Done and Home - Double Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction

Things are fuzzy in my mind, so I'll give you the short story.

It's done. Cancerous boob is gone, so is the other one and the little nubbins  on my abdomen. They also took some lymph nodes from under my arm. Then they placed a mesh sling and a silicone implant under my chest muscle on each side.

I got there and got all prepped. This included an iv and a couple of shots in the armpit. The plastic surgeon came in and drew lots of lines all over my chest, boobs and belly with a marker. Long lines. I sure hoped he wasn't planning on slicing that much!  He didn't. But it was a bit unnerving having the surgeon draw lots of long lines. The general surgeon was an hour late, but he got there.  Everyone there, so they knocked me out and did their thing.

I guess the surgery was from 10am to 3pm or something like that. I don't know exactly.

I woke up to nurses over me. It was a blur. They wheeled me to my room and didn't have to move me to another bed, I was already in the bed. Whew. I was worried about them moving me after reading a blog where a gal was moved and the nurse pulled her arm to move her over and pulled out some interior stitching.

The next thing I remember is they were situating all the tubes and cords and things, and one little gal who didn't have her hair tied back said "I'll remove the catheter" and I suddenly came to enough to yell "No! Leave it in!" She left it in. I knew I wasn't going to hop up and go potty in a couple of hours and I was on an iv drip. Yer dang right, I want the catheter! I was actually glad to hear I had one.

Friday is very vague in my mind. I remember bits but I don't really know if they were Friday or another day. Keith said I asked him the same questions over again. I know they brought me dinner. Really? Was I supposed to sit up and eat dinner after spending 5 hours under anesthesia? Yuck.

Slowly, most of the tubes and wires and things came out. After surgery I had an oxygen tube poked up my nose, two drain tubes coming out of my sides, two wires, or tubes or a combination of, not sure, poked into me at the tip of my sternum, the catheter, and the iv. When I left five days later, I only left with the drain tubes. Still have 'em in fact. And, yup, they're gross.

I got blood drawn every day and I got shots in my belly every day too. Have I ever mentioned my fun little needle phobia?  Yeah..... I'm so happy to be home!

I should have only been there for two or three days. Most people get booted out after one night. My extended stay was due to anemia. I could not sit up much and I certainly couldn't stand. The day after surgery a guy from physical therapy came into my room with a walker and a gait strap. I told him right away we weren't using the strap. I have incisions on my belly too. He said he'd put it down low. I said no. And then I couldn't even stand up, so it wasn't an issue. He was kind of hot headed and left the room annoyed with me for not standing up. I couldn't though.

The next day another physical terrorist came to see me and she did the same. I told her I wouldn't unless there was another person to help stand me up. She's only one person and can only stand one side of me. She's only got two arms. She argued and said she was trained and I said I might fall and I need to feel safe. She was annoyed too. Those people from the PT department sure don't like to be told how to do things. But, she got the nurse to stand on the other side of me while I tried to stand upright. She leaned me over till my legs took a step and then she celebrated.

My doctor came  in and diagnosed me with severe anemia. He said I was borderline when I came in, my level was at a 12 or so, but he explained that surgery and even a little blood loss causes your hemoglobin levels to take a dip. My dip was more of a plummet. My iron levels were between 2 and 3. He ordered two blood transfusions and two extra days in the hospital. This is how I came to have a five-day stay.

After the blood transfusions, I felt a world better! I got up and walked down the hall. I got my catheter out and had a fairly easy time using the bathroom by myself. But, I couldn't actually get from laying to being upright without help because my chest muscles are in a lot of pain, my back hurts so bad from being down for so long, and my arms are also useless. I can't push or pull myself up. I was still getting dizzy easily, but at least I wasn't feeling like I would melt into the floor. I could stand.

I was released on Wednesday and they wheeled me to the car. Keith got me out and walked me straight up the stairs  to our room, where I still am. I don't dare venture down the stairs for fear of falling. My blood transfusions have worn off a bit and my stability isn't as good as it was right away.  But, I'm stronger every day.

I'm taking a nice cocktail of prescription drugs for pain, muscle spasms, nausea, and antibiotics.  I have to empty and measure my drain tubes a couple of times a day. That's gross, but I can do it. I need a lot of help to do just about everything right now. It's ridiculous actually, but every breath I take hurts. Every move I make. Wait, that's a song. It's true though.

The thing that sucks is: before my surgery, I felt just fine. I had no problems. Not a pain, not nausea, or anything. I was just fine! Except for having breast cancer, but since there were absolutely no symptoms of that, it didn't feel like I had anything. After the surgery that cures the cancer, I am in a lot of pain and I feel like a helpless old lady. This is hard to comprehend in my mind.

Doesn't matter. I am very happy to be home after the long stay in the hospital! Not sure if I'm cancer free yet, the lymph node report isn't back. I can't hug my kids yet, but I get to see them! Being home sure feels good!