Lumpectomy & Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Surgery & Recovery

Well, I'm now a week out of surgery.  It's been an interesting week.  We arrived at the hospital bright and early Thursday at 5:45AM and began the registration process.  The best part about the surgery was that the anesthesiologist pumped the meds into my system early and I was out of it before we even reached the elevator door!  In all of my surgeries, that was a first.  I've been awake all the way into the operating room.  Surgery took about two hours.  The surgeon was originally going to take two lymph nodes, but only took one.  She told Nick that the lymph node she took looked good, implying she didn't think the cancer had spread.  We were home by 1PM that afternoon.  The rest of the day I slept, unable to move the right side of my body.

I knew the day after surgery was going to be the hardest, and I was right.  Surgeon's don't send you home with as many pain pills as they used to.  I did a lot of rotating Tylenol and Ibuprofen, so I spent the day in quite a bit of pain.  I also had a horrible migraine, which wasn't helpful.  I received flowers from my work and my sister and brother-in-law, which put a smile on my face.

By day three (Saturday), I was ready for the pain to be gone.  Along with ANOTHER migraine, I spent the day incredibly dizzy.  On the up side,  I was able to take a shower, even though I couldn't use my right arm.  It wasn't the most pleasant experience!  You never realize how much you use a part of your body until you can't use it!

Brandon was scheduled to begin baseball practice for the city team on Tuesday.  I wasn't sure how we were going to do this, especially since Nick was back at work and I still didn't know my treatment schedule and am recovering.  An incredible thing happened.  I reached out to the parents on his team, and they are going to help get Brandon to and from practices and games when I'm not able to.  They have already begun helping, and I'm beyond grateful.  

I haven't thought about my pathology results at all over the past week.  I've been busy being in pain and focusing on my recovery!  My appointment was scheduled for today (Thursday) at 1PM.  I was looking forward to learning what the next step in this marathon was going to be; radiation or chemotherapy.  My phone rang a little after noon, 20 minutes before my sister was set to pick me up.  It was my surgeon's assistant telling me that my pathology report hasn't come back yet!!  I was the first surgery of the day so that my mass would get there ASAP, and here I am having to wait...again.  My appointment has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, and I'm not holding my breath that it will be back by then either.  Waiting until a few minutes before I was set to leave to give me this information was a bit unprofessional.

Today I'm feeling the best I have since my surgery.  I'm healing well, even though it looks gross!  In a perfect world, I'd take another week off of work.  Walking still feels weird, and driving a short distance yesterday was an experience.  It hurt.  Each day I work on using my right arm a little more, doing all I can to not accidentally do too much.  Habit often kicks in and I have to remind myself to take it easy.  The clothing I purchased has all proved to be very helpful and I'm glad I did the research.  

It still doesn't feel like I have cancer.  Maybe it's because I don't feel any different than I did two months ago.  Sure, I had surgery, but I've had many surgeries in life.  I still wonder if it will take until I learn what my treatment will be for this to sink in.  I'd like to think this is a blessing.  I guess we'll see.

Leaving on a fun note:  New Kids on The Block released their latest single last week.  I love these guys and their creativity.  Mocking famous videos from the 1980's, this is corny, but so much fun.  These men are in their late 40's/early 50's, so I don't expect them to make videos like they are in their 20's.  THAT would be RIDICULOUS!  I can hardly wait to see them in June!

I'll keep you all posted about my treatment...if I hear back from the pathologist's office!