Healing and Waiting
It has been three days since my surgery and I'm feeling pretty good! I wanted to write an update while the experience was more fresh in my mind, but I've been too busy relaxing. :)
My surgery was scheduled for 12:15 Wednesday. I checked in around 10:15 and was changed into my fancy hospital garb by 10:30. At this point I learned from the other patients that things were running behind by about an hour. It's a good thing I'm really good at waiting! I passed most of the time from 10:30 until after 1:00 reading, knitting, doing crosswords, and watching TV coverage of the queue to see the Queen lying in state in London. At some point around 12:00 I was called in for a pre-surgery interview and to have my IV started. They were able to use my PICC for the IV which made me happy - it's good to be able to put it to use while it's here. Before and after that point I made the occasional trip to the washroom to stretch my legs...most of the chairs in the waiting area were plain old uncomfortable seats and it felt good to move and release some of my nervous energy. I also enjoyed some banter with a few of you...thanks for helping to entertain me!
Around 1PM I was taken to the 'final' waiting room and my bag was whisked away to recovery. I forgot to keep my glasses case with me AND forgot to take off my hat, but was thrilled that they didn't mind and let me wear my surgical hair net on top of my hat. This hat was made for me by my friend Fiona and I love it. It is lightweight, comfortable, and comforting; it was so nice to be wearing something of my own and felt like a security blanket. I was the last person left in that waiting room when my surgeon came to get me. She used a wand-like instrument to locate the magnet's position in my breast and used a marker to identify that spot. She then sketched out some lines to show where she planned to make her incisions. During this meeting there was a medical student present which made me happy; my surgeon is exactly who I'd want to be learning from.
After a quick visit from the anesthesiologist and one of the surgical nurses, it was finally time to go to the operating room. I estimate we got there around 1:45, but I can't be sure. It's a bit weird to hop up on to an operating table and all of the waiting had made me a little nervous. They put a blood pressure cuff on my calf, covered me up with warm blankets, and my surgeon held my hand while she spoke to me and the rest of the room about the surgery. It's hard to express how comforting the hand-holding was. Touch is such a powerful thing. I think I will always remember exactly how calm and reassured I felt in that moment. The anesthesiologist was also very kind, and before I knew it I was asleep.
I woke up in the recovery ward around 4, I think? Things are a bit fuzzy, but I was briefly awake as I was being parked in my new spot and I remember my surgeon being there briefly. The next hour was a bit of a blur. I didn't sleep at all, but just rested and observed the bustle around me. My armpit was very achy but I couldn't feel much else in the way of pain. I called my armpit pain a '3' out of 10. I had a tensor bandage wrapped around my chest. My wonderful nurse gave me some Tylenol and Dilaudid (hydromorphine) which took the edge off in the next 15 minutes or so. She called Rick and Mom to let them know I was out of surgery and doing OK. The patient beside me was having trouble managing their pain, so my nurse was very busy tracking down meds and help for them. She wheeled me over to the next ward (the last stop before home!) and left me in the care of some other lovely nurses who gave me my prescription, reviewed my instructions, and called Rick and Mom again to let them know I was ready.
I was home before 5:45 and I was very hungry after having fasted since the night before. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner and spent the evening resting. For family entertainment we all got to look at my bright blue urine, which was blue from the dye they injected to help visualize the lymph nodes during surgery. It was more turquoise in colour at bedtime, and light green by morning. For pain I took naproxen (Aleve) for 48 hours as directed, as well as some Tylenol, but didn't need anything stronger than that. Everything felt tight and stiff, but I did my best to move around and do some exercises to keep my shoulder moving. The incision below the armpit is what makes people nervous to lift their arm up too high. I am finding it easier to move freely each day but I still have bad memories of my unhealed chemo port wound and have to push these thoughts away because they make me shudder.
Yesterday (Friday) I was instructed to remove the tensor bandage and have a shower. Mom was there for logistical and moral support. There is a bandage where the incision was made in my breast, which is smack dab in the middle. The bandage will stay on until Monday. Around the bandage was a very swollen, very bruised boob. Right now it is so swollen it is as big as (or bigger than!) the other one. My armpit seems OK and isn't too swollen. I have been sleeping slightly elevated with a reading pillow under me and another giant pillow that looks like a baguette under my arm. (It is truly a baguette pillow as it is coloured to look like a freshly baked baguette...my brother gifted it to Miriam a while back...it's pretty awesome.)
I have been out for walks since Thursday and am doing most of my normal activity. Walks have been shorter than usual but it's great to be out in the fresh air. On Monday I have my regular nursing appointment and that is the day we will take off the bandages. I will do this with the nurses present so that I have backup; this is something I feel I need after the chemo port situation. I was not nervous at all about surgery until the chemo port/wound fiasco! I should mention that my wound is looking good, definitely getting smaller, and has healed significantly in the last two weeks. I'm hoping that it will be gone soon!
So, now we are back to the waiting game. I have appointments on Sept 27 with both my radiation oncologist and my surgeon. This is the day I will find out the pathology results and learn about the plan for radiation treatment. I've become good at waiting by now. :) It seems to me that the 27th is a very important day. I will either find out that I'm all clear, OR I will find out that I need more surgery. Two very different outcomes. I certainly feel like I'm 'all clear!' Having felt my tumour go away during chemo I'm pretty certain that the last couple of treatments killed every last leftover cancer cell. One must not get too excited, though. As sure as I am that my treatment has worked I know I have to be prepared for the possibility of different news.
Last but not least, my hair is growing back in! I have eyebrow stubble and my head hair is coming along. I may need a haircut before Christmas after all. :)
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