Still haven't heard from the doctor on the final pathology. I'd really like to know for sure that the darn cancer hasn't spread! I'll be crossing my fingers that they call Monday. On the other hand, I'm using this as an excuse not to set up a follow-up appointment with the breast surgeon, which just delays when I go back to work so that's okay :-)
I drove for the first time in two weeks this morning. It was okay and worth it since I bought Cassidy a cute hoodie at TJ Maxx for ten bucks!
We're off to the zoo today. I wish the darn sun would come out. I'm starting to think the weather people were wrong for today.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Resting and Recuperating
Ahh the lazy days of recuperating. yeah, I'm bored. I'm digital scrapbooking like crazy and having visitors and lots of lunches out. Which is all good and better than working but I'm just not a homebody. Especially since I'm feeling pretty good. I'm off the pain medicine and just taking Advil.
My lingering problem is sleeping. It's not comfortable to sleep on my side which is my preferred sleep position. So I'm stuck on my back every night. I have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. Right now I'm just tired but I'm gearing up for tired and cranky by the end of the week.
So lots of friends and family have been asking me if I've gotten the final word on my lymph nodes, IE. the full pathology report. They tell me to call the doctor. I remind them I had surgery the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. They keep telling me to call. So I called today. I told the nurse that my family & friends are pestering me so I'm pestering her. Funnily she said that is often the case. That the patient is calm & collected and not in a rush but family and friends pester them to call and find out. Well, for all you pesterer's out there - they don't have the results yet. They will call me when they get them. They are behind due to the holiday! As soon as I hear I will pass along the good news
Cassidy is starting to get sick and tired of Daddy and wants Mama to pick her up but... I can't for 16 more days. Bill is doing all the baths so I took some photos at bath time the other night.
She is fascinated by soap and bubbles. I hug this kid constantly and tell her I love her about a thousand times a day. She's just the cutest, sweetest kid.
My lingering problem is sleeping. It's not comfortable to sleep on my side which is my preferred sleep position. So I'm stuck on my back every night. I have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. Right now I'm just tired but I'm gearing up for tired and cranky by the end of the week.
So lots of friends and family have been asking me if I've gotten the final word on my lymph nodes, IE. the full pathology report. They tell me to call the doctor. I remind them I had surgery the Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. They keep telling me to call. So I called today. I told the nurse that my family & friends are pestering me so I'm pestering her. Funnily she said that is often the case. That the patient is calm & collected and not in a rush but family and friends pester them to call and find out. Well, for all you pesterer's out there - they don't have the results yet. They will call me when they get them. They are behind due to the holiday! As soon as I hear I will pass along the good news
Cassidy is starting to get sick and tired of Daddy and wants Mama to pick her up but... I can't for 16 more days. Bill is doing all the baths so I took some photos at bath time the other night.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Drains out!
I had a happy day Friday! I got the drains taken out! It didn't hurt a bit and it's so nice to be able to reach over my head. I also don't have to wear the super fashionable velcro bra anymore. Thank goodness! Though there was some issue with finding something to fit the new me. You'd assume that the new me is smaller but that is not the case. Probably the same size but shaped differently. I have lots of questions for my next plastic surgery visit. and I'm hoping to god that what's in my armpits is just swelling.
We haven't done much with all the driving back and forth to the doctors. I'm running out of pain meds so I'm starting to wean myself off them today. It's going okay and I'll be totally done Sunday night.
We haven't done much with all the driving back and forth to the doctors. I'm running out of pain meds so I'm starting to wean myself off them today. It's going okay and I'll be totally done Sunday night.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Follow-up appointment with Plastic Surgeon
The drainage output sheet they gave to me from the hospital stated that when each drain is producing less than 30 ML in a 24 hour period, call your doctor to have them removed. You can imagine the dancing we did this morning when my quantities for the last 24 hours were 29 and 20! I dressed in regular clothes (that didn't really fit drains) figuring they will be coming out for sure. I tell the nurse how excited I am! She takes the sheet with our measurements.
The doctor walks in and says "I hate these sheets! You're going to hate me. My rule is less than 20 ML"
:-(
So I still have drains in. I'm hoping and praying that tomorrow morning I'm under 20 on each side. If not my options over the weekend are 1) wait until Monday or 2) Call the on call plastic surgeon at Brigham & Womens and if they don't have too many emergencies they might agree to take them out. But I might get there only to find out that emergencies have arisen and have to wait 4 hours.
Option #2 doesn't really work with my life. Though my life is pretty limited with hoses sticking out of me. I'm really hoping tomorrow works out! The doctor said that if the drains are the worst part of this it's going really well. She said I look good and I'll go for my first expander fill-up in two weeks! The doctor did try to put some padding around the drain holes and tape them up so hopefully they don't move around too much and bother me less.
Interesting information - my sister and I had wondered what was holding my incisions together - stitches? staples? I looked but couldn't really see anything, turns out, that makes sense because it's glue holding me together!
Friends have sent me some lovely flowers, one had a balloon which Cassidy loves and carries around the house. I also got an edible arrangement! The look on Cassidy's face was pricelss, you would've thought she won the lottery! We had to immediately open it so she could begin eating it! Thanks for helping make our house so cheerful!
The doctor walks in and says "I hate these sheets! You're going to hate me. My rule is less than 20 ML"
:-(
So I still have drains in. I'm hoping and praying that tomorrow morning I'm under 20 on each side. If not my options over the weekend are 1) wait until Monday or 2) Call the on call plastic surgeon at Brigham & Womens and if they don't have too many emergencies they might agree to take them out. But I might get there only to find out that emergencies have arisen and have to wait 4 hours.
Option #2 doesn't really work with my life. Though my life is pretty limited with hoses sticking out of me. I'm really hoping tomorrow works out! The doctor said that if the drains are the worst part of this it's going really well. She said I look good and I'll go for my first expander fill-up in two weeks! The doctor did try to put some padding around the drain holes and tape them up so hopefully they don't move around too much and bother me less.
Interesting information - my sister and I had wondered what was holding my incisions together - stitches? staples? I looked but couldn't really see anything, turns out, that makes sense because it's glue holding me together!
Friends have sent me some lovely flowers, one had a balloon which Cassidy loves and carries around the house. I also got an edible arrangement! The look on Cassidy's face was pricelss, you would've thought she won the lottery! We had to immediately open it so she could begin eating it! Thanks for helping make our house so cheerful!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday already
You definitely don't have a good sense of time when you're hopped up and nauseous on pain killers. I was released from the hospital yesterday even though I was still nauseous. I wanted to come home. Last night I said "That's It!" to those darn painkillers that made me itchy, sick to my stomach and dizzy and stopped taking them. It was Tylenol only overnight. Bill and Cassidy are at the pharmacy now picking me up something milder that the doctor called in but I'm doing pretty okay on just Advil (which the Dr. recommended over Tylenol).
The good news was preliminary results on my lymph node was negative! Yippee! I'll really celebrate when the final results come this week.
The plastic surgeon thought my skin looked so good she put quite a lot of saline in my tissue expanders, 300cc.s - their limit is 500cc's. With that and all the swelling I have some pretty big... lumps. Yeah, they look like bumpy lumps.
The drains are without a doubt the worst part of this. I look like a freak with big bulbs under my shirt. The one on the left is stitched to my skin right under my super fashionable velcro bra and is the spot that hurts the most on me. But I can't be too upset because the doctor said it's because I'm skinny that it hurts so much. I love how they throw that in. Things hurt more because there's no fat to pad anything. Like it's a bad thing. haha
I survived.
The good news was preliminary results on my lymph node was negative! Yippee! I'll really celebrate when the final results come this week.
The plastic surgeon thought my skin looked so good she put quite a lot of saline in my tissue expanders, 300cc.s - their limit is 500cc's. With that and all the swelling I have some pretty big... lumps. Yeah, they look like bumpy lumps.
The drains are without a doubt the worst part of this. I look like a freak with big bulbs under my shirt. The one on the left is stitched to my skin right under my super fashionable velcro bra and is the spot that hurts the most on me. But I can't be too upset because the doctor said it's because I'm skinny that it hurts so much. I love how they throw that in. Things hurt more because there's no fat to pad anything. Like it's a bad thing. haha
I survived.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
More Updates....
We visited Sheryl today at the hospital -- she is pretty nauseous from the anesthesia and all the pain medication and didn't really get much sleep last night. So hopefully a good nights sleep will help her feel much better in the morning.
She is moving around great -- and is in good spirits.
~Lisa
She is moving around great -- and is in good spirits.
~Lisa
Friday, October 7, 2011
GREAT NEWS!!
For those of you who don't know me I am Sheryl's sister, Lisa... she asked me to update the blog so everyone would be up to date.
Bill called me about 3 o'clock - she still had roughly 2 hours left of surgery but they did come out to tell him that her lymph nodes had no cancer! So that is great news.
I will post any more news when I get it.....
Bill called me about 3 o'clock - she still had roughly 2 hours left of surgery but they did come out to tell him that her lymph nodes had no cancer! So that is great news.
I will post any more news when I get it.....
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