Surgery Week

The Week of Surgery

Pre-Op - Monday, 8 July 2013

Before the day of the surgery, I had to endure the pre-op process.  It reminded me of the Army's in-processing routine.  The first appointment was to register with the hospital and discuss my finances or how I'm going to pay my medical bills.  Luckily, I have Tricare Standard through the Army Reserves but other than that, everything else will come out of my pocket in deductibles.  I'm lucky for this.  I did ask the representative what my options were if I couldn't afford the medical treatment or didn't have insurance. I assumed I would be turned away but surprisingly, the hospital does offer payment plans, medicaid, and other financial options/charities for cancer treatments.

After the financial discussion, I was led to the nurse's office for the "Interview/Assessment".  The nurse basically verified my personal and medical information.  My blood was drawn for whatever reasons - I assume it was to ensure I wasn't pregnant? - and then I had a chest x-ray.  I'm not sure what they were looking for in the x-ray since all I saw was my bone structure, shadow of my heart and lungs and this atomic bomb cloud looking thing.  I pointed at the cloud and asked what that image was.. The technician said it was gas in my stomach.  I laughed. I knew I was full of hot air...LOL.

My next pre-op appointment was to get the SLN (sentinel lymph node) injections in my breast in Nuclear Medicine. I've never heard of Nuclear Medicine and imagined myself glowing in the dark after the injections. The Radiologist made four injections into my areola with a blue radioactive tracer that is supposed to travel into my lymph node system.  The blue tracer would allow the surgeon to easily find my lymph nodes for biopsy and test for cancer cells.  I'm not going to lie about this...the injections stung...a lot.

My husband, a 6'3 manly of all men type of guy, held my hand during this process but sat on the floor with weak knees and wouldn't dare peek at the needle injections.  Now, you have to know my husband.  When I say manly, he is all about guns, hunting, trucks, etc...and he bends at the knees for Jesus and needles. LOL.

After the injections, I waited an hour while moving my arm around in order to help the tracer travel up my lymph node system.  Pete and I went to the cafeteria, ate some danish and drank some coffee while watching the thunderstorm and hospital employees run without umbrellas.  After the hour, I ran back upstairs to Nuclear Medicine and had another chest x-ray but it was to find glowing lymph nodes.  The imagery was like stars in the desert night.  One big star stood out and the technician said that was my lymph node.

Surgery, Tuesday, 9 July 2013

I was nervous on the day of surgery.  I barely slept and per directions, I didn't eat or drink anything after midnight, so I woke up feeling hungry.  Then again, I'm always hungry. I laid in bed and read another chapter of "Dear God, They Say its Cancer" and the bible verses the author shared comforted me. I have to remind myself that God is ultimately in control and I have to trust in Him.

Fear of Malpractice

I dressed into my button up pajama set.  Pete laughed and asked if I was really going in with my PJs. I said, "Yes! They said to dress comfortably so I'm dressed to sleep right away when I come back home."  We also decided to assist the surgical team and ensure they cut into the correct anatomy.  After hearing horror stories of surgeries gone wrong and patients missing limbs for minor surgery, I grabbed a sharpie marker and told Pete to write "Do not remove" on my body.  We laughed so hard when we wrote "Do Not Remove" on my healthy boob and "Do Not Remove, Lypo Only" on my tummy.  My laughter turned into tears and my husband silently hugged me.

Pete drove me to the hospital and I gotta say, walking into the hospital felt like the green mile for me.  My legs felt so heavy like I was dragging an iron ball and chain.  My heart sank with fear but I smiled my goofy smile when I walked passed people.  One lady said, "Now you're smart and well prepared to come in your pajamies!"  

I checked in with the surgery lobby.  The desk lady, a volunteer, explained the process and handed Pete a vibrating box thing that restaurants do for long wait time.  I laughed and said, "Can I have fries and milk shake with that?"  The lady said, "No, but you'll get a room with a bed." 

An hour later, our vibrating box lights up and Nurse Robyn greets us and shows us to our room.  I changed into my gown that opens in the back with my butt hanging out.  Very awkward, by the way, since I'm mooning everybody in the room.  I lay on my bed and found the hospital bed to be very comfortable.

As Robyn was helping me get settled in bed, I giggled and asked her, "Does anybody ever leave skidmarks on the bed? Cause that would be embarrassing."  Robyn laughs and says, "I've never been asked that question in 16 years of nursing. But if somebody left skidmarks, nobody would say anything."  We all laughed.  It was so refreshing to just laugh.

 Robyn sets up a heat blower into my gown which kept me warm during the duration of surgery. She applied leg compressors - which I enjoyed since it felt like a lovejoy massage chair.  Robyn sets up my IV which Pete, of course cringes, our eyes meet briefly and he looks away in grimace.  I tell him he's a big baby and it wasn't so bad. 

Then as we draw nearer to surgery time, I met with the Anesthesiologist who asked me about my past drug allergies and surgeries.  Dr. Lynn Tucker, my surgeon, comes into the room, holds my hands and confirms my surgical site.  She laughed hard and said "You crazy girl" when she saw my "Do Not Remove" markings. LOL.  When it was time to get wheeled away, the anesthesiologist gave me a relaxer.  Pete kissed me and said "I'll see you later."  I prayed quietly that God will bless the surgical team.  I remember seeing the surgery lights and then I was out.  

I woke up next to the post-anesthesiology nurse who offered me Sprite.  I was so thirsty I asked for a second serving.  I was groggy and barely remember her wheeling me into a room.  Pete came in to greet me. The nurse put me into the wheelchair and Pete picked me up at the curb.  Everything was a blur.  Pete stopped by Walmart to pick up my drugs. I don't know if I slept in the car but I remember walking into the bathroom at home and looking at my incisions.  I had no dressing. I was glued.  I thought the "small" incision was larger than I thought under my arm.  The incision on my areola was nice and clean.  But I was still grossed out.

I slept the whole day and woke up the next day at about 10 am. And then slept some more.