29 July 2010

At Home Recuperating

Surgery was uneventful. Phew! On Tuesday, Brandon and I arrived at the surgical facility at 6:30am, were checked-in immediately, and minutes later I was whisked back into the surgical prep zone. The nurse assigned to prep me was the same nurse as last time (although this time she didn't tell me to stop being a brat). My surgeon arrived soon after, we discussed the surgical plans, and he marked up my torso with a purple pen to note the plans. Brandon was then brought back to see me for a few minutes. Within an hour or so, I was being sedated and wheeled into surgery. I am always amazed at how quickly the sedatives work via the IV.

The surgery lasted a couple of hours, I'm not sure exactly how long. My memories of post-surgery are a little vague. The nurses gave me a pain medicine which made me very dopey and sleepy, and caused me to forget to breathe. The nurses reminded me at least twice to breathe. Brandon was eventually brought back to be with me. The nurses eventually fed me ice chips, tea, and Lorna Doones. I was told that the Lorna Doones may be phased out from the hospital, and this upsets me a bit, so if I am called for a survey about my experience, I will make a comment about keeping the Lorna Doones. I think I was released from the hospital about 1:30ish. The drive home was uneventful. I drank my smoothie and dozed. Brandon and I arrived at home about 3:30ish, and I haven't been back outside since.

25 July 2010

Prep Work

Before my surgeries, I madly attempt to make my house a more hospitable destination for healing. Since Brandon will not be home with me during the day, I need to know that food and entertainment will be easily accessible. Yesterday, we went to Trader Joe's, where I stocked up on cheese, hummus, crackers, chips, and fruit. After five surgeries, I know what I like to eat when I'm at home and don't feel well. Today has been whirlwind of activity around the house. And now I am exhausted, and drinking my last glass of wine for a few weeks.

    Today's To Do List included the following tasks
  • Multiple loads of laundry, folded and put away. Now I do laundry often, but usually I let the clean clothes pile up on the guest bed until it is time to do laundry again (meaning that the pile is gone).
  • Found old VHS tapes to watch. I plan to spend time on guest bed since it is in the "coolest" room in the house. The VCR is in the same room, so I plan to watch some of my old VHS tapes. So glad the movies weren't purchased at the yard sale nor did I give them to Goodwill.
  • Prepared and/or cooked the following items for consumption during the upcoming week: chopped cantaloupe, chopped and blended gazpacho, zucchini cake with chocolate chips, and cleaned sweet cherries. Also put ginger ale and sparkling water cans in fridge. And then cooked fresh peaches in grapeseed oil with leftover pulled pork, and corn fritters for dinner.
  • Tore out recipes, decorating tips, and party ideas from old issues of the Martha Stewart magazine before tossing the magazines in the recycling bin. Not really a necessary pre-surgical task but something I'd been meaning to do for about a year. What would be a better time than when I've got a billion other things to do? I certainly can't think of one.

I keep thinking that I have forgotten something. And even if I have, it is not the end of the world. But I hate being entirely reliant on someone to do basic tasks for me. I won't be able to drive for a few weeks. I may not be able to sit up by myself. I won't know the full level of my limitations until Tuesday when I wake up from surgery. So I plan and prepare for the worst.

24 July 2010

Thank goodness someone out there is less lazy than I am

Sometimes I don't read my magazines on delivery day. Sometimes, I let the publications pile up in the corner by the couch until they are about to collapse. Once the pile reaches a potentially harmful height, I kick off a mass reading spree infusing my brain with entertainment news, desirable travel destinations, and more recipes than I have the time or energy to cook.

Today I read my Cleveland Clinic newsletter, Catalyst, volume 8, issue 2, Summer 2010. Turns out an immunology researcher at the Clinic has found a way to prevent the development and halt the growth of breast cancer tumors in mice, and may figure out the way to do the same in human women. The key word in the prior sentence is may. But nonetheless, a pretty awesome development in the world of medicine. Maybe I should read my magazines sooner.

For more information, check out this online article, "Cleveland Clinic Researchers Develop Prototype Vaccine To Prevent Breast Cancer" (5/31/10).

20 July 2010

Numbers.. It is all about the numbers

According to the blogging software, I am now writing my 100th post. Wow! Who would have thought that I could write even ten posts? Certainly not me.

Yesterday was my 36th birthday. Next month will be the two-year anniversary of me finding that sneaky, evil lump of cells in my boob. And guess what cancer cells, I'm still alive. Screw you!

Next week, I will undergo my sixth surgery (surgeries are as follows: mastectomy, port installation, tissue expander installation, DIEP procedure, and DIEP follow-up #1). Hopefully this procedure will be the last one. My body would like to rest.

17 July 2010

Howdy!

Just wanted to say hello. I'm still here, and have plenty to say. My summer of livin' has been pretty busy with lots of travel and keeping on the now very soon to explode vegetable garden (photos are on FB if you are a friend of mine). Plus all of my free time has been spent madly knitting what seems to be the world's largest baby blanket for my new nephew, baby Graham. He was born on Wednesday, which is Brandon's birthday, so Brandon now has a new birthday buddy.

As for the blog, I do need to get better about posting. I have tons to say, new photos of inappropriate pink items, and rants. The blog is one of my forms of therapy. My therapist is great at helping me work out issues, but the blog gives a necessary release. I would write more but I need to get working on the "guest" room. Nanette and her husband are coming to visit (yea!) and they need a clean bed and space for their stuff. Right now neither of those requirements exist.