Listen to your support~

Ok...On the advice from all my dear FB friends, I did go to ER today. They gave me a stronger antibiotic through an IV. Still sore, but need to take the stronger antibiotic at home now. It sure was busy in the ER today. But we got there at a good time. Hearing is less foggy and I am in less pain. My poor husband needs some serious sleep after dinner.

I did my best to stay awake enough to take my 9pm antibiotics.  At least this one is every 12 hours and not 6.  I don't have to remember as much.  

Not a good day~

Feeling crappy all day long.  My hearing is as though I have a fever.  But I don't.  I want to cry, but have no reason too.  I am not really on much drugs.  Keflex, T4, and a stool softener is all the difference from my normal stuff.

My husband is aching as well with a bad crown.  Ugh.  Son is awaiting determination on a job he has been happy at.  What next?

First day to drive after Surgery~

Drove for the first time today since surgery.  Went to a gathering that consisted of Breast Cancer Survivors or those still going through it.  What a wonderful time.  We did a gift exchange and many brought gifts for everyone.  That I wasn't expecting.  So being the newest member of the group I got to pick first in the exchange.  There was a very big bag.  I said why not.  Well, I have a pick that will go to my husband's kitchen stuff.  He so earned it.  It's a three canister set for pasta or whatever.  I also got a pillow and a few other little things in another bag.  So Christmas came early for me. 

Took my morning pills but no pain meds till I get home.

Surgery Day Two

At 2:00 am I was done with surgery number two.  I spent the night at the hospital.  Hans stayed over and slept in the chair.  The staff was very good to me.  Very attentive.  I had a nice room.  The food wasn't very good.  It also didn't agree with Hans' stomach.  For breakfast I had French Toast and Hash Browns.  For Dinner I had fish and pilaf.  It was ok, but kind of dry.

I would sleep only a bit at a time.  My poor husband couldn't get any sleep.  The IV was in my inner arm at the bend.  So if I would move it the wrong way the machine would beep.  We waited all day for Dr. Bowling.  She finally got there at about 3 or 4pm.  She had Clinic all day.  I did get visits  from all kinds of staff that ranged from volunteers to the ones in charge of the staff.  I had all good to say.

Hans was getting edgy because of lack of sleep.  Poor guy.  So he finally decided to go home.  Adrian happened to come for a visit just at that moment.  He had a couple of friends to visit there as well.  Perfect timing.  Just after Hans left , Dr. Bowling and Cindy got there.  The nurse was going to move my IV so we could maybe stop the constant beeping.  Well, Dr. Bowling let me go home.  YAY!   I was afraid Hans would be mad if someone else drove me home from the hospital.  But he was so tired he said YES to Adrian taking me home.  So unlike him.  He loves being my caretaker I guess.

I have to tell you, I was scared to go home.  After the ordeal last night, I wanted a safety net.  But Dr. Bowling assured me I would be fine.  They told me what went on and having to remove so much stuff out of my left breast  and that she would know more when I come in for the check up. 

I got dressed and headed home with my son.  He was just worried about me being able to get up in his work truck.  I told him he'd have to pick me up. HA HA.  I managed with holding on to the "Oh Shit" bar and pulling myself up with a push in the back.  

Finally home.  My own bed was calling me.  I didn't dare wake up Hans.  We both slept the night.

Surgery Day

Got up very early the day of surgery.  I need to be there by 7:00 am.  First thing I needed to do was go to get another Mammogram and get a wire put in that would be a guide for the doctor.  Adrian was there for Hans.  Daryl was going to be, but he got a call to go in for Overtime.  I told him to go.


Surgery went well. Hans and Adrian were there when I woke up.  By 3:30 pm I was getting ready to go home. Adrian had just left when they let me go.  Hans was relieved that we could go home together. The details are still fuzzy to me. 

Here's what was done:

7:00 am check-in-smooth.

9:30 am Stint put in-This helps the doctor to be able to go in to the right place to do the surgery.  A dye is also injected to lead to the lymph nodes to take out.

10:30 am Surgery (actually 11 am.  There was some mix up on the order of Meds).

All was well, we were on the way home.  Hans made the calls, sent the text to people on the list.  He hung up on the last call and then my son Daryl called.  He had car problems.  I told him I'd be all right and he should go help him.  I tried to sleep a bit.  My left breast started hurting a bit before he left.  I knew he'd be back as soon as possible.  Hans managed to talk Triple A into letting him leave the card with my son and being able to get back to me.  By the time he got home, I couldn't stand the pain any longer.  My left breast got bigger and bigger while the right one, that had the cancer deflated.  The cold and hot treatment did not work out so well.  By the time Hans got back he'd already called Dr. Bowling and she had called him back.  If it got worse, I was to come in to ER.  Well, it got worse.  I looked like I had a bad boob job.  I got dressed again and we headed back to the hospital.

I guess I was very dehydrated.  I had major cotton mouth.  The only thing I had eaten was chicken soup when I got home.  I was not very hungry.  The soup was light and water was the only thing I had ingested.  This was good, because I was about to go back into surgery.  In the ER, the nurse wanted me to get on the scale.  No way I told her.  I was not moving out of that wheel chair.  I gave her the weight from earlier.  She took it.  I kept asking for something to clean my mouth out with.  No one would give it to me.  For crying out loud, I knew I couldn't suck the water out because of the surgery.  But a wet rag would have been nice.  So when the room nurse left, I begged Hans to give me some wet paper towel.  That was all I needed.  He threw it away before the nurse came back in.  I still wasn't given anything for pain for a while. The attending doctor finally got a hold of the Dr. Bowling and she gave them the instructions to keep me comfortable.  She was 10 minutes away.

Finally! IV for the pain medications. We knew there would be a bit of swelling to deal with after the surgery.  But this was ridiculous.  It went way beyond a little bit of swelling.  My left breast that had the suspicious mass removed was like the size of an M cup.  My right one that we thought would have problems was like that of a C cup.  This was normally a D cup the last few years.   When Dr. Bowling got there, pain meds were ordered and pain was masked.  What a relief.  My poor husband was so tired by this point.  I felt bad for him.  He had been up since 4 am at least, maybe longer. 

I will have more to update.  But I have been trying to stay up long enough to be able to focus.

Happy Thanksgiving~

May you all have the best day of thanks.  I am thankful to all of my wonderful friends that I have whether I have know you for years or never met you face to face or not.  You all have blessed me with love and friendship.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Meeting the Radiation Oncologist~

     Today's appointment was good and a bit scary.  We met the nurse (Pam) and doctor (Tharp) who I will be seeing while going through Radiation.  They gave us the pros and cons of different methods and a bit of what to expect.

     I am set to have a Lumpectomy on November 29th, and have four Lymph Nodes removed from the right breast.  The left breast will have another biopsy of the small mass that was undetectable in the ultrasound, but was biopsied in the MRI on November 3rd.  

The HIGHS & LOWS

     The scary part of the meeting today was when we learned that there is a possibility when a lymph node is removed you can end up with lymphedema.  That is very scary.  With this disease you have a lot to worry about, not just your cancer.  In reading the pamphlet it sounded like you would have to live in a bubble because your don't want to get a cut or burn or anything that could get infected fast.  You have to wash dishes with gloves.  A bug bite can be harsh.  Your immune system basically sucks.  Lymphedema is not curable.

While Going through Radiation

• Short Term:  5 days
• Long Term:  5 weeks or more

     During radiation I will not be able to wear a bra.  This is a first for me.  I have always been good about wearing one whether it was a good one or not, I had something for support.  This practice has reduced sagging.  Now I will set them free. 

     Treatment for radiation had two options.  There was the short term and the long term one.  I will opt for the long term one.  The short term one has many potential side affect.  The long term one you are not left with the ugly side effects of the shrinking breast (will be smaller than the other), the one treated will be firmer than the other (they don't treat the other), and you will also get a lump that they will have to biopsy even though they know it will not be cancer.  There were other details that we just too many to list.

     All in all, it was a good appointment and very informative.  Dr. Tharp could read my face when he was talking about the 5 day treatment of radiation.  He could tell that was not an option for me.  So I believe we will take it slow and long.