurt? Was it practically nothing? Tell all about it.

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by mrtew 

Yeah I think that's what I'm dealing with. Was it bad? Did it hurt? Was it practically nothing? Tell all about it.

Nothing major to worry about unless they grow in places that affect your movement. I had them in my forearms and thighs. I never really paid much attention to them until I started yoga. Then i really noticed them, as I was doing arm balances and could feel these weird lumps in my forearms. So for peace of mind, i had them removed and tested. All were benign thankfully. I had 13 removed, with sizes varying from dice sized, to the size of my thumb! Bigger ones in the legs and smaller in the forearms.

If yours are not bothering you and you are not worried about the cosmetic look, then forget them unless they start getting too big, too fast.

[abe]

Best wishes.