Surgery

Wednesday, July 15, 2020 be at Centralia Providence at 7:00 am

We set an alarm for 6 am so I could get up and take a shower before heading the hospital. They gave me a special soap with instructions about how to wash to help minimize the risk of infections. I also didn’t have extra time to think about eating or having my normal cup of morning coffee.

Chad was only allowed to walk me to the door. It was hard on him to leave me there. However, I walked through the ER doors and went directly to the outpatient surgery waiting room. It wasn’t long before the nurse came to get me.

The nurse helped me prepare for surgery. I got to have a pregnancy test (negative), brush my teeth with a special wash, coated the inside of my nose with iodine, washed my by body again with large wipes. Once I changed into the hospital gown I was put in bed with music of my choice and the lights dimmed. The nurse put an IV in my right arm and someone from nuclear medicine came in to inject the dye in two places to help identify the sentinel nodes the doctor would remove during surgery. They kept asking me if I have been anxious or depressed and I had to admit that I had been feeling anxious about my diagnosis and the upcoming surgery. There are so many unknowns.

There was a woman named Teresa who came in to talk to me and pray with me before surgery. I appreciated her calm, comforting presence and prayer. The surgeon came in to review the surgery with me and answer any questions I may have had. The nurse wheeled me down the hall on the hospital bed toward the operating room as I waved to the people I passed with the princess wave. Unfortunately I did not bring my crown. Once in the OR I moved over from the hospital bed to the surgery table. They strapped my arms down, put a belt around me to keep me on the table. Then the anesthesiologist put the mask on my nose and mouth and told me to breath normally. He said it was just oxygen. It was easy to breath in but hard to breath out. I kept saying ‘out’ and he asked ‘ouch’? I shook my head no. It wasn’t long before I noticed it wasn’t just oxygen anymore. I was out.

In the recovery room I remember talking to one nurse but I have no idea what we talked about. It wasn’t long before they moved me to the surgical floor. Once there my blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen saturation looked good and I decided it was time to go to the bathroom. I sat up and waited, I took steps toward the bathroom, reached for the bathroom light and the nurse asked if I leaned backwards a bit. I said I didn’t think so. I sat down on the toilet and then told her I was feeling lightheaded. Next thing I knew there were a team of people around asking me to wake up and make eye contact. I told them that I had been dreaming and there were a lot of people in my dream. The team got me into a wheelchair and wheeled me back to the bed where I stepped up to get back to bed. I did not want them lifting me under my armpits because of the surgery incisions.

Once in bed they hooked me up to the monitors which showed a very low blood pressure. They did an EKG to check on my heart , put in another IV on the left side, and gave me two bags of fluids with potassium. The lowest blood pressure reading was 78/55 – yikes! The nurse said I was the excitement for the day. Not sure how I feel about being the ‘excitement’ but I sure was glad to have a group of people there to take care of me at that low point.

There was a full menu of food to order from and they told me I could order whatever I wanted any time between 7 am and 7 pm. My meal consisted of chicken strips, small vegetable tray, plain Greek yogurt, peaches, coffee, Gatorade and chocolate cake. It took be about 4 hours to eat the food which tasted better as time went on.

During the night I slept in spurts for a total of about 7 hours. There was no more excitement for me thank goodness. The next morning I ordered eggs, bacon, mandarin oranges, coffee and a bran muffin. Breakfast tasted good and went down easily – no nausea or upset stomach.

For lunch I had a Caesar Salad with chicken, cheesecake, and Gatorade. It seems like a weird combination of food but everyone was raving about the cheesecake, how could I pass it up?

Dr. Lucas came in to check on me, answer my questions (of course), and fill out the discharge papers. She said she took 2 nodes and should have the pathology report back when I see her on Tuesday, July 21st. This will help her determine what the next steps will be. On one hand I don’t want to do radiation, chemo, or have another surgery. On the other hand I want to be cancer free and live a long life. Please pray for no cancer in the nodes and wisdom in making treatment decisions.

Chad picked me up from the hospital around 1:30 pm and took me home. He had a hard time dropping me off and just waiting for a call. He told me he wanted to be with me as I recovered. However, I am glad he wasn’t there to see me pass out and watch helplessly as they brought me back. The nurse was especially happy when my lips were pink again.

Once I got home we put together a medication schedule and checked out the drains to make a plan for those. I set a goal to walk around the house as much as possible to help my recovery. (We are not talking marathons – don’t you worry.) When Gretchen brought over the dinner (which was amazing BTW) I think she was a little mortified that I was up walking around. It was really good to see her so I’m glad I was up and moving around at that time.

Charlene (Chad’s mom) and Bob came up to help as well. Charlene helped with the medication schedule, drains and lots of other things while Bob mowed the lawn. Mowing the lawn is a big job and it’s typically my chore so it was nice to see him doing that.

I was so happy to see Lizzie, Parker and Sheila on Thursday evening. They left Thursday after Parker got off work to go to Sunriver in Oregon to spend time with my family. I was jealous that I didn’t get to go but was glad the kids went.

I’m sure the full reality of a bilateral mastectomy has not hit me yet. There is no way I can know all the ways this will change my life. Adjustments will need to be made. I ask for prayer that we can learn to live well and lead balanced lives keeping our focus on what’s important.

God is in control.