“ONE” lymph node!!!!!

Thanks Jennifer for theses - love them

            It’s been 6 days since my surgery and I feel very very uncomfortable and sore. It definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. Kinda long (sorry) but here is my daily blow by blow of my long hospital stay:

 right before surgery

Friday August 22^nd arrived at 5am for surgery. I was of course nervous but the check in and pre-op experience went very smoothly, I think I asked for my happy juice half a dozen times before I was allowed to have it. I told the nurses and doctors many times that I am very sensitive to anesthesia and I ALWAYS vomit afterwards…they gave me extra anti-nausea meds bc of this. I woke up after surgery and immediately started vomiting. Next I remember waking up in my room and wondering why Jon and my parents weren’t there the next time I opened my eyes they were there. The first thing I remember hearing was they only took “ONE” lymph node!!!!! Oh my God, I was immediately overwhelmed and start crying tears of joy but it hurt really bad to cry, Dallas told me that I cried grabbed my chest and said “they cut my boobs off” but I don’t remember saying that, I just remember being so happy and overwhelmed with only ONE node and that one node was clear. Seriously that’s best news ever after going through that surgery. We of course have to wait for the lab to give the official “all clear” of the node. Friday afternoon I was really messed up between the pain meds and nausea, I also started itching really bad that evening. Jon stayed the night with me.

Daddy and I napping Saturday

Saturday August 23^rd woke up and was of course in some pain and very uncomfortable but I wasn’t nauseous so I was thankful for this. Itchy still. Saturday went good, my goal was to get up and walk 3 times. First time they had me walk with a walker, the next two walks I walked by just holding onto dad, easy peasy. I was also up using the bathroom on my own and eating full meals. They switched me to pill form pain meds. The itching got worse and I was breaking out in a rash. Next was Benadryl and changing my pain meds again (we were not sure what was causing the itching and rash). My blood pressure was low and everyone thought this was due to the pain meds. I sent Jon home that afternoon, the nurses and techs there are wonderful and I felt completely comfortable staying there alone.  No one liked this idea but I insisted. My parents stayed in a hotel near the hospital Friday and Saturday night. Saturday night was when it got interesting. Around midnight I called the nurse for some pain meds and said I needed to use restroom she came in took my leg squeezing boots off for me to get up, I told her I felt fine and could go myself (I had been getting up and going by myself all day so it wasn’t strange for me to walk myself to restroom). I remember peeing and getting up I started feeling lightheaded and started to sit on the floor. I woke up laying on the bathroom floor and was able to grab the emergency pull cord, I was thinking why isn’t it making any noise so I pulled it again, blacked out woke up with tech and nurse next to me…. then out again woke up with about 15 people in my room. I am not new to getting light headed and passing out. I’ve done this my whole life (thanks Dad) but I always know when it’s going to happen and I can always sit or lay down before it happens. This was a HARD black out, everyone had fun trying to get me back into my bed. I had a very small corner room and I was laying half in the bathroom. They finally got me into bed and started taking blood, vitals and EKG. My blood pressure was very low like 79/45 or something maybe lower. EKG was perfect, they started pumping me full of fluids. I got some new fun bracelets to add to my collection “Fall Risk”, I went to sleep. Woke up a couple hours later needing desperately to pee due to the crazy amount of fluids they were pumping into me. I called the nurse and the nurse AND tech had to walk to me bathroom now. I had to be belted due my new fall risk status which is fun. So they walked to bathroom I peed while they stood next to me.. I stood up and said I want to go back to my bed, the nurse said stand here for a minute and I was not happy with that, she was like are you ok and I said no I’m going to black out again. She sat me back on the potty and they braced to hold me the tech had my head and I said I’m blacking out right… now…. the tech said as soon I said now I was out. I woke up still on the potty with them holding me and the 15 people were back in my room lol. Next came blood work and EKG and vitals. EKG normal, blood pressure still very low and they had my blood work back from first black out showing I was low on a few things like potassium but nothing to alarming. 

Sunday going on a belted walk with my Cuban tech and my Cuban hubby

Sunday August 24^th Needless to say they pumped me full of EVERYTHING.. I had bags and bags and more bags of fluids all day Sunday. My rash was horrible and so very itchy, all over my back, butt, thighs and stomach… they switched my antibiotics next and after my 2^nd blackout I was taken completely off narcotics and start alternating Motrin and Tylenol for pain. I was also getting Benadryl via IV to help with the itching. I was told I wouldn’t be going home Sunday and that if I blacked out one more time I would be sent to the heart floor for monitoring for a couple days. I didn’t black out or get light headed again. My sweet Cuban tech had to walk me belted on Sunday but I had no issues being up or walking. Sunday night was uneventful just going crazy itching all night. This rash was getting worse and I was very swollen and uncomfortable.

Monday August 25^th doctor said I was being released, I was to continue Motrin and Tylenol for pain and to take Benadryl every 4-6 hours until the rash is gone. I was home at 3pm Monday.

Tuesday 8/26 heading to 1st follow-up

So my expected one night stay turned into three. I’m still itching but the rash looks much better now (still there but not as angry) we still have no idea what caused the allergic reaction. I plan to go see an allergist prior to my next surgery to see if I can get some answers. I weighed 15 lbs more on Monday when I got home than I did when I went into surgery Friday. It’s all water weight and swelling I’m assuming due to all of the crazy fluids that I had pumped into me. This morning 6 days later I’m still 10 lbs. heavier and still swollen. Surprisingly not in pain, haven’t had much pain at all, the Tylenol and Motrin is all I need. I’m very sore and very very uncomfortable but not in pain. My chest is numb and so is my right armpit from the lymph node removal. I’m hoping to regain some feeling in my arm pit but I know I’ll never have feeling in my chest again. I went for a follow-up on Tuesday August 26^th just to have incision checked and all was fine. I go back next Tuesday September 2^nd to the plastic surgeon to get my drains out and I can’t wait… these drains are so annoying and uncomfortable.  And then Monday September 8^th I go see Dr. Hoover to get my final path results and I’m assuming get referred to an Oncologist at Moffit to find out if I will need chemo or not. I forgot to mention that my tumor was closer to my chest muscle than we expected so Dr. Hoover did have to shave down some chest muscle to get clear margins, Good thing I had big muscles already lol. I have never had low blood pressure before even when pregnant I’ve always been 115/75 kinda girl but the entire hospital stay I was very low. At my follow-up on Tuesday I was back to normal BP range. I’m assuming my low BP was due to anesthesia and pain meds.



Lovely flowers from friends <3

Another quick Thank you to everyone for their support, I finally read all of my messages on Facebook this morning and appreciate each and every one. Loved the hospital visits (thanks for holding my puke bag Ayleen) and flowers and presents. And loved the pillows and well wishes and prayers. Thank you so much to my parents, hubby, sisters and mother in law. For taking such good care of me and my babies. It is very aggravating not being able to take care of yourself and your children, I am so blessed to have such wonderful loving people in my life.

All for now. XOXO, Lynn





night before surgery update

 

Thought I would give a  night before surgery update.   I’m still feeling good, just nervous for surgery. This is the first time I will be away from Ava and it will be for almost 2 days, she is sick (sinus infection on antibiotics) and not feeling well at all which makes it that much harder to leave her. Tyson seemed to take the news ok but I’m not sure how well he understands, I didn’t want to go into too much detail with him. So we shall see how he handles it when I get home Saturday.

            Today I received the results from my genetic testing…I was negative for the big main genes we were looking for like BRAC1/BRAC2 and all of the other big ones. I was positive for CHEK2 (checkpoint kinase 2), I was assured not to worry and that it does not change my course of treatment. This gene does give you an increased for breast cancer (around 20%) though, so that is interesting.

I also received 4 not so fun injections today at Moffit “LYMPHATIC MAPPING INJECTION” directly into my right breast (it was quick so I can’t complain too much about it).  If you want to know more about this fun injection here is the info Moffit supplied to me:

WHAT IS A LYMPHATIC MAPPING INJECTION?
This is a test done in the Nuclear Medicine department at Moffitt. It is scheduled just prior to a surgery appointment or the afternoon prior to a surgery appointment. Like other exams in Nuclear Medicine, we use a small amount of a radioactive material or substance called a "tracer" that allows us to see how the lymphatic system is draining within a specific area of your body.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
This test is used primarily for patients diagnosed with Breast cancer. Your physician is trying to determine if there is any progression or development of the cancer into the lymphatic system. We assist the surgeon by injecting a small amount of a radioactive tracer around the area of tumor. The tracer will drain through the lymphatic system and migrate into the lymph node basin nearest the tumor site. This will allow the surgeon to locate, in surgery, the exact lymph node(s) that the tumor may have drained to. The surgeon will remove only those lymph nodes containing the radioactive tracer and leave all the others. These nodes will then be sent to pathology to determine if any disease has traveled through the lymphatic system to these node(s). The tracer used in this procedure does not in any way determine if the tumor has entered into the lymphatic system. This test only provides a map for the surgeon to follow indicating a direction the disease may have followed. The pathology done on the specimens taken during surgery will determine the progression of the tumor.

            So my surgery is tomorrow morning at 7:15am. We have to be there a couple hours before surgery. The surgery typically takes 4.5 hours. I’m sure my husband and/or parents will let everyone know how I’m doing after surgery via facebook.

             Thank you again to everyone for the cards, letters, emails, texts and support. I have the best support system and I am so very thankful for each and every one of you. Extra special thank you to my super wonderful parents. I can’t imagine how hard this is for them to see their baby girl having to go through this. Thank you Mommy for being so supportive and being by my side always, I love you so very much! And of course to my super husband Jonathan, I can always count you to make me laugh even when I want to cry, you are so loving and supportive and reassuring.

Looking forward to tomorrow, I cannot wait to get this nasty cancer out of me and start the healing process.

 XOXO, Lynn

One week out!

                                  

 

I borrowed this image from someone I follow on instagram that does fitness competitions lol but I think it applies to me too. I’m counting down to my big day. I’m definitely getting nervous now, the nerves hit me yesterday… kind of coming in waves, not as bad today but the day isn’t over with yet.  I am very nervous and worried to tell  my five year old son Tyson about my surgery, he knows I’m sick because I’m always going to the doctor now but he has no idea how sick I am and that I will need surgery. I bought a book off Amazon "When Mommy Had a Mastectomy​" that I’m hoping will help him, we probably won’t tell him until a day or two before surgery. Tyson is a very sensitive boy and I do not want him worried and scared for Mommy (especially during his first week of Kindergarten). But we need to prepare him for after surgery… Mommy will not be able to do much for a while and he won’t be able to hug and cuddle on me like he’s used to doing. 4-6 weeks is what I’m being told for recovery after a double mastectomy & sentinel node biopsy… I’m hoping to be back at work and taking care of the kids within 3 weeks.

            Good news to share, my PET/CT scan only showed the area we were expecting it to show (my right breast) so that is a HUGE relief!!  I get my genetic testing results on Thursday the 21st. It will be nice to know prior to surgery what they show.

            At my pre-op appointment on Tuesday at Moffitt both Nurses who had to clear me for surgery said that I am extremely healthy, I didn’t need any additional testing and I am cleared for surgery now .. basically was in and out in less than an hour which is quite impressive apparently. I am ahead of the game, I am lucky, I found this nasty cancer early and I’m totally going to kick its butt. I have no doubt in my mind that I will be cancer free in the very near future.

            "Where My Ladies At?” When was your last mammogram?? Are you over 30? GO GET A MAMMOGRAM!!  Ok, I’m done yelling. Seriously though… only 35, no immediate family history, no signs, no symptoms, still can't feel a lump, healthy, exercises often, non-smoker here and I Have Cancer! Please, go get a mammogram. Thank you.

XOXO,

Lynn