Victory Wounds

Lucky #4!

6/21/2012: I wake up, take a shower, and mentally prepare myself for battle. My nerves were not due to fear of the surgery, but to the shear fact my body would never be the same. How does one prepare themselves mentally and emotionally for something like this? The possible images kept playing in my head, my game face on, my nerves in check. We arrive at the hospital, I registered, and then they took me to to prep me for surgery. I knew it was going to be a fabulous day, when I noticed they had assigned me to room #4! Yep, 4 just so happens to be my lucky number, so naturally a big sigh of relief came with a smile. My surgeon eventually came to mark my chest where the incisions would take place, then soon after that I was wheeled off too surgery. I was ready to get the show on the road and take this cancer down!

I kicked cancer's butt!

Upon waking up in the recovery room, I apparently had a mild anxiety attack from pain. I surprisingly woke up within 20 minutes of being in there, so I was given some pain meds to control the pain. I was told I was a soldier for waking up so soon and, once my pain was under control, I was ready to eat. Yes, I did say EAT! Of course, they are only allowed to give you ice at that time, but I was content with that as I was quite thirsty too. They were again surprised I did not experience any nausea. Once I was taken to my room, I was given some saltines, which I tried to inhale, but made myself a little sick from trying to eat so quickly. But I was happy nonetheless I was done with surgery, and more importantly, the cancerous tumors were our of my body. I kept that smile on my face through it all! I didn't get much sleep that night, due to the fact of nurses coming in the room every 2 hours or so, or either my IV beeping to be change, but when I actually did sleep, I slept hard. By the way, the nursing staff in the oncology unit were all amazing! :)

Peace out breast cancer!

6/22/2012: I woke up to my IV beeping...again. It needed to be replaced, so being it was 4:30am, I decided to stay awake and wait for 7:00am breakfast. My mother was able to stay the night with me, so we just talked, looked over the breakfast menu, and spent quality time together (as good as it can be in a hospital). I was told I needed to be on a liquid diet to prevent getting "sick"...as in vomiting... from the anesthesia. I seriously looked at the nurse like she was nuts, but I kinda took her advice like the good patient I am. ;) I ordered apple sauce, chicken broth, 1 pancake, and water. Let me tell you, I seriously folded that pancake in half and scarfed it down like it was going to grow legs and run away. I don't even remember if it tasted good, because I ate it that fast. Same thing with my applesauce and chicken broth. I actually ordered 2 more pancakes and another applesauce. And YES, I held it ALL down without any nausea. Like. A. Warrior. Again, I surprised the nurses with my appetite. I had a delicious lunch of grilled salmon and mixed veggies. By the time I was done with lunch, my surgeon had stopped by to check on me. He was quite surprised to hear of my big appetite and how well I was doing with the nausea, and the fact I had done a good job at keeping the pain under control. I told him I am a very determined person, although I do know and realize when I need to "take it easy" for recovery purposes. So, I was discharged. :)

Two out of the four drains

So now what?! My surgery was a success, obviously. My left breast (or the lack of) took a pretty good beating, because of the size and location of the 2 tumors. The tumor located on my chest had actually grown and was pushing on my chest wall muscle and skin (but not attached to either). The surgeon felt like he cleared the margin enough, however he still sent a sample to pathology. The expanders were placed on both sides, however, the plastic surgeon did not add any saline at this time. He said I am so lean, that he did not want to put me in any more pain. My skin in pretty stretched right now, and my muscles feel like like I literally did a million push-ups and pull-ups (Who knows, maybe I did while I was under anesthesia?! lol). I do have 4 drains, 2 on each side that need to be drained about 3 times a day. This is to prevent fluid build up and infection at the surgery site. I have my post-op appointment Tuesday, June 26th. At this time, I will know more if I need some rounds of radiation, in addition to how often I will need to go in for the injections in the expanders.

As far as my mental state, I guess I was more prepared than I had thought. Upon seeing my chest for the first time, I just sighed...a BIG sigh of relief...it was done, for I have beat this breast cancer. I am the victor. I have my Victory Wounds.  :)

On another note, I wanted to share a link to a published blog on OCinSite.com. Brita's story is very inspiring, and I am honored, yet humbled, she chose to mention me in her blog. I highly recommend checking out the stories of some very inspirational women in: It's About Who You Know.

I leave today's blog with a BIG HUG to each of you who have been following my journey. Although, I still have the road to recovery ahead of me, I couldn't have to done it without the support from each of you. Stay tuned for updates, as I will be meeting and beginning treatment with a Complimentary and Alternative Medicine doctor this week. :)

XO,
Allyson