I'm a Survivor

Patty's update: I was excited last night to be able to visit DonnaLee at NYU. I didn't share the news in yesterday's blog post, because I wasn't sure how she felt about visitors and if others were welcome, too. I'm glad I didn't say anything, because DonnaLee isn't ready for a roomful of friends yet for a couple of reasons: 1) Just getting to NYU and finding parking is tough. 2) She doesn't want a lot of people to see her in her post-surgery state.

I can understand how she feels, because when I arrived, I was somewhat taken aback to see that the left side of her face where they reconstructed the jaw is quite swollen. I hadn't anticipated that, though in retrospect, I should have. But the doctors assure her the swelling will disappear in about a month, and that an incision running from the middle of her mouth, down her chin to her throat, will result in just a small scar.

The feeling of being surprised was soon taken over by feelings of relief, when I heard DonnaLee telling hospital tales in her inimitable style. She had thought she might have trouble speaking after the surgery, but that wasn't the case last night. Emily and her boyfriend, Joe, were there when I arrived and DonnaLee shared with us how she convinced her plastic surgeon and the two other surgeons overseeing her recovery to remove the feeding tube that had been causing her endless pain. Apparently, her plastic surgeon opposed this move, because he didn't think she'd be able to eat. But she emphatically pleaded her case and won out.

As a result of having the tube removed on Tuesday morning, DonnaLee feels her recovery has sped up. I arrived just a couple of hours after DonnaLee was moved from a post-op recovery room (with 24-hour, in-room nursing care) to a regular hospital room on the other side of the floor, because she was doing so well.

I also enjoyed the story of the doctors' followup visit after the tube was removed. The doctors and their entourage came in, looked down at her, and she croaked out in a hoarse whisper, "What have you done to my voice?" She said they looked at her aghast until she told them she was just having some fun with them.

After Emily and Joe left, DonnaLee and I took a walk and she showed me her two previous post-op recovery rooms. She also showed me some of the talisman that she brought with her to the hospital: a beautiful prayer shawl, hand-knit by the members of her church, and a little silver angel, given to her by a fellow Sunday school teacher.

Finally, there is a heartfelt drawing from Emily. It shows a before and after picture of DonnaLee, in a hospital bed and flexing her muscles in a yoga pose. Underneath, it reads "DonnaLee: Survivor."

More news to come . . . DonnaLee may be going home tomorrow.