Saturday, October 15, 2011
Step one - have the cancerous breast removed. CHECK!
Step two - begin healing - fast. CHECK!
Well friends, I had my mastectomy surgery on Thursday and it went very well. I can't remember much between the time the anesthetist said "Okay, you're going to go to sleep now" and when I work up to move from the stretcher to my hospital bed. I was in the recovery room?? Really?? No officer, I can't remember being anywhere near the scene of the accident.
I was surprised at how little pain I felt. I was able to do a lot more with my left arm than I had expected. I guess the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. The biggest complaints I had were a sore throat from being intubated (I was? can't remember that either) and an irritation in my eye (apparently from something that they taped to my eyes during the surgery). Well if you'd ever had something in your eye and you couldn't get it out, you know what I mean. I turned to my friend Sam and asked her nicely to go to the pharmacy and get me some eyedrops. At least I thought I was being nice. Apparently, I barked out an order to her "take my wallet and to get me some eyedrops. Now!) Funny how being on drugs changes our perception.
I came home Friday afternoon. It would have been the morning but the surgeon didn't make it to my room until 2:30 and I had to wait for him. I'm definitely NOT a good waiter.
My friend Sam was unimaginably perfect. She drove me to the hospital after taking me to several doctor's appointments and stayed until the surgery was done so she could talk to the surgeon. Only then did she go do all the errands that she had in her own life. But she was back that night so tuck me in. I was only able to stay awake about 30 minutes but she was back again in the morning. When we found out that I had to wait for the surgeon, we decided that I'd call her when he came, which I did. So in two days, she was back and forth to the hospital 4 times. That's going above and beyond the line of duty. I'm definitely going to have to do something really special for her when I'm up and around again,
For the next 10 days, I have a nurse coming in to my home every day to check the drains and change the dressings. She's been great so far. Let's hope she is my main nurse. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the others on the team are great, too. I've rarely met a nurse who isn't great. Nurses and teachers - the salt of the earth.
I do have a couple of problems, though. I don't want other cancer patients facing this that it's all a bed of roses. I'm getting a sharp pain in my side when I move wrong. It feels like one of the staples is digging in. the problem is that the pain is no where near the staples. The nurse thinks that it's the site of one of the drains (I have two). And when the nurse was changing the dressing today, I almost fainted. Not from pain, just from the thoughts going through my head. Tomorrow, I'm going to be more used to it and I'm sure I'll do better at it.
I have to go to the surgeon in 2 weeks for a post-op checkup, then a month from now to the oncologist to find out if I'm going to have chemo. If I do, it starts in 6 weeks, probably for 4-6 months. If I don't then I'll start planning my return to work.
Somewhere in there, I'll have to go get fitted for a prosthesis. I'm not strong enough to go back to work (or out in public any more than necessary) while this "lopsided". I may be strong but I have limits. A lot of women where their scars with pride, as a badge of courage. I'm not there yet. Maybe by the time I am healed, I will be but not now, not yet,
Step three - post-op checkup - in two weeks
Step four - get fitted for a breast prosthesis
Step five - find out about chemo
Step six - start chemo or get back to work
Step ?? - start discussing reconstruction
Stay with me on my journey. It's gonna be a wild ride.
Step two - begin healing - fast. CHECK!
Well friends, I had my mastectomy surgery on Thursday and it went very well. I can't remember much between the time the anesthetist said "Okay, you're going to go to sleep now" and when I work up to move from the stretcher to my hospital bed. I was in the recovery room?? Really?? No officer, I can't remember being anywhere near the scene of the accident.
I was surprised at how little pain I felt. I was able to do a lot more with my left arm than I had expected. I guess the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. The biggest complaints I had were a sore throat from being intubated (I was? can't remember that either) and an irritation in my eye (apparently from something that they taped to my eyes during the surgery). Well if you'd ever had something in your eye and you couldn't get it out, you know what I mean. I turned to my friend Sam and asked her nicely to go to the pharmacy and get me some eyedrops. At least I thought I was being nice. Apparently, I barked out an order to her "take my wallet and to get me some eyedrops. Now!) Funny how being on drugs changes our perception.
I came home Friday afternoon. It would have been the morning but the surgeon didn't make it to my room until 2:30 and I had to wait for him. I'm definitely NOT a good waiter.
My friend Sam was unimaginably perfect. She drove me to the hospital after taking me to several doctor's appointments and stayed until the surgery was done so she could talk to the surgeon. Only then did she go do all the errands that she had in her own life. But she was back that night so tuck me in. I was only able to stay awake about 30 minutes but she was back again in the morning. When we found out that I had to wait for the surgeon, we decided that I'd call her when he came, which I did. So in two days, she was back and forth to the hospital 4 times. That's going above and beyond the line of duty. I'm definitely going to have to do something really special for her when I'm up and around again,
For the next 10 days, I have a nurse coming in to my home every day to check the drains and change the dressings. She's been great so far. Let's hope she is my main nurse. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the others on the team are great, too. I've rarely met a nurse who isn't great. Nurses and teachers - the salt of the earth.
I do have a couple of problems, though. I don't want other cancer patients facing this that it's all a bed of roses. I'm getting a sharp pain in my side when I move wrong. It feels like one of the staples is digging in. the problem is that the pain is no where near the staples. The nurse thinks that it's the site of one of the drains (I have two). And when the nurse was changing the dressing today, I almost fainted. Not from pain, just from the thoughts going through my head. Tomorrow, I'm going to be more used to it and I'm sure I'll do better at it.
I have to go to the surgeon in 2 weeks for a post-op checkup, then a month from now to the oncologist to find out if I'm going to have chemo. If I do, it starts in 6 weeks, probably for 4-6 months. If I don't then I'll start planning my return to work.
Somewhere in there, I'll have to go get fitted for a prosthesis. I'm not strong enough to go back to work (or out in public any more than necessary) while this "lopsided". I may be strong but I have limits. A lot of women where their scars with pride, as a badge of courage. I'm not there yet. Maybe by the time I am healed, I will be but not now, not yet,
Step three - post-op checkup - in two weeks
Step four - get fitted for a breast prosthesis
Step five - find out about chemo
Step six - start chemo or get back to work
Step ?? - start discussing reconstruction
Stay with me on my journey. It's gonna be a wild ride.
I'm glad you are on the mend. Praying for you daily. Let me know if you want me to deliver a big mac or something delightfully indulging :)
ReplyDelete