It is the first Thursday following surgery - almost a week now. My brain is in such a fog that the only way I truly know what time of day it is is due to the medicine logs I keep - I have to know what meds I took when so I don't take too much. Believe me, if I forget to take my pain meds - I feel it.
My first post-op doctor's visit was Wednesday with the plastic surgeon. He and the nurse removed my bandages and checked my drains and incisions. I had a blister from one of the bandages rubbing on some exposed skin which Kathi had treated the day before. The opening in the skin on the right breast was extremely painful due to irritation in skin surrounding opening but is not infected. I had also not taken enough pain killer before the appointment. I was trying to wean myself off the pain meds but the doctor told me it is too soon. I can start weaning once the tubes are removed. I also was told I can now take advil. Once I took that, the pain decreased significantly.
After completing the examination, the doctor said that the wounds are healing very nicely but that he wanted to keep the drain tubes in another week. He was talking about possibly removing them at our next appt. The pain pump, which pumped a numbing medicine into my chest, was removed. I am happy to not have to carry the pump around anymore. I really can't tell that I am no longer using it except that I don't have the weight of it hanging around my neck.
Today I met with the mastectomy surgeon. He let me know that their was abolutely no cancer in the left breast nor any of the lymph nodes. A second biopsy was done from a frozen section of lymph nodes and that test came back negative. I am meeting with the oncologist in two weeks to determine what if any further treatments will be needed. It will definitely not be radiation due to having nothing to radiate. He thinks that we got this one truly early. He felt really good about the decisions we made and at the fantastic outcome. I asked what else besides the nipple areas and main breast were removed - he said that the tissue under the skin up to the collar bones was removed (looks like I am a lot thinner/less fatty around area where my necklace falls) and the sides of my breasts (also much less fat there). I thanked him for his efforts which were greatly instrumental in saving my life and thanked the administrative technician that did all the hard work of scheduling the surgeries, the doctors, and the health insurance. I want to find the mammogram tech that found the tumor initially. God inserted all these wonderful people into my life's path and into my cancer journey for a reason. They need to know how important they are in all of this, that they gave of themselves for another human being. These doctors, their staff members, and the radiology staff have all been truly a blessing to me. You can't help but see that this has God's love prints all over it!
My sister, Kathi, is helping me over the next few days with cleaning and dressing my breast wounds. My breasts, as they undergo reconstruction, are a bit difficult to look at - but no where nearly as bad as I thought they would look. There are two main incisions across where the nipple was. They were sown with stitches and covered with surgical tape. That area is mostly numb. The skin between my breasts was not removed, but it is also numb - that may be due to the pain pump's tube coming out of that area. The expanders under the skin and pectoral muscles causes a lot of pressure so I have to move around a bit to keep the feeling of pressure down.
I am having some problems with the pain meds. I don't like how they make me feel. I have trouble with time perception. Sometimes I think that 2 minutes passed and it's been an hour or an hour has passed and it feels like a few minutes. I also see dellusions - like someone I am thinking about in my mind is standing off to my side and when I look they aren't there. I fall asleep at the drop of a hat and start daydreaming when I am still partly awake. I can't always see straight - like my eyes can't stay focused, which gets annoying. I get hot flashes and break out in a sweat (this is probably also due to the fact that I have gone immediately into menopause). I have also been unable to go to the bathroom (#2) until yesterday and had to use a suppository. Another side affect. I am greatful for the pain relief they provide, but am looking forward to just using Advil and then nothing at all.
I have been really sleeping alot (mostly small catnaps) since I've been home, so I haven't been as diligent as I wanted to be with this blog. I will make every effort to keep this blog up, just wanted to explain why I may skip a day here or there. This surgery has taken more of a toll on me than I thought it would. And asking for help has been part of that struggle. I am getting better at asking - but am not all the way there yet.
Kathi will be helping me out through Saturday evening then my mother-in-law, Sally, will be coming to stay for a bit to help out with the kids and the house. My house is pretty cluttered at the moment. I get up throughout the day and will put things away (as long as they don't weigh more than 5 pounds and I don't have to stoop too low or raise my arms over my head). When I start to feel pressure, I know it's time to stop.
I spend some of my day reading yahoo emails on my Android phone and the rest either watching TV or sleeping. I try reading my Bible or another book, but my eyes start to cross and I get too sleepy. So I pray and take a nap.
I know how I feel will improve - I just am impatient with myself. I am healing quickly and have a light at the end of my tunnel - the healing and His light!
Blessings to All - Kelly
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