Friday, July 24, 2009

Well, I made it out. During the operation, they nicked a vein and I ended up losing more blood than they expected. I was in recovery 2 more hours than normal because they were watching my blood pressure. My blood count was falling so they were talking about giving me a blood transfusion.

The two operations are considered out patient and I was supposed to go home the next day, on Tuesday. I was feeling really tired and they gave me the option of staying an extra night which I took. Good thing as I had a slight fever Tuesday night which they were able to monitor. I didn't have a fever all day Wednesday and I took a few walks around the floor to get my energy up. Around 5:00 p.m. one of the surgical associates came in to tell me I could go home if I wanted. I told him yes. MFD was there to see me on her way home from purchasing a new Saturn, an Aura. She stayed and got the happy task of chauffering me. We didn't leave until around 7:30 p.m.

This was a different floor than where I had stayed previously. This floor had private rooms and was basically recovery from surgery. There were a few mothers who had given birth via C-section so I would hear babies crying off and on. On one of the doors, it said that if you took an infant past it, an alarm would sound. MFS and BDHA were speculating what they inserted into the infant (ankle bracelets people!). MFS even told me that if I got bored, to take an infant past the security point just to see what would happen. The hospital also rented tugs (big carts run by robots) from CMU. MFS said one came down the hall towards him and stopped until he passed it by. One of the aides told me that they have a tendancy to get "stuck" and bump into walls. If you stand in front of it long enough, it tries to go around. They use it mostly for taking used food trays back down to the kitchen. I never saw one, but I did hear them go past all the time.

I'm in a little pain, mostly from the drains. I can empty them myself (I have two on the mastectomy side) but I can't reach far enough up into my armpit. BDHA has been helping out and the "ick" factor isn't that bad. Both doctors told me that I could shower and not have to worry about covering up any of the incisions. I was glued shut! I can let the water run over it; I just can't scrub it. I'm going to attempt that today. I have to wear this belt around my chest to hang the drains (plastic bottles) from so that it doesn't hang out and pinch me. That pain is not covered by the vicadin.

My surgical oncologist, Dr. Z., called yesterday with the pathology report. He said that the mass had shrunk by 48%. He called it a "big bad cancer". Out of the 29 lymph nodes they took, 7 had cancer. They were confident it hadn't gone past the lymph nodes before I started chemo and believe the same thing now. I was considered Stage IIIb cancer. The last step before Stage 4. Thank god I felt it when I did. The tissue that was removed from the left breast for the reduction showed benign. That's the breast they were always watching. Hopefully with the attention placed on it for the operation, it won't get jealous and say "I'll show you!".

As soon as I've healed and the drains are removed, they'll start radiation. I don't really know what that entails other than 7 weeks, 5 days a week and I'll need some sort of cream for the "burn". I have an appointment on the 30th with both the plastic surgeon and the surgical oncologist, Dr. Z. to see how I'm coming along.

I can't drive for now (and don't want to right now) but I know I'll want to before I should. I did that with both of my C-sections. I just have to be careful of my arm. There's a possibility that I could get Lymphodema. That possibility will exist for the rest of my life; it could show up tomorrow or ten years from now. If I fly, I have to wear a compression sleeve on that arm (my own personal G-suit).

Well, MFD's wedding picnic reception is tomorrow. I plan on going for a short time. Right now, however, it's back to bed.

Take care peoples.

-Suesan