Charleston Bound, part 2
Comments
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Bethcw,
How long will you be in Charleston? I get there on March 21 around Noon. I will be driving from Augusta, SC/GA that morning.
MartyJ,
Thanks for the spring blooms update! The azaleas are blooming aready? I thought it's been a little cold there so I wondered what bloom season would be like. My one and only azalea bush blooms end of April so I'll catch bloom season again when I get back home.
Sewanee,
I have a day set aside before surgery to just walk around the area you talked about. Beaches & gardens are my favs (museums-so-so). Thanks for the tip! I'm waiting for the Fashion Week thing to end before I head downtown to avoid crowds.
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Pink - the crowds will be mostly in the evening and concentrated at Marion Square. You should be fine wandering the Battery. If you want an out of the way stop for lunch, try Gaulart and Mallicet (Fast & French) on Broad St. between Meeting and King. Really fun and delicious. Just very small.
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Pink, my reservation at the Homewood is until the 22nd. However, I just heard that my post-op appointment is going to be on the 21st at noon. So I am undecided as to whether to leave on the 21st or 22nd. We should definitely get together if possible! If I do decide to leave on the 21st, I'm sure I'll be back for a follow up before you leave town. I am definitely looking forward to some springtime in Charleston!
Beth
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Because Dr K had to use a smaller vessel from a muscle for my left flap, I am going to have to wait until about September for my 2nd stage which should work out ok with accomodations. I stayed at a friend's condo the past month, but will not impose on them for Stage 2. I have used VRBO with great success in the past for decent rates & cool places. I'm hoping stage 2 is not as extensive and we might include a vacation. I might head to Savannah/Tybee after stage 2....guess we will see. I have to get over stage 1 first. I am doing ok, just frustrated with the limit arm use and not bending over.
Sewannee, if you're headed to France for work....I'm betting you're in the tire biz!!
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Ketch... I have a friend who owns two beachfront homes... I can get the info if you are interested in renting one.
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I have some questions...I am having to work on a smaller shoestring than before,so plan to stay in Charleston for three nights after release from hospital,probably at The Palms.I will be alone.I will have a nurse come in to assist me with showers ,drains,etc.Then I will go to stay with my male cousin for a week or so,have my final appointment and come home.Was wondering how much time I should plan to need the nurse each day.After I go to my cousins,will I be OK showering on my own? He will be there of course,but will I need help that I should plan to have a nurse provide? He lives about an hour from Charleston(Elloree)and I am going to try to find a nursing service in his area but so far have not had much luck.When I have had surgery in the past,I have had my husband who took wonderful care of me..it was a little scary how involved he got with emptying my drains..kind of like a mad scientist..!!!It looks like I will have to travel home alone,thinking I will just ship my carry on and would only have a shoulderbag to deal with.Any thoughts on this?Tentative date is mid June,is it terribly hot then?Would love it if someone would tell me exactly what to pack as far as clothes....underwear? What kind???I am thinking if I can get a few things in order,I will not be so nervous!!!The best part is I am going to go a few days early and my cousin and I will drive to Florida to see my 95 year old aunt.Looking forward to that..to the rest...not so much!Forgot to say this will be delayed bilateral SGAP.
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Panda - please PM Jeskachi with your date so she can add to the list. Does the Palms include food in the fee (in their dining room)? You may not need a visiting nurse as much as you need an aide. The Palms has a service that they recommend. Be sure to ask. Aides are less expensive. Can you handle your drains on your own? I did them myself after I left the hospital. I was able to take showers on my own by the 10 day mark. (Actually took them myself earlier, but needed someone on hand just in case). Usually services provide assistance in 4 hour blocks, but a few will let you break it up (2 hrs am and 2 hrs pm). That might help or if you can do 3 hours morning and 2 hours evening. The AM time can bring you breakfast, handle bathing, take you to pick up something you might need. The evening can help you get to dinner and ready for bed.
You should be fine in Elloree without home care. If you feel it important, see if there is an agency in Orangeburg (closest larger town to Elloree).
When you schedule your return flight, be sure to give yourself more time than usual between flights. I had a flight delay into Charlotte and a quick change which all added up to too much stress.
Regarding heat - yes, it is hot and muggy here in coastal SC. Usually mid 90's in middle of Juen. Pack loose fitting tops, pants and dresses. You won't need much. If your cousin will take you to the airport, just check your carryon through and keep your handbag light.
BethCW - Take care. I am sure all will go beautifully tomorrow!
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Summer here in SC can be anywhere from 80 to 95 degrees ... It just depends on the year.... In any case, short sleeve shirts that button down the front and loose Bermuda shorts or skirts or loose sundresses would work great ... especially if they have pockets (can use them for drains) ... I would still bring at least one sweater or hoodie in case you're in a really cold, airconditioned building
Also, I bought a pair of Sketchers tennis shoes which were really helpful because they are comfortable, flat, and slip on and off without needing to tie them or bend down.
I think you will be able to shower alone but not wash your hair by the time you are at your cousin's. I had appointments at a salon and actually walked there twice a week to wash my hair. The salon gave me a good rate and styled my hair.
Also, a shower seat and a shower cap would probably be helpful. I bought a shower seat on Amazon for $30 and it helped to be able to sit down or to put shampoo, supplies, etc on it. Otherwise you may not be able to reach it or it may fall onto the shower floor
Feel free to pm me with any other questions. The hardest part is not reaching or bending down for the full period of healing. I am 7 weeks out but still have limitations for another week. -
Panda, Hi! I know exactly what you are going through as to who needs to do what to help you without your hubby there. I had an SGAP last April and pretty much did most of the stuff for me by myself. The drains are easy, and as they are attached to you, even easier for you to keep up with them. Not really a big problem (and I'm no superwoman, if it was hard, I would have pawned it off for sure!)
The shots (the blood thinners) are also not hard, and you can do them yourself as well. I had to have several different caregivers as I had some complications in wound healing so had to stay longer, but all of my caregivers basically just helped with some of the wound healing apparatus and cooked for me. Bending, reaching and lifting are a problem, so anything you can do that doesn't require that stuff is basically pretty easy.
Not to negate your need for a nurse, but you may find you can do most everything that doesn't involve lifting, bending or reaching by yourself. Oh, and driving!!! That was a big help, that the caregiver did the driving to the dr, to eat when we went out to eat and fetched any items I needed from the drug store.
I would say to make sure you have one of those grabber things, that can reach things that fall - and boy did stuff fall! I got my money out of that thing. I bought a pretty heavy duty one (not heavy itself but stronger than the flimsy type they sell) for about $30.00. I have used that over and over and over. It's called the Grabber. I also bought and brought a back scratcher, between the two of them my reaching and bending were taken care of - or at least with 'little things'. Not to mention my back stayed nice and scratched when needed.
Open front shirts with buttons, short sleeved for summer, and stretchy type pants. They said to buy bigger, I did, but really didn't need that much more room, but that is what 'they' say. You will need the button front shirts as putting things over your head is not within the limits of motion your arms will have. I also bought cotton grannie type panties - the wicking of moisture and the 'largeness' of them (bought them a larger size) was great for keeping the SGAP area protected and clean.
I just went back for a PAP this January. I found that this time I again pretty much took care of me, except the above, driving, cooking, and shopping of which I was VERY glad to have someone else do it for me.
You might want to check with the Dr's office and see how much they think you will actually need a nurse vs an aid as Marty suggested. Unless you have some complications that are really intense, it may be the best choice to just get an aid.
Showering and washing my hair for the SGAP were a bit complicated, as I couldn't get my wound vac (not a normal thing, so don't worry you probably won't have one) wet! But a car ride and a beauty salon appointment took care of the hair!
I was there from April until June - and it was HOT then!!! So I would think HOT in your time frame for sure. Again, nothing that the a/c didn't cure - but hot it was!
Can you ask for a wheelchair on your return flight if nothing else?? That way they might help you with your bags as well? Carrying isn't a good idea, so if you could get a wheel chair from the very start (ticketing) of your return flight it might be very handy - as well as wheelchair assist getting off the plane.
Best of luck -
Bethcw - praying it all goes well for you!!!!! Will be thinking about you and hoping for a very smooth ride for you!
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I had my MO appointment yesterday! Feeling good about doing the things that made me a LOT hesitant prior to doing them. So far made and kept appointments with both the dermatologist and the oncologist. And, contrary to what my mind was telling me, no problem on either side. My dad is on his 5th Melanoma, the last which they could not get clean margins and knew it had potential to spread. We are fair haired and freckled, so easy to get skin cancers. So, the angst of the dermatologist - and I hadn't been back for over a year. Every time I had gone before I had not expected to have them find something and they usually did - either pre cancerous or squamish cell. This time clean bill.
On the MO front, was wondering what they would do with my HER2 being aggressive - but seems they don't do it with DCIS!!! Last run through with BC in 1994 they did chemo and rads as I had IDC, but this time I was a tad worried because of DCIS with the HER2+++ and the invasive portion of the DCIS - however it was a non event and I go back in 9 months. I know it's important to have a MO just for monitoring as my internist seems to have a lot of "above my pay grade" comments when I ask about various things!!! This MO is in the right pay grade!
I handed the MO a folder with info on what I had done. They don't do that stuff here in Atlanta, but do something he called the "Goldilocks Recon" - ?????
Ok, have used up my 'typing space' here for sure!!!
Hugs -
Let us know when you find out what that is, Catie! Lol ... So glad to hear how well you are doing.
I am back to work from home this week (week 7) and next Wednesday I will return to work as normal. I'm the only female in my little group in the US, and everyone is trying ti find a tactful eay to see if everything is working out for me!
Still have a lot of discoloration and am watching one weak spot in my incision where the hematoma is resolving, but after 4 weeks it finally did quit draining and the surgical drain was pulled. I will do part 2 in May and part 2a in either July or Dec, depending on scheduling. Anyone care to comment on what sort of recovery time, swelling I can expect from outer thigh lipo during part 2a? I've read all sorts of things about oozing, that sort of scared me ... -
Panda.. When I was in Charleston in June 2011 it was 105 degrees at 5pm... HOT and HUMID... Yuck.
If you are having SGAP.... Assuming you are in the hospital for 4 nights or so, and then the Palms for 3 nights, I think you need help that first week. Not with drains, but with showering and getting dressed, especially if you have a compression girdle... It is just hard and you will be exhausted. So if you plan to shower in the morning, you could get an aid for a couple of hours each morning at the Palms... By the time you go to your cousins house, you should be able to do it all yourself... But perhaps you could request he get you a shower chair, since you want to be safe and not ask for his help...He might be able to rent one from a surgical supply store. As far as flying home, you can have carryon luggage, but make sure it has wheels.... and then tell the airline that you need to pre board and need them to put your luggage in the overhead. You can attach a message to your airline ticket saying under "special requests" that you need a wheelchair to meet you on the other end as well... and they might give you a better seat as well. Lots of us travel for surgery.... it is totally doable.
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Oh, Betsy, we must have been going out of our way to entertain you with 105 deg heat in June. That really usually doesn't happen til July and August. Dog days.
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Marty. It was indeed miserable. I was also wearing my wig. Ugh. Luckily I was there for business and in air conditioning during the day.
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Panda,
So glad that you are able to schedule your surgery!
Dr. Kline doesn't do compression for SGAP so you don't have to worry about the mean girdle.
Having the aid at the Palms sounds like a very nice arrangement!
I had bilateral SGAP and was in hospital for 5 nights. I took a shower and washed hair on day 3 with all help of nurse. A shower chair is nice to have. I have long hair almost to my waist and was able to wash it and blow dry it by day 5 -- very slowly and I had to keep setting dryer down. Since you can't lift arms up you will just need to bend your head sideways. I don't have "styled" hair so my hair care is easy.
Again, it all depends how well you get through surgery. Except for the vomiting and having to stay an extra day in hospital, I did very well with Stage 1. By then it was my 5th surgery so I think I was accustomed to getting beat up.
To date, I've had 6 surgeries and 15 drains. I started pulling them myself around drain #9! The lovenox injections do give me the jitters, but I still do them myself. On my last day in the hospital, a nurse showed me how and had me do it in front of her.
My BMX, ALND, immed recon with direct implant surgery was a nightmare. Surgeon had to reoperate to evacuate massive hematoma, had blood transfusions, six drains with three on either side of my breasts. too weak to walk. For that surgery I had my husband and a visiting nurse at the hotel, and my hubby had to wash my hair for me for about 2 weeks. Very intense pain going on for that surgery with a full two month recovery and still not feeling well. I guess it prepped me because I thought the bilateral SGAP surgery was relatively easier.
Have you met Dr. Kline personally or consult by phone with emailed records and pics? I promise you will feel a lot better once you meet and talk with him.
I leave on Monday to start driving down to Charleston. Maybe I'll give you a call during my long drive, but not while in the mountains.
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Hi Panda,
I want you to know that your earlier posts gave me a lot of inspiration! I initially planned to go alone and I read all of your posts about how you planned to do it alone before.
In the end I had a last minute tag team of people that came together for me. I didn't want to take people from their busy lives (I'm 40 and have lots of friends early 40s with young kids like me). But when folks found out I was going alone they did a lot of scrambling of drop off and pick up and sports schedules to come assist me. So I ended up only being alone the night after being discharged (Dr. Kline will require that someone is there for discharge - Chris said they wouldn't just stick me on a taxi) and the entire following day. I did fine alone. Showering, drains, even tied my own shoes, made my own sandwiches and protein shakes.
I have to add though that I was in pretty good shape prior to my SGAP. I have worked out and lifted weights for years, not competition style or anything, but I do enjoy my gym time. I think that makes a difference in how you do post-op.
Book the Palms early, I waited to book until two weeks out and my space was gone. I did then find space at the Sandpiper ($75) and when I asked Beth Jacobs there about meals (I said, "Does the rate include meals like The Palms?") she said, "Oh, they do meals? Ok, we can add that, no problem." Sandpiper doesn't serve breakfast though.
Catie's Grabber suggestion and back scratcher are must haves in my opinion. You will get more than your money's worth from those.
I didn't buy any special underwear and bought pull on warm up suits in my regular size. You will need extra front closure bras with no underwire - I just ordered some super cheap from Walmart. I left the hospital with two surgical bras, but those don't last long and Dr. Kline wants me in one 24/7 for the first four weeks.
Feel free to PM if I can answer any ?'s for you! -
Oh Gosh..I am so excited..and scared..booked my surgery for June 19.........waiting to hear to be sure it will work around Dr.Kline's summer vacation plans....The Palms does include meals and you are right,I do not need a nurse but an aide..so will let them help me plan that.And will book ASAP.So many excellent suggestions,it really helps me so much. I will look for some sun dresses,they would be more comfortable to me than pants.Will also look for a shower seat and a grabber thingy.I had forgotten that I can put my carry on in baggage for the trip home and Betsy,how and when do I tell the airline I have special needs?I am sure I can handle the drains,I have just been spoiled in the past.I have started back on my exercise bike,I want to be in good shape before then.Had to stop because I hurt my back,but have the go ahead to exercise if I take it slow.I am sorry if this sounds disjointed,but I just feel like jumping up and down and clapping my hands.I have been waiting for years for this to happen...it will be my 60th birthday present..I will fly back home the day before my birthday...thank you ........and blessings to you all...I would never have been brave enough to do this without you...
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Anyone going to East Cooper, remember those soft pillows they give you at the hospital are throw aways, they will give them to you if you ask - they are good for bolstering your back from the SGAP and putting in front of you when you wear the seat belt to protect the 'girls' and for sitting on! I was able to find many uses for them!
Panda, maybe the Palms has a shower seat you can rent/use? I'm sure they have shower rails - it might be code for them to do so, so you also could limit the showering to short and sweet?
I have/had mid length hair, Pink, and found putting my head to the front so my barely raised arms (45 degree) could shampoo, and condition. Same with blow drying it straight. I could go curly but curly and bedhead don't look so good!!! (LOL)
Sundresses sound fun and good for this type thing - I may look into some for my stage 2! Thanks, Panda! Again, would have to be front opening - as over the head is just a tad difficult with range of motion limited in your arms.
I also have an IPAD and a Kindle and an Iphone - I wound up reading, calling, and checking email all on my iphone only - easy to hold with one hand and not having to carry so much on the plane - -
Panda - when you book your ticket you can put in the special requests. Wheelchair, etc. Glad you are working with The Palms. When my mother was there, there was a shower seat in each apartment and definitely grab bars. You shouldn't have a problem. By the time you get to you cousin's, you probably won't need it. I have a feeling you will only take a shower every few days anyway, not daily. You might want to bring a hairdryer.
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Panda.. as Marty said, as you are booking your flight (at least online) there is a special request section. In that box, just type that you need assistance with luggage and pre-boarding due to surgery and will want a wheelchair on the other end. I swear United gave me a seat with more room because of my request, free of charge. And I also agree that the Palms might have shower chairs in house, so request when you book your room... Its not imperative if you have the aide though. I do suggest having a plan at your male cousins house cause you aren't going to want his help in the shower... You can see how you feel. I was dizzy at day through day 7, but after that didn't use a chair. I also didn't have any hair, so I wasn't in the shower all that long.
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Hi everyone! Thanks for all the well wishes for tomorrow. The support of you ladies is awesome, and very much appreciated. The last two days have been a whirlwind of getting ready to go, traveling this morning, and my MRA scan, and markings with Dr. Craige this afternoon.
This trip I decided to bring reinforcements (lol) because my mom struggled last time with being by herself in a new city while trying to navigate and keep in touch with everyone (although she would never admit it). My mom and sister are here with me now. (My brother and husband are coming down during the weekend.) We had a nice dinner at Shem Creek, and I am just now catching my breath.
I am ready for tomorrow. Surgery is bright and early at 7:30 tomorrow, so I am working on getting my backpack ready. Hope everyone has a great evening, and continued good healing.
Beth
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Beth,
Many well wishes for you tomorrow and through your recovery. Keep us posted when you are up to it.
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You will do wonderful. Sleep well and post when you can. What strong women we are. AMAZING!!
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bethcw, Wishing you a restful nap tomorrow and an easy speedy recovery. Hugs
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Sending positive vibes your way, Beth! You're in great, skilled hands!
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Beth, good luck tomorrow. Thinking of you and sending healing energy your way.
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Beth, praying for a successful and smooth surgery for you!
Hugs -
Beth,thinking of you and will be excited to hear from you when you are able!
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Thinking of you Beth. All best wishes!
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