MEDICAL UPDATE: 5
“Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”
GOOD NEWS!
Pathology reported all positive results:
1) clear margins
2) no cancer in my lymph nodes.
If I’d had the energy, there would have been a lengthy celebratory dance, dinner and drinks all around!
Anesthesia kicked my butt. Days of dizziness preceded a night of waking up multiple times, terrified by the entire house spinning + me falling + doing somersaults = frantically grabbing J.’s hand and begging him to please make it stop. Nurse’s orders were to drink a minimum of 3 liters of water (up to 5 if I could manage) to wash those drugs right outta my hair. Day 7 rolled around with only moments of feeling tipsy. Woohoo!
RECOVERY
Pain was managed with ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Thankfully, I never needed to use the prescription pain killer.
Day 1: Summoned my courage to take a look. Surgery caused inflammation, which lifted the affected area back to my 20’s. Yay! Except, I was incredibly lopsided now. 😭🤣 Lots of blue dye remaining near the surgical site.
Day 2: I developed an interminable itching in the breast from the incision to the nipple. One day I forced myself to walk in circles in front of our garage but I had to hold/press on my breast because every single movement caused the itching to worsen. And I cried as I walked. :( It also affected my sleep as I woke up every time I moved. Doctor said it was caused by the nerves being disturbed during surgery. It frustrated my ability to move and be active. Removed dressings and the stitches looked stable.
Day 3-7,: Began gentle exercises (given to me in a handbook by my clinic) that loosened up the tightness in my underarm and chest. Iced both incisions regularly. Gradual increase of red, blue and yellow bruising that peaked on Day 7. A lovely visit and gift basket from our renters.
Day 5-8: Visit from friends (and homemade soup/bread!); friend & daughter instructional makeup session (for the wedding!); friends hosted us for dinner (and much needed conversation and connection). Pretty tired after interactions but it was good to engage and move and do normal things.
Day 7: Steri strips on breast were removed. Still occasionally icing both incisions when needed. My surgeon was skilled, careful and thorough.
Day 9: First long walk with J. & G. in the beautiful sunshine.
Day 10: Post-op with surgeon. Everything looked good - no restrictions! Bruising nearly gone. Itching from other areas where tape was applied but Benadryl cream took care of it.
Day 11-present: Incorporated additional exercises, returned to normal lifting and reaching, just nothing too heavy for now. Removed underarm steri strips with help from J. Visited the beautiful Como Conservatory.
Day 12-present: Caught a bad head cold (negative for COVID). Itching began to decrease.
Day 18 I still have a bit of pain in the incisions and a lump under my arm. If it doesn’t go away on it’s own, it will need to be drained next week. Only occasional trouble with itching.
NEXT STEPS
April 5: Medical Oncology appointment. Will discuss possibility of reoccurrence, Oncotype score and hormone blocking therapy that will start after radiation therapy and continue for 5 years
April 10: Radiation therapy (RT) simulation
10-14 days later…radiation therapy will start. Doctor is recommending 21 rounds. RT is daily, M-F.
Prayer requests:
That I heal quickly and am ready for radiation therapy
For self control and discernment to care for myself and listen to what my body needs to heal
For RT to end in time for us to join son A. in Montana in late May and the ability to stay through June to recover in my happy place
BEHOLDING
G.’s evening visits to the basement, where she plays and is loved on by our renters ❤️
Flowers still blooming after more than two weeks 🌸
J. graciously assuming lots of cooking and cleaning and walking the dog duties
Friends and family (E., R., A., A., Mom, K., J., D., H., B., P.) texting, praying, calling, reaching out with support
MANY days of sunshine and warm (for winter LOL) temps
New renters in Montana from our new church
Energy to enjoy taking photos of the gorgeous flowers at the Conservatory
SO MANY beautiful cards. Wow it’s fun to get something sweet in our snail mail.
Energy to sew small gifts and the joy of giving
Generous and kind caretakers for G.
Resources and stamina to travel
Online grocery ordering and pickup
A quiet room to rest and recover
