The first step
I am home (at my parents' apartment), finally, after a very uncomfortable 24 hours. I had to stay overnight at the hospital because the sentinel node tested positive for cancer, so Dr. Tchou did the full axillary dissection (all lymph nodes in the left breast removed). Not exactly great, but better that they found out yesterday, in the OR, rather than in a few days, and I would have had to go in for more surgery. So, in the end, it's better and it brings me one step closer to CURE.
We got to the hospital yesterday morning at 7 am. I went to radiology and the doctor there used ultrasound to guide the injection of a radioisotype dye that helps identify where the sentinel lymph node is. The radiologist was really nice, and turned out her daughter was born on August 26, and her name is Rachel! I took that as a good sign. Then I went to nuclear medicine and waited a bit for the dye to start moving through the lymph system. They took a couple of scans and identified the sentinel node, and sent me off to the Ambulatory Procedure Unit to wait for surgery. It was not even 9, and surgery wasn't scheduled until 11:15. Long wait, but we were expecting that. I did lots of visualization and relaxation and listened to chanting music on my iPod. At 11:15, they took us into the back area but we just waited more there. Finally, things started to move around 12:30-1pm, and I think I went into the OR at around 1:30. Dr. Tchou had met with us right before and explained the procedure, also informing us about the possibility of having positive nodes. She said it was about a 20-30% chance. Honestly, these statistics have not been on my side lately!
The anesthesiologists and nurses in the OR were all really excellent (although it would be wonderful if I never saw them again!). While I was in the OR before I fell asleep, I had vision that all the people I know (who have been thinking good thoughts and praying for me - all y'all!) were gathered in a room. I was sitting in a chair, and Jason was holding me up above, and an angel of some kind (kind of like the one in Angels in America) was coming down from the sky and beaming a ray of light onto my breast, positively illuminating me, ET-style. It was such a lovely vision, and one that carried me into sleep. When I woke up in the OR, and the clock said it was almost 5, I knew that I'd had the full procedure. I asked one of the doctors in the room, but he said that Dr. Tchou would come to talk to me. But I knew it.
I was taken to the recovery room, and Dr. Tchou came to talk to me and told me, yes, in fact, all the nodes were removed. She said she had met with my parents, Jason, and Dr. Glick, and everyone is still very optimistic about CURE. Dr. Glick said that this does not at all change the treatment plan. Chemo will begin in three weeks, and we will get closer each day. I am so thankful for his confidence and for everyone's support, encouragement, and prayers. I know I can do this, and it means so much that everyone is supporting me so fully, like in my vision. This is going to be the hardest fight I've ever fought, but I'm going to win!
So, I was in the recovery room for an eternity. The woman to my right was moaning in pain, over and over, and the woman to my left was vomiting. I was going crazy! Get me OUT of here! The nurse kept saying that they were cleaning up my room. Geez, I thought, it better be REALLY clean! Finally she let Jason come and visit me, and that was great. While he was there, they got word that my room was ready, so he left and they wheeled me to my luxurious hospital room, where Jason and my parents met me and stayed with me until about 9pm. The last time I'd stayed overnight at the hospital was when I was 12 and had had my appendix removed. I'd forgotten how AWFUL hospitals are. I had a morphine pump, which was great for the pain, but when I was forced to get up to pee, the nausea set in. Let's just say I had a really bad night! Also, because Dr. Tchou had injected a blue dye to help her see the lymph nodes, my pee was a beautiful turquoise blue. My breast is blue, too, and will stay that way for about a month. I call it my bloob.
In the morning, Mom came. They took me off morphine around 9am, and the pain was not too terrible. I was discharged around noon, and we drove home through what seemed like the bumpiest roads EVER. But just being out of the hospital has made me feel a gazillion times better! A home care nurse is coming tomorrow to help us take care of the drain (draining the fluid from the incision) and to make sure that things are healing properly.
So, all in all, it's not that bad, and I'm glad that everything took place yesterday and I don't have to have more surgery right away. I'm in good spirits, I've got my Percocet, and I'm on the path to healing!
We got to the hospital yesterday morning at 7 am. I went to radiology and the doctor there used ultrasound to guide the injection of a radioisotype dye that helps identify where the sentinel lymph node is. The radiologist was really nice, and turned out her daughter was born on August 26, and her name is Rachel! I took that as a good sign. Then I went to nuclear medicine and waited a bit for the dye to start moving through the lymph system. They took a couple of scans and identified the sentinel node, and sent me off to the Ambulatory Procedure Unit to wait for surgery. It was not even 9, and surgery wasn't scheduled until 11:15. Long wait, but we were expecting that. I did lots of visualization and relaxation and listened to chanting music on my iPod. At 11:15, they took us into the back area but we just waited more there. Finally, things started to move around 12:30-1pm, and I think I went into the OR at around 1:30. Dr. Tchou had met with us right before and explained the procedure, also informing us about the possibility of having positive nodes. She said it was about a 20-30% chance. Honestly, these statistics have not been on my side lately!
The anesthesiologists and nurses in the OR were all really excellent (although it would be wonderful if I never saw them again!). While I was in the OR before I fell asleep, I had vision that all the people I know (who have been thinking good thoughts and praying for me - all y'all!) were gathered in a room. I was sitting in a chair, and Jason was holding me up above, and an angel of some kind (kind of like the one in Angels in America) was coming down from the sky and beaming a ray of light onto my breast, positively illuminating me, ET-style. It was such a lovely vision, and one that carried me into sleep. When I woke up in the OR, and the clock said it was almost 5, I knew that I'd had the full procedure. I asked one of the doctors in the room, but he said that Dr. Tchou would come to talk to me. But I knew it.
I was taken to the recovery room, and Dr. Tchou came to talk to me and told me, yes, in fact, all the nodes were removed. She said she had met with my parents, Jason, and Dr. Glick, and everyone is still very optimistic about CURE. Dr. Glick said that this does not at all change the treatment plan. Chemo will begin in three weeks, and we will get closer each day. I am so thankful for his confidence and for everyone's support, encouragement, and prayers. I know I can do this, and it means so much that everyone is supporting me so fully, like in my vision. This is going to be the hardest fight I've ever fought, but I'm going to win!
So, I was in the recovery room for an eternity. The woman to my right was moaning in pain, over and over, and the woman to my left was vomiting. I was going crazy! Get me OUT of here! The nurse kept saying that they were cleaning up my room. Geez, I thought, it better be REALLY clean! Finally she let Jason come and visit me, and that was great. While he was there, they got word that my room was ready, so he left and they wheeled me to my luxurious hospital room, where Jason and my parents met me and stayed with me until about 9pm. The last time I'd stayed overnight at the hospital was when I was 12 and had had my appendix removed. I'd forgotten how AWFUL hospitals are. I had a morphine pump, which was great for the pain, but when I was forced to get up to pee, the nausea set in. Let's just say I had a really bad night! Also, because Dr. Tchou had injected a blue dye to help her see the lymph nodes, my pee was a beautiful turquoise blue. My breast is blue, too, and will stay that way for about a month. I call it my bloob.
In the morning, Mom came. They took me off morphine around 9am, and the pain was not too terrible. I was discharged around noon, and we drove home through what seemed like the bumpiest roads EVER. But just being out of the hospital has made me feel a gazillion times better! A home care nurse is coming tomorrow to help us take care of the drain (draining the fluid from the incision) and to make sure that things are healing properly.
So, all in all, it's not that bad, and I'm glad that everything took place yesterday and I don't have to have more surgery right away. I'm in good spirits, I've got my Percocet, and I'm on the path to healing!
posted by Rachel Troxell at 4:14 PM
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