I met with my breast surgeon, Dr. Pollack, yesterday to discuss the results of pathology from surgery. The news was FABULOUS!! There was no evidence of malignancy in either (they only removed two) of the lymph nodes and the mass from the right breast was only 0.5 cm in size. There was no evidence of cancer in the left breast. I am sure that once I go to the oncologist on September 30, she will discuss the results more in detail, but for now, I am thrilled!! What a mighty God we serve!!
I would love for you guys to pray for comfort while sleeping. I have had to sleep on my back since surgery two weeks ago. I have just about had it with that. I can no longer get comfortable on my back so I am exploring ways to sleep on my side without it causing too much pain. Last night, I was not successful, but I am hopeful each night will get better. Thanks friends!!
The Real New "DO"
These are "REAL" friends
Wigs
Maddie having a little fun!!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The Experience
Friday morning, September 2, 5:00 AM. I had already showered the night before and cleaned myself with some kind of wipes that leave your body feeling very sticky. When the alarm went off on Friday morning, I was as ready as I would ever be. I still had not fully comprehended what would be happening once at the hospital. We arrived at the hospital a little after 6 and went to the nuclear medicine floor. They had to inject nuclear medicine into the right breast so that once I was in surgery, they would be able to detect if any or how many lymph nodes were affected by the cancer. I was holding myself together pretty well at this point. After we finished there, the nurse took us down to the surgical floor (2nd), so I could be prepped for surgery. As we signed in, we were very pleasantly surprised to already see 5 men there waiting for us. Some of Brian's men's life group and one of our ministers from church had been waiting since 6 to see us. It was seeing all of these men there in support of Brian and myself that caused me to "loose it". We all prayed and then they took me back to prepare me for surgery. The next hour passed in a bit of a blur. I saw the anesthesiologist, answered lots of questions for the nurses, got the IV started, saw both of my doctors, and then was allowed a few visitors before going into surgery. My pastor was one of them. What a wonderful church we have that people will make time to let you know they care no matter how busy they are. We are truly blessed! Thanks Men's Life, Larry B., and Dr. Brooks! You were more helpful than you could ever imagine. At 8:04, they began the anesthesia and told me I would get a little sleepy. I mentioned the lights were starting to "swim" and that is the last thing I remember until as I was being rolled out of surgery, and I asked the nurses what time it was and was told 10:00 PM. I was beyond thrilled. God answered our prayers!! I had been in surgery for 14 hours and knew that meant my lymph nodes were cancer free. Praise God!! Brian told me that Baylor had beaten TCU - I couldn't believe it, but was of course, thrilled.
From there, I was taken to SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit) and began my 4 day stay. At the direction of the doctor, I was under a "warmer". It reminded me of a long skinny floatie you use in the swimming pool to lounge on. It had a large hole that they hooked up a hose to that was blowing warm air constantly. They placed a blanket over it to hold it in place. The purpose of the warmer was to keep my blood flowing so that in the new area (flap), the blood would not slow down, possibly clot, and cause the flap to die. The SICU nurses were instructed to come in every hour and listen for arterial and venous blood flow on both of the flaps. The hourly checks would continue until Sunday night; at that point, they went to every two hours. So between the hourly checks and the warmer (I am naturally very hot natured and don't sleep with much cover), I didn't get much sleep for a while. That was the reason I asked to not have any visitors. I was a mess!! I also had 4 drains that needed to be emptied each day (two for the breasts and two for the abdomen). On Saturday morning, just 12 hours after surgery, I was able to get up out of bed and into a chair that sat next to my bed (with LOTS of help). I sat up for an hour and then got back into the bed. That task alone was exhausting!! I repeated the task at about 10 PM that night. By Sunday, I was up and into the chair 3 times and doing a little more walking. One of the first things I noticed on Saturday morning was how swollen I was. The explanation given for that was the amount of anesthesia I had been given. They started IV fluids immediately to flush all of it out of my body. My oldest daughter thought it was the weirdest thing. The way she described it was that my hands looked all soft and that there were no wrinkles for my knuckles. I was thankful that I had not worn my wedding ring, because they would have had to cut it off of me. After a few days, my swelling in my non-IV hand went down. By Monday, the nurse started an IV in my right hand in order to alleviate the swelling that remained in my left hand. It made a huge difference! My feet however continued to stay swollen - probably because I had "leg squeezers" on both legs and a blood pressure cuff on my left leg. It was difficult to get my shoes on when we left the hospital.
My doctor released me from the hospital on Tuesday. Being home has been wonderful! Each day, my mobility and ability to do things for myself has improved. I still have one drain in and am hopeful to have it removed tomorrow when I see the doctor again. Everything feels funny - my entire torso. I understand that is very normal. I am standing a little straighter every day but am still not completely straight. I have to wear this awful "girdle" thing to hold every thing together nice and tight. I DO NOT enjoy it. I can't imagine how ladies wore them all the time in the "olden days". I am ready to be released from it, but unfortunately, I don't think it will be for a while.
I will meet with my breast surgeon this Thursday to discuss pathology results of the one lymph node they removed and any cancer that may have been left in the breast. We are praying for good reports.
My plastic surgeon says there is a phase 2 surgery in which he will reshape the breasts and make them look more "normal". He says it will only last an hour or two and that maybe he can coordinate it with my hysterectomy surgery. That way I only have to be under anesthesia again once. My hysterectomy will most likely be done laproscopically. This surgery will be mid to late October - depending on my recovery. I will keep you updated on that .
Thank you for all you are doing for my family. When I asked my Mom what she had done the entire day of surgery, she said she visited all day with all of you that came to the hospital. That means more to me than words can describe. Thank you for being so supportive of Brian and my Mom and for taking care of my girls throughout this ordeal. Thank you for being rides for the girls now that I can't drive and for bringing meals again. You all are wonderful!! Please feel free to come for a visit - I would love the company. I am up all day at this point and take very few naps. If you would like to call to make sure, please do. Please don't feel like you would be a bother - it is quite the opposite. I think the company would help me heal faster!! Hope to see you soon!!
From there, I was taken to SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit) and began my 4 day stay. At the direction of the doctor, I was under a "warmer". It reminded me of a long skinny floatie you use in the swimming pool to lounge on. It had a large hole that they hooked up a hose to that was blowing warm air constantly. They placed a blanket over it to hold it in place. The purpose of the warmer was to keep my blood flowing so that in the new area (flap), the blood would not slow down, possibly clot, and cause the flap to die. The SICU nurses were instructed to come in every hour and listen for arterial and venous blood flow on both of the flaps. The hourly checks would continue until Sunday night; at that point, they went to every two hours. So between the hourly checks and the warmer (I am naturally very hot natured and don't sleep with much cover), I didn't get much sleep for a while. That was the reason I asked to not have any visitors. I was a mess!! I also had 4 drains that needed to be emptied each day (two for the breasts and two for the abdomen). On Saturday morning, just 12 hours after surgery, I was able to get up out of bed and into a chair that sat next to my bed (with LOTS of help). I sat up for an hour and then got back into the bed. That task alone was exhausting!! I repeated the task at about 10 PM that night. By Sunday, I was up and into the chair 3 times and doing a little more walking. One of the first things I noticed on Saturday morning was how swollen I was. The explanation given for that was the amount of anesthesia I had been given. They started IV fluids immediately to flush all of it out of my body. My oldest daughter thought it was the weirdest thing. The way she described it was that my hands looked all soft and that there were no wrinkles for my knuckles. I was thankful that I had not worn my wedding ring, because they would have had to cut it off of me. After a few days, my swelling in my non-IV hand went down. By Monday, the nurse started an IV in my right hand in order to alleviate the swelling that remained in my left hand. It made a huge difference! My feet however continued to stay swollen - probably because I had "leg squeezers" on both legs and a blood pressure cuff on my left leg. It was difficult to get my shoes on when we left the hospital.
My doctor released me from the hospital on Tuesday. Being home has been wonderful! Each day, my mobility and ability to do things for myself has improved. I still have one drain in and am hopeful to have it removed tomorrow when I see the doctor again. Everything feels funny - my entire torso. I understand that is very normal. I am standing a little straighter every day but am still not completely straight. I have to wear this awful "girdle" thing to hold every thing together nice and tight. I DO NOT enjoy it. I can't imagine how ladies wore them all the time in the "olden days". I am ready to be released from it, but unfortunately, I don't think it will be for a while.
I will meet with my breast surgeon this Thursday to discuss pathology results of the one lymph node they removed and any cancer that may have been left in the breast. We are praying for good reports.
My plastic surgeon says there is a phase 2 surgery in which he will reshape the breasts and make them look more "normal". He says it will only last an hour or two and that maybe he can coordinate it with my hysterectomy surgery. That way I only have to be under anesthesia again once. My hysterectomy will most likely be done laproscopically. This surgery will be mid to late October - depending on my recovery. I will keep you updated on that .
Thank you for all you are doing for my family. When I asked my Mom what she had done the entire day of surgery, she said she visited all day with all of you that came to the hospital. That means more to me than words can describe. Thank you for being so supportive of Brian and my Mom and for taking care of my girls throughout this ordeal. Thank you for being rides for the girls now that I can't drive and for bringing meals again. You all are wonderful!! Please feel free to come for a visit - I would love the company. I am up all day at this point and take very few naps. If you would like to call to make sure, please do. Please don't feel like you would be a bother - it is quite the opposite. I think the company would help me heal faster!! Hope to see you soon!!
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