On Tuesday, Oct. 14th Richard and I reported to the Surgery Center where my plastic surgeon, Dr. Price, marked me up. My chest looked like a google road map. Then, we head over to Cox South and wait in the waiting area for about an hour. I'm nervous and Richard is being the strong, steady rock that he is.
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| Waiting to board our plane to Cancun! Obviously not really, but he sure did make me laugh. |
Several of our friends and family have asked to be on a contact list to stay updated during my surgery. Richard sent the above picture to everyone (including his boss) with the caption: "Waiting to Board Our Flight to Cancun!" Obviously, we weren't going to Cancun, but it sure made me laugh. I love that he can be beyond sensitive to the situation, but also finds a way to break the tension.
Okay, so they call us back and we sit in a pre-op room what seems to be hours. In actuality it was maybe only 2 hours. After our 2 hour wait, both my doctors show up and the anesthesiologist. My breast lump has gotten bigger since I had last seen my breast surgeon, Dr. Buckner. I remind him of the lump and he feels around it for a bit. It hurts, and I have always heard that is a good thing, because cancer doesn't usually hurt (not true). I attributed it to being bigger because my body has been a hormonal battle ground. He expresses some concern about the lump and says he's going to change the plan a bit and inject some blue dye in my breast. I was a bit surprised, so honestly I can't exactly even tell you what the blue dye was for. He still thought it was just a "fatty" but wanted to be sure to check it out. Shortly after he tells us the new plan, the anesthesiologist is ready to go to town, and again that can't come soon enough. I'm just thankful I don't have to do a repeat of my hysterectomy where they wheeled me into the operating room still awake.
The surgery lasts for about 3 hours. I have a very vague memory of recovery, but I do have an image of Richard walking towards me while I'm still in recovery. Turns out, I was highly emotional from the anesthesia and the nurse snuck Richard back there for a few minutes hoping it would calm me down. A huge shout-out to all the nurses who go above and beyond to help a put a patient at ease.
Some time later, I'm guessing 4:30 in the afternoon, I get taken to my overnight room. I have a roommate, which was a first for me. Her name was Kathryn and she had a unilateral mastectomy that afternoon. She's probably in her late 50's, has gray hair, a little sass, and is as nice as could be. She reminded me a lot of my mom, which was so comforting. We shared a lot about our families, our journey, and talked about our boobs a lot. We even had a great conversation at 3:30 in the morning about how God is always looking over us. I won't ever forget her. She has chosen to not get reconstruction and I don't think she is on any kind of pain meds. Me, on the other hand, am wanting to get my hands on anything they are willing to give me. I'm in excruciating pain. Damn tissue expanders. I feel like I had done a million push ups. I struggle to even hold up my water cup. Oh, and we are both peeing bright green thanks to the blue dye. That was interesting and made both Kathryn and I feel special. I think we were getting a little punchy since we were sleep deprived.
I am up most of the night, just able to fall asleep for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. At one point, I woke up in extreme pain and the nurse quickly stepped up their game. Those nurses work so hard, and we had some great ones in our room.
Richard stayed with me until around 7:00 pm, but then switched places with Jill so she could come stay with me a bit. I kept telling Jill and Richard that I felt this massive relief that the surgery was complete. Yes, I was in a lot of pain, but it was still worth it because it needed to be done.
The next morning, my breast surgeon, Dr. Buckner and my plastic surgeon, Dr. Price came in a little before 7:00 am to do rounds. I really wished Richard was there because he does such a better job hearing what they are saying. They both remove some bandages and take a look at things. I tell them that I don't think I want to see them quite yet. They were extremely respectful of that choice. Both say that they look as good as possible at this point, so I'm pleased with that. Eventually, I decide to look. They are shriveled and rock solid (that's the tissue expanders). I think they look like two rotten oranges or some deflated balloons. Not attractive at all, but it's a process.
I'm released a few hours later... Over then next day I was in some serious pain. I laid around a lot and I slept very little. I put in a call to Dr. Price's office asking if we could do something to help that. They modified my directions or taking my oxycodone and said I could also alternate ibuprofen. The new pain management plan seems to be working now.
Yay! It's over! It hurts like hell, but it is over!
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| My office: complete with a notebook to journal my drain output and medicine schedule. chapstick, meds, lemon cookies to eat with the medicine so I don't get sick, Jesus Calling devotional, mints, water, and iPad. Not a bad little set up. |
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