From my drains!! It really was a life-changing experience before and after. I no longer have to worry about Arthur landing on them in an exuberant body slam accident. I can start to think about rolling over and maybe - maybe? - someday sleeping on my side again. Or… even my stomach! Although my wedge pillow has been great and I am sleeping well.
I’m being able to lift my arms higher every day. Progress. It’s great!
Well, except the leaking. I have two little holes in my chest, one on each side, and they’re still leaking a little bit. Hopefully they’ll scab up soon and stop leaking.
Ah, the human body. It’s wonderful and really freaky all at the same time.
But I’m not gonna lie. Going to the hospital was weird. Husband dropped me off - he wasn’t allowed in - and I went inside. I went to the nurses wearing masks and they asked me if I had any sore throat or exposure to anyone with COVID-19. No. I’ve been at home with my dogs since my surgery. Husband goes out sometimes, but he doesn’t breathe on me. Really. He covers his face when he’s very near me - very romantic. But necessary. Love demands sacrifices. I can look at his face from across the room.
They took my temperature. I passed! I put on a glove. I forgot to mention, I was wearing a buff - a head covering - safety glasses, a mask, dressed head to toe even though my toes are still cute. No exposed skin except a little on my face and my hands. Anyway, I put on a glove and used it to push the button on the elevator and went up to my floor. I used it to open the door. No kiosk check-in right now. I checked in with the receptionist.
I was the only one in the waiting room. It was eerie. The nurse came and took me back. Everyone was wearing a mask. The touching was minimal. Blood pressure was good, temperature was taken again, oxygen levels and heart rate were okay. I passed!
The physician assistant came in and explained that the drains come out first. They find people listen better if the drains are gone, otherwise they just sit there and worry about them coming out.
Yes, I took a video of my right drain coming out. No, I’m not going to post it here. Holy cow they’re weird. And really freaking long!!! It was like a foot past the tube that I could see sticking out of my body. That foot of tubing was white and perforated, which makes sense. The perforations allowed the, uh, body juices to ender the tubing and the suction from the JP drain encouraged those juices to head toward the exit.
It’s fascinating, but I don’t want anyone reading my blog to pass out watching it come out. It’s really, really weird.
Then we went over the next things. Physical therapy - that’ll be on Friday - with a lymphedema specialist. They’ll take baselines and get me started and back to 100%. Great. I have to go out into the world again. I have an appointment for next year where they’ll teach me how to do self-checks.
Yes. In one year. No, I’ll never not be able to think about cancer ever again.
We went over the pathology. Two lymph nodes out from the left, three on the right. All were good. Tumors had shrunk, margins were clear meaning there was no sign of the disease having spread any further.
Good news.
And the most important question I had? How much did they weigh??? She gave me the numbers in grams. After doing the math, how much was it in pounds? 8.2 lbs. Wow.
RIP, ginormous tatas.