Yesterday I watched my surgeon's hands remove the tape from two of my three incisions. I wanted to ask her if, as a little girl, all she ever wanted to be was a surgeon. She does nice work. Not that it's an issue (no beauty pageants or wet t-shirt contests in my future!), but her cuts look like they will leave minimal scars.
Surgery for Herschel's removal was Tuesday, June 28th. We arrived very early and were sent to a "holding area" with other surgical patients. Prior to surgery though, I had to have a mammogram with needle placement so that Dr. B could find my (now) tiny tumor. It was interesting having my boob smashed between plates of plexiglass while having rather large needles inserted north and south of Herschel's hiding place. The radiologist, another beautiful, intelligent woman doc, numbed me with lidocaine so apart from the sting of that, all I felt was pressure when the needles (like acupuncture only bigger!) were placed. Still, the best feeling of all is when they release pressure and the booby smushing is O.V.E.R. Aaaaah. That's better.
Once the needles were placed they inserted wires (about six inches long) through the opening in the middle of the needle to anchor them in place. So now I have two long needles and two long wires hanging from my breast. My next question was, "How on earth are you going to transport me?" There were lots of giggles from us all, me, the radiologist and my mammo tech. The mammo tech assured me it was all very high tech. Wait till you see ....
Yep. That's a styrofoam coffee cup taped over the protruding hardware! I thought it was hilarious but told the doc I was going to complain if I was charged for a mocha-latte-anything on my bill.
So me and my Lady Gaga outfit are shuffled back to the surgery ward where I am further equipped with compression hosiery and a hair net (Haha .. what a waste!) Dave and I give kisses and off I go. The last thing I remember are the big lights on the OR ceiling. Nite, nite ya'll.
I wish somebody would record me in recovery. I must be a scream. I do remember saying, "Maaaaaaan, I missed the whole party .. I wanted to WATCH!" Dave says I repeated every question four times BUT I was the only one who could get my hearing aids in right! I'm not sure how long we were in recovery before they moved me to a room kind of like an ICU suite. Thankfully, there was a recliner for Dave. I slept off and on but got up to walk the halls several times before bedtime. My precious nurses, Mary, Jingle and Tierney were WONDERFUL. Yes, I said JINGLE!
Even the food was not bad. And there was so much of it that it fed both Dave and I. My surgeon's assistant came in bright and early the next morning to confirm that I was doing awesome and by 8:30 am we were released and on the road to home. Vicodin made it painless but I was surprised to find my left arm didn't work so well any more. Doctor B removed my port, so I had one incision on the right of my chest. The lymph node dissection incision was the largest and most painful running about four inches in the fold where my arm meets my torso, the Herschel excavation incision about two and a half inches the left side of my breast and the drain for all the fluid on my side, over my ribs. I had no idea how juicy I was! Saint Dave would be responsible for the care and maintenance of this little plumbing addition for about three weeks. God love Dave!
So, despite the fact that I have been abundantly sore this past week, (the lymph node dissection is the worst!) surgery was not an unpleasant experience, just another chapter. I am so blessed to be surrounded by such loving family and friends, I won't ever take you for granted!
Yesterday, I saw Dr. B for post op followup. I was a little concerned since she told me she would see me in two weeks and they reappointed me in only one. Turns out my pathology report was good news/bad news. The good news is that of the 26 lymph nodes taken (all of them on the left side), only two tested positive for cancer. The bad news was not too bad, but Doctor B. is going back in on Friday to retrieve the last bits of tumor that remain. A clean margin (healthy tissue around the tumor site) is considered. .2 mm. Mine is only .15 mm, so a bit more surgery is in order. I really don't mind ... I'd much rather do this NOW than later. And I am grateful for the thoroughness of my doctors.
So, it's off we go again to MDA bright and early tomorrow. I won't know when my surgery is until I call in after 3 PM today but there will be no overnight stay this time and Dave and I will be home tomorrow evening. Me in the recliner ... and my sweet Dave snoring on the sofa beside me.
I see the radiation doc on July 21st and we'll find out from there what my schedule of treatment will be. Thanks, as always for you continued prayers. Don't know what I'd do without 'cha!
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