Not a good night. Doctors did not stay ahead of her pain by ordering continuous pain medicine thru her IV.Unnecessary pain, ironic since there are 2 RN’s in the room, the patient and her best friend. When you go to the hospital PAY ATTENTION!!!!!
She’s still recovering and trying to catch up on sleep. This is very very tough on her, and she is strong. Some tubes coming out, pain seems to be under control but need to stay ahead of it. Slow walks around the halls. Hopefully home tomorrow, we’ll know more in the morning. Many thanks to all for your loving comments, I have been reading them to her. Be safe. The Husband.
Thanks so much for all of your kind notes, good wishes, and fabulous humor. It has been an hellaciously long week, but I have great news to report: I’m going home from the hospital TODAY! (Silver Lining-SL for short) My cancer is Stage II b, caught early. (SL) I had one lymph node involved, which means that the cancer has metastasized, but not as much as it could have (SL). This also means that I will have to have some seriously kick ass chemotherapy (not so silver), to begin 4 weeks after healing from the surgery. Radiation is yet to be determined. The surgeons think that my wounds are healing beautifully. (SL) For this post, because I’m so F-bomb happy to be going home, I’ll wait to tell you about the abhorent pain management during the hospitalization. Right now, I’m fully focused on the Silver Lining: going home and early …
Tonight’s post is a clinical one…with a SL (silver lining), of course. One of the post-surgical components of a double mastectomy & reconstruction is a Jackson-Pratt drain, a/k/a a JP Drain. A Jackson-Pratt drain (or JP drain) is a surgical drainage device that removes excess fluid that can collect inside your body after surgery. When fluid builds up in a post-surgical site, the area may not heal as fast as it should, or (even worse) cause an infection. Too much fluid in a post-surgical area may also cause pain, swelling and infection. Using a JP drain after surgery usually helps you heal faster and helps clear away pus. Yes, pus. I never said that this would be pretty. A JP Drain looks essentially like a plastic hand grenade. Seriously. …and I woke up with 4 of them. Yes, FOUR. They are quite uncomfortable. When it comes to sleeping, I felt …
I can only hope that you all had as glorious a start to your day as I had to mine. After being startled out of a deep sleep by 4 3/4 (the not so glorious part), I welcomed my good friend and pilates instructor to my home to do reflexology. As I have mentioned, I am as focused on complementary and alternative treatments to this FBC as I am to western treatments. Reflexology is the ancient practice of applying pressure to the feet and hands utilizing specific thumb, finger and hand techniques. This practice is based on the belief that there are reflex points on the feet, hands and head that are connected to every part (i.e., organ) of the body. It is so fascinating, to me, that our feet and our hands are literally a mirror of our bodies. So cool. Reflexology has been shown to be effectve in …
Yesterday, I had another checkup with my plastic surgeon (how many times can I reiterate how outlandish it feels to refer to “my” plastic surgeon?). Well, reality persists and I DO have a plastic surgeon. Another SL (silver lining) is that he happens to be a really great, smart, conservative and patient physician (who does every stitch on his patients, by the way!). The great news (SL) is that 14 days post surgery and 7 days post drain removal, I am healing very, very well. He advises one more week of very limited mobility to ensure that the stitches stay in place which will help to avoid leakage and infection. Have I mentioned that I can be a very, very good patient who follows instructions diligently? Ok, ok..the patience part is still an issue with which I contend. The persistent issue, however, is P A I N. I haven’t laid …
It’s time to post about the surgical pain from the mastectomy (i.e., double booby amputation!) and reconstruction. I say that “it’s time” because now, a full 19 days post-op, I feel as if I have a little bit (little being the operative word here) of a handle on this issue. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Pathetic because while surgery is physically challenging, the key to an efficient, expedient and healthy recovery is aggressive pain management. When I say aggressive management, I mean 1000% focus with unwavering tenacity. Suffice it to say that my pain management has been abhorrent. Beyond description bad. The worst imaginable. Why you ask? I have NO IDEA. I took every single precaution to ensure proper pain management. I talked with every single physician I met with and discussed the importance-the PRIORITY-of pain management post amputation and reconstruction. I told every doctor EXACTLY what kind of pain medicine I …
F-Bomb. One of the many challenges of navigating the healthcare world is that there are a trillion, no, make that a gazillion of decisions to make, informed by millions of people with trillions of opinions. So much, coming from so many directions is really, really tough to manage, both mentally and emotionally. Medicine often equal parts science AND art, which makes it an incredibly challenging universe to navigate. DUH. While there are certain specific algorithmic treatment modalities for certain types of cancers and other diseases, many considerations go into coming up with an individual treatment plan. The majority of the considerations come from the pathophysiology of the disease. Pathology reports are done both a the time of the original biopsy and (hopefully!) at the time of surgery (to ensure a corroborative diagnosis). So, in preparing for our meetings with Oncologists, we came up with a list of questions prior to …
First of all, great news in the plastic surgery department (SL)! I am healing incredibly well! Incisions look great and the lady lumps are staying exactly where they are supposed to be. I’m so incredibly grateful that I didn’t have any fluid leakage after the JP drains came out. That can happen, which then means a whole lot of extra pain and procedures that you quite frankly don’t want to hear about. As of this week (4 weeks post-op), I am able to start stretching. Stretching is the happiest form of discomfort because it means I’m really on the road to recovery…and back to the tennis courts! We turned this week’s doctor appointments in Los Angeles into a little Brookside Adventure by having a wonderfully romantic (well, the best that I could do in that department) dinner and sleep over at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was my first stay …
This is going to sound nuts, but FBC is almost completely of my realm of thinking right now. Truly. My life now revolves around pain and poop (or lack thereof), which is why this post must, I’m afraid, be called the P & P Update. Gross, I know. If you can’t take it, I understand. Here’s a photo from our garden to put a better image in your mind before we proceed. OK. Feel better? As a nurse, I know all too well that the people best equipped to deal with the P&P issues are Palliative Care professionals. No doubt about it. So, I made a self-referral to the Community Palliative Care Program in Santa Barbara (805.690.6212). It’s not too often that people personally call a Palliative Care service and ask for a consultation. In fact it’s quite a rare occurrence, even comical to some. As a practicing palliative care …
