Tag: drains

good stuff

~ connie ~ 1 Comment

Had all 3 drains removed today.  I feel free.  Yea!  The results were back from the lymph nodes and the other mastectomy and they didn’t show any cancer.  Double yea!  Things are looking up.  Now comes the treatments.  She’s making appointments for bone and liver scans for me, then I go to an oncologist and find out what I’ll be doing chemo and radiation wise.  I have to see her again next week and also see the plastic surgeon next week.  He’s still got the other side of me to do.  I gotta say, this implant and going bra-less stuff is kinda nice when it gets right down to it.

On a sour note-mom’s car was broken into last night.  Nothing broken but they took her handicap parking permit and a couple of other things.  Left the stuff worth money.  Kids probably.  It sucks tho, she came over here to help me and has to deal with that kind of crap.

maybe

~ connie ~ Leave a comment

Tomorrow maybe, hopefully, I get the drains out and will have a little more mobility.  I figured out that the pain is coming from one of the drains.  It runs from the top of my implant around and down my side where it comes out.  I can feel it under the skin.  Gross.   When I move wrong it pulls.

I had coffee with a couple of co-workers tonight.  It was nice to see them and talk and laugh about work.   I miss work some days.  I also filled them in a little more on what’s going on.

tired

~ connie ~ Leave a comment

So today the pain level has dropped to about a 4 or 5.  No painkillers since 3am but I am tired.   The muscle across the top of my chest, below my collar bone is the one that hurts the most today.  As well as the implant.  Which by the way, is about the same size as my original.  Oh well.  Least they’ll be perky…LOL  Where the lymph nodes were removed doesn’t hurt but the bandage is an annoyance.

I don’t know what happens next, after I see the surgeon on Friday.  I’m hoping she takes the drains out.  3 are 3 too many and they get in the way, and can’t be hidden.  I just want them gone.

drain out

~ connie ~ 1 Comment

ya!  The drain is gone!  I wondered where it started and felt it come out, all the way from the left side of my chest to where it poked out in the middle of my chest.  The surgeon says it’s healing well, but there was some dead tissue and “I’m not looking for excuses but if I was I’d blame it on your smoking”.  She said it all looks good, then laughed and said at least to her it looks good.  I have to keep up with the exercises, what I thought was my tendon under my arm is scar tissue that needs to be worked away.  I have to go see her on Friday, she’s hoping the pathology will be back by then, it wasn’t today.

I asked her about driving and she said she’s fine with it but if something happened and ICBC blamed the surgery on my response time, they wouldn’t cover me, so driving is out for a bit yet.   I’m still stuck and dependent on other people for a bit.  And I hate that.

A friend asked if it was worse before the surgery, just knowing it was cancer growing in me, or worse after.  The after is worse.  Body image means a lot to me personally.  Missing a part seems to amplify all my other flaws.  I knew there would be a lot of psychological stuff with this and really thought I was stronger than my body parts, but I’m finding I’m not.  I tell myself often that I am not my boobs.  Missing one doesn’t make me any less me.  I had (have?) cancer.  If someone else has a problem with that, then fine, but I definitely shouldn’t.  I’m alive.

bored

~ connie ~ 4 Comments

And boredom is setting in.  I’m not strong enough or have enough mobility to be useful, but not weak enough or immobile enough not to try and do things.  But boy I get tired fast.  Changing clothes take so much energy.  I have to stop and rest continually.  And I’m starting to learn to use my right arm when it’s going to require the use of my pectoral muscles.  The twinges of pain have reminded me enough.

A friend took me for ice cream tonight, I stayed in the car.  Geez, even that was a test of patience.  Couldn’t do up or undo the seat belt on my own, and had to wear it under my arm.  The bumps in the road bothered me.  The ice cream was good 🙂  And I got out, finally.

The drain, I can’t wait to get rid of it. Not only is it ucky but it gets in the way.  They took a boob and added a new appendage to my side.  It isn’t draining much anymore, could probably get it taken out now, but the surgeon is away until next Monday.