Plan B

PLAN B

“If things start happening, don’t worry, don’t stew,
 just go right along and you’ll start happening too.” - Dr. Seuss

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OFF WE GO

The big day came on fast!   I was glad not to have too much time to dwell on things and we got underway quickly. I hit up a fast food joint at 2 AM hoping that nice juicy burger would hold me for the eight hours ‘till surgery.  Next stop was yoga at 6 AM and yes, that burger was still there.  A little too much still there but we made it.  From yoga we went directly to our first stop of the day: Nuclear Medicine. This is where they inject you with nuclear medicine dye.  The dye would create markers in lymph nodes the surgeons could see and subsequently pull for study.  The shitter of it is, they inject that dye via eight injections into the nipples.  Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Meltdown #1 of the day and haven’t even made it past Nuclear Medicine!

The next two hours passed quickly as we got set up in the pre-op room, Tricia joined us and the nurses got busy hooking everything up. It appeared the 11 AM “go time” was right on track.  The last thing I remember is them offering me a “cocktail” that would help me relax and then it was “lights out” to leave all the worrying to someone else!

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LUCIDITY AND PLAN B

Waking up in a hospital is not as straightforward as you might think.   Apparently six hours had passed since I’d been wheeled into surgery, yet it felt like the snap of a finger.  I was placed in a recovery room where I was allowed visitors one at a time. I wasn’t quite lucid, often cranky and certainly wasn't rational.   First Mark, followed by Tricia, Heidi, then Michelle.  Poor Mark, he got the brunt of it.  He delivered the news that they were not able to do the one-step procedure and had to place the expanders. When all the scooping was said and done there wasn’t enough fat left under the skin for the vessels to rebuild if it was stretched too tightly.  This put me at risk for losing some of the skin which would have slid us waaaaayyy down to plan D, E, or F.   Apparently I went through a speed round of all five stages of grief including a long pause to wallow in the anger stage.   Luckily I don’t remember that and as far as I know my head didn’t spin around and spew green stuff. Or maybe it did, and they’re just nice enough not to tell me.

General mood in the recovery room.

In any event, this means I will have to have at least one more surgery to swap out the expanders for the implants.    This will likely be two or three months down the line… right about the time I’m finally healing from the first surgery.  Boooo.  Oh and I’ll need to go in for weekly “fills” to bring things up to size.  Still…. perspective:  it’s better than weekly radiation or chemotherapy.

We are on for Plan B. 

This will require at least one additional surgery in a couple of months.  

Woe.

Eventually the whole party was moved to our room for the night.  I wobbled in and out of consciousness and continued to asked the same questions over and over again. It hurt.  Actually it hurt quite a lot.  It hurt across my chest and especially under my armpits where they’d pulled the muscle off the rib cage poking around for lymph nodes to biopsy. I tried to be brave for Mark and our friends.  I tried to be polite to the nurses.  

It was time for Tricia to go - she’d been there all day and managed to keep Mark thoroughly entertained. Heidi and Michelle made their way out too and we were alone for the night.    Once I was more lucid, I started to get my head around Plan B and the silver lining of being able to control the outcome a bit more. Mark and I settled in for the night though inevitably we we woken for vitals shortly after falling asleep. Conversely it seemed to take forever to round up a nurse when more morphine was needed.  We did get breakfast in bed though and it wasn't even half bad!

Tricia’s daughter offered a loan of her “wubba” which turned out to be the best blanket in the whole hospital!

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GETTING OUTTA THIS JOINT!

The next day I awoke with a peek-a-boo view of Mark through all the hospital apparatus. What a Trooper.  I’m a lucky girl indeed.  We got ourselves ready for an “imminent” discharge according to the nurses,. Turns out “imminent”at a hospital means like 3-4 hours.  Gah.

Mark’s lovely accommodation for the evening.

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THE NEW NORMAL

We are still trying to figure out what the new normal looks like around our place. So far it seems to be lots of naps and lots of meds!

Naps and Kittehs Cure Everything

The new normal?

My mom set my ORIGINAL blankie. Tricia approves.  AND it works.

Yes, there’s an app for managing all that…

It wasn’t quite a shower but it was close and I felt like a new woman!

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GRATITUDE AND WHAT’S NEXT

The support we have received has been overwhelming. To each person who sent a little mojo in their own way: THANK YOU!  To anyone who has said “Let me know what I can do…. Here’s a list.  Hey, life is better with lists!

1 - Get a mammogram, have your wife get a mammogram or have your best friend get a mammogram. Guys can substitute a prostate exam. Then send us a card and tell us how much fun it was!   NOT KIDDING about the exams, fun optional.  :-)  Can you imagine the joy of catching something early for someone that wouldn't have gone otherwise?  No better Christmas present!

2 - Folks insisting on buying something that makes us feel warm and fuzzy:  We always appreciate donations of time or money to local animal charities. It has absolutely nothing to do with cancer and that's the point. :-)

3 - Folks insisting on buying something and/or food: Pre-Made Paleo offers gift cards and they deliver meals that are already cooked and can go straight to the microwave or the freezer. That would be perfect for us.



Thanks to those that have offered to stop by and visit.   At the moment imagine I am not up for visitors.

  Imagine a Medussa-esque zombie with bloody tubes waving wildly about attached to a semi-lucid patient.  Not gonna end well. I have my first post-op appointment early next week and may open up for visitors then if anyone still cares to drop by. 

 

Of note, we have already received the gift of THREE mammograms.  Early detection saves lives. THANK YOU!!