December 2011 Surgeries - want to wait together?

Kaara- sorry you had to spend your fun day doing not so fun running around.

chrissilini and noodle- so glad things went well!

Jenni- I am glad you are getting better each day.

terry- in no time at all you will be reporting in that you are done as well...sending calm thoughts to get you through the last few days.

There were a lot of surgeries this week. My heart is with all of you and hope you have a strong hand to hold.

Still on two Norco every six hours, otherwise the pain gets ahead of me. The "discomfort" I can take - those random pulling/aching/stabbing pains that are intermittent. But the constant burning/aching/throbbing pain that seems to be centered on my chest wall does keep me from sleeping and resting, so doc says TAKE THE DRUGS!

However, I do feel like I should soon be turning the corner on pain. Every day I feel  bit more range of motion, even though I'm not supposed to be doing anything with my arms. 

Drains are slowing down, gone from red to pink to pinkish-yellow. Thank goodness I'd read so many posts here about what to expect in the bulbs. Pre-op instructions said to empty them twice a day, morning and night.

But when the PS saw me the morning he discharged me, the drains were full, and he said I needed to empty them WAY before that - at least by the half-full mark, or else there wouldn't be enough suction. In the hospital, the nurse folded the empty bulb in half, then rolled it up toward the cap, THEN put the cap back on. We adjusted the charts at home so we could write in drain emptying four times a day. I have a disposable pad I put over my lap and under the drains as DH unplugs and empties them. (The nurse said they could squirt across the room if you're not careful!)

Having "stations" set up before I came home was a good idea. I took plastic trays - one for meds (pain, nausea, antibiotic, etc.) along with charts on clipboards to note what I took, how much, and when. DH is the keeper of the charts. I am capable of taking my own meds, but it helps to have one person in charge.

I have another tray for drain care - it has the surgical gloves, the alcohol wipes, and the log for measurements. My cousin who is a nurse said to be especially careful with the drains - they are a doorway for bacteria to enter the surgical wounds.

Sorry - I may be repeating myself here!

Glad to see more sisters coming home from surgeries - sending hugs and healing wishes to you!

Hi ALL! I am all cozied up and feeling a little loopy. It's been an experience for sure. I am going to attempt a shower here in a minute. I haven't seen my scars yet and like most other people the drains are a bitch.

The good news is my nodes are NEGATIVE! Plus he didn't put the port in because it looks like the calcifactions between the tumors are not cancer yet. That will be determined with the Path report next week. He said he is thinking that my after treatment will not have to be as aggresive.

I am feeling so blessed with the news so far. Love to ALL!

 I will still need chemo just not immediatly

Last minute gotcha from the hospital. Fortunately no health-insurance headaches in the Cdn system but we are still feeling our way through accessibility. They booked a sign language interpreter and ignored my request to know who they use and the person I recommended. My first clue of this derailment was when my recommended interpreter was told she can come but won't be paid. I thought I had it all sorted out and now back to fighting to know the name, and possibly vetoing the person they chose. It isn't the waving of hands or the taking of a fee that matters. They have to be signing exactly and entirely the meaning of what people are saying, and you'd be surprised how often they aren't, sometimes because they simply don't understand it. Plus interpreters are a very small group and I have to work with these people in professional settings afterwards. I don't feel comfortable having just "anybody" see me in a vulnerable moment. Even more important with the theft of my hearing aid the other day and no way to get replacement by 15th. The latter also royally buggers up my last minute work loose-ends cleanup for sure. Anxious.

Post surgery day 2. Feeling better as I know I will every day. Still sore in some areas, my back being the worst of it all I think. To add insult to injury I started my period the day of surgery. Are you kdding me? As if the rest wasn't enough. Oh well. Haven't slept very well either as I'm having a hard time finding a position of comfort for my chest without putting all my weight on my tailbone.

I guess the problem I'm having the most with is my partner. Do you all feel that you situations are 'private', between just you and your husbands,partners, boyfriends? My parents came up for my surgery and because they are elderly and live 5 1/2 hours away we decided, before sx, that they'd just stay until Christmas as they were planning on coming for Christmas anyway. My family has always been very close and supportive of each other. My partner is having a hard time with them being here. He thinks this is a private matter that me and him have to get through together. That he is perfectly capable of taking care of me and they don't need to be here. His feelings are causing friction I told everyone beforehand that right now everything is about me and that I'm the most important right now. I've said the my parents as well as my partner that they need to put their feelings aside because I need to focus on healing. Just seems that he isn't able to do that. He has always been loving and kind and has been with me every step of the way so far. But now it seems like I need to make a choice between my parents and him. It's a choice I can't and shouldn't have to make and I just don't know what to do. Help....

Chrissi,

 I think that you are very fortunate to have your parents.  Mines are dead and I missed my mom so much in time like this.

I guess that it is not the same thing from a family to another family.  Our family care very much for each of us.  I have my syster left and she was at hom when I arrived from the hospital and I was so glad.  Maybe in your partner's family they were not close as you are with your parents and that is why I think that your partner don't understand the "family power".  Try to think about his life as a child and maybe that will give you some clues about how he feels about family now.  Some people leave their parents for universtity or work and never or almost never see them afterwards.

You are so lucky to hame your mom and dad with you and all they want is your recovery.  My husband is a family man, he is very close with his brother and sisters, sometimes I find it too much but I can understand that he needs to be with them and share with them.

Try to talk with your boyfriend and I am pretty sure that he will understand.  For now, all of this is so unusual for us and gave us a lot of stress and anxiety.   Probably it is because he loves you very much and needs to be the only one for you.  Sometimes man don't talk very much and we have difficulties to deal with their mind because they don't talk enough about what is scaring them.

Best wishes to you and your family xxxx

Nicole

You can lump (pun intended) me into the waiting group for Dec.surgeries. Rt MX on Dec 14 along with lymph node removal under rt arm.

 It hits me more and more each day. I also have a post in the Dec 2011 board.

Feel free to share any insite on how to get through this!

Thanks,

D

Hi everyone,  I'm recooperating after LX SNB on Wednesday.   I was wrapped up tight in a big ace bandage when I came home.  The worst was the wire put in and IV which they had a hard time getting in.  My BS okayed me having pre-med before putting in the wire because I was so distraught about it.  That was a HUGE help and I barely remember the numbing shot, wire and then the mammograms they did right before surgery.  They waited until I was out to move the IV to somewhere else in my arm to get a better drip.   All went well but it sounds like he took more than I expected.  I still had a huge hematoma left from my biopsy over a month ago, so he took the tumor, the hematoma and also had to take 3 SN.  He said one node looked very "angry" but might be from my body trying to absorb the previous biopsy hematoma.  I won't know until next week.   How does every else get their SN results right after surgery??  So I am waiting and hoping for a good path report.  My PET/CT scans were clear.   I have a lot of bruising and burning/aching pain but taking percocet.  BS said he had to go deep, right down to my muscle so he did a lot of cauterizing to stop bleeding.  I have the Ace bandage off now and just using a sports bra.  I am very little so not worried about much "jiggling" LOL!   Good luck to all the other Dec surgeries.