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| Only my finger nails hang out. |
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| This sleeve goes from wrist all the way to top of arm. |
I can put the glove on by myself but the sleeve is a two person job at this point. It is really tight, more so toward the hand then less so at the top, but still tight there, too. The idea is to encourage the flow of lymphatic fluid back UP my arm. After having 12 nodes removed (not to mention the two sentinel nodes from the summer), the goal is for the broken pathways to grow and reconnect themselves with other lymph nodes. They did not take everything out from under my arm the way they did back in the 70s and 80s, so there can be new paths to those remaining nodes, or new paths can be built across my chest to the nodes under my left arm. It is pretty fascinating to keep learning more and more about the human body and how miraculous the whole creation is. It is SO complex, and the body has so many ways it can work to heal itself. Obviously, sometimes it needs a little help (haha), but really, I must have forgotten most of what I ever knew about the inner working of the body because I have just loved the education I have been getting about how things work together.
For now, I am to wear this sleeve two hours a day. It doesn't bother me. The glove starts to bother after about an hour, and so I give myself a break before my fingers start turning purple. The therapist remeasured my arm and in fact, my right arm was slightly smaller than my baseline. She said that is not uncommon because it only takes 12 hours of "no use" before muscle begins to atrophy. 12 hours!!! That sounded crazy to me. And scary. So we went through a few very gentle exercises that I am to do each day. She said there is no reason why I should lose any range of motion after all is said and done. At this point the exercises are as simple as remembering not to hunch over when I walk (a natural response to pain/trauma). I am to pull my shoulders back and breath deeply and really oxygenate the chest area. This is a really good feeling stretch...reminds me of yoga. The others are all about slow arm movements and trying to increase mobility without disturbing the regrowth of the lymphatic system.
On Thursday I saw Dr. Woods again (the plastic surgeon and main guy for me now, other than the oncologist). I knew two of the drains would be removed for sure because their output was really dwindling. We were concerned about one drain on the right, though. As luck would have it, the drain was named R2 (like the wig). Maybe I'm the only one to find humor in that. ( The drains were identified L1, L2 (left) and R1, 2 &3.) Anyway, sure enough, R2 had to stay. She had been a problem all week....clogging and then leaking, causing us to have to milk the drain many times through out the day, driving me crazy with the dripping. BUT...I trust Dr. Woods and I know how painful it would be to remove the drain and have that fluid gathering and trapped inside me. Remember the lumpectomy?? I had no drain because only two small tumors were removed and the pressure build up from the fluid was very painful. And, he explained that this was the drain (R2) put in by Dr. Barber, the one connected to the node removal site. Apparently, breast tissue removal drains a lot less than node removal. Who knew? So, this was not strange or unusual to him. I was disappointed, but I went into the appointment prepared to accept what he decided with a good attitude. The good news? When Dr. Woods ripped out the other two drains, it didn't seem QUITE as bad as the week before. I mean, it still hurt like Hades, but still a little better. I guess I yelled out "Holy Moly!!" when he did and while I was seeing stars (from the pain) he joked with me about how that's what girls from TCU must say and that if I'd gone to UT (University of TX) I might have yelled out something else entirely. It made me smile and laugh, and I am so glad to have another good doctor who has a personality and doesn't take himself too seriously. Of course, then I had to ask him where he went to school and when he replied Princeton I had to give him a little jabbing about the Ivy League footballs teams.
So, I have been relatively active this weekend in terms of moving around the house and getting up and down the stairs with no problem...pretty much doing what I want except not using my arms too much. But, it's funny how much you really do need your arms!! Even cutting a piece of meat is like, ok, I can do this but I feel it all the way up my arm in an uncomfortable way. And I am so glad my sweet husband bought me a mechanical toothbrush, so I can just hold it up to my teeth and they get brushed.
The only other things out of the ordinary are the fact I developed a rash that we believe is due to the first antibiotic I was on. I have already forgotten the name. I am allergic to amoxicillin, which includes all of the "cillins" and the rash manifested the same way it did back in college when we learned of my other allergy. It started with itchy bumps on the back of my neck and spread to my back, then my stomach and shoulders. It really wasn't too bad, but Dr. Woods changed me to Cipro (another antibiotic) which I have taken many times for ear and sinus infections. In case you didn't know, the antibiotics are to prevent any infection while I have the drains....an open hole in my body at a surgical site.
However, the bigger deal occurred shortly after we left Dr. Woods' office on Thursday. He had re-bandaged under my right arm where the final drain remains, and he seemed to use the same materials as last time. It was a nice waterproof bandage that he then coated with some liquid that he said would seal up any small holes that might remain to make the bandage completely waterproof (so I could take showers). There was a different, smaller bandage under my left arm. Even before we arrived back home I was itching like crazy under my right arm, and a little under the left. I have a decent amount of self control, but this was impossible not to itch. But, I was also due for a new round of medication, so we got through dinner and I took a bunch of medicine and went to bed. I woke up around 3:20 and was itching and itching under my right arm again. I wanted to rip the bandage off, but it was the middle of the night, and just the act of sitting up hurt, so I took a bunch of Advil and went back to bed. The next morning Jean and I looked at it, and I had hives all around where that new waterproof bandage was. The drain was leaking again anyway, but we wanted to get that thing off of me as fast as we could. Oh my goodness, I almost cried with relief. I had been up half the night fighting the urge to itch and half winning, half losing that battle. I didn't want to wake up Chris because I knew he had to leave at 5:30 anyway for a busy travel day. Everywhere that the sticky part of the bandage touched was raised and red and very inflamed....clearly some new kind of reaction. I was still itchy but it was so much better. We treated it with Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream and it is still there but not so angry looking. This might be TMI, but here's a picture.
So, I have been relatively active this weekend in terms of moving around the house and getting up and down the stairs with no problem...pretty much doing what I want except not using my arms too much. But, it's funny how much you really do need your arms!! Even cutting a piece of meat is like, ok, I can do this but I feel it all the way up my arm in an uncomfortable way. And I am so glad my sweet husband bought me a mechanical toothbrush, so I can just hold it up to my teeth and they get brushed.
The only other things out of the ordinary are the fact I developed a rash that we believe is due to the first antibiotic I was on. I have already forgotten the name. I am allergic to amoxicillin, which includes all of the "cillins" and the rash manifested the same way it did back in college when we learned of my other allergy. It started with itchy bumps on the back of my neck and spread to my back, then my stomach and shoulders. It really wasn't too bad, but Dr. Woods changed me to Cipro (another antibiotic) which I have taken many times for ear and sinus infections. In case you didn't know, the antibiotics are to prevent any infection while I have the drains....an open hole in my body at a surgical site.
However, the bigger deal occurred shortly after we left Dr. Woods' office on Thursday. He had re-bandaged under my right arm where the final drain remains, and he seemed to use the same materials as last time. It was a nice waterproof bandage that he then coated with some liquid that he said would seal up any small holes that might remain to make the bandage completely waterproof (so I could take showers). There was a different, smaller bandage under my left arm. Even before we arrived back home I was itching like crazy under my right arm, and a little under the left. I have a decent amount of self control, but this was impossible not to itch. But, I was also due for a new round of medication, so we got through dinner and I took a bunch of medicine and went to bed. I woke up around 3:20 and was itching and itching under my right arm again. I wanted to rip the bandage off, but it was the middle of the night, and just the act of sitting up hurt, so I took a bunch of Advil and went back to bed. The next morning Jean and I looked at it, and I had hives all around where that new waterproof bandage was. The drain was leaking again anyway, but we wanted to get that thing off of me as fast as we could. Oh my goodness, I almost cried with relief. I had been up half the night fighting the urge to itch and half winning, half losing that battle. I didn't want to wake up Chris because I knew he had to leave at 5:30 anyway for a busy travel day. Everywhere that the sticky part of the bandage touched was raised and red and very inflamed....clearly some new kind of reaction. I was still itchy but it was so much better. We treated it with Benadryl and hydrocortisone cream and it is still there but not so angry looking. This might be TMI, but here's a picture.
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| Good note - the incision from the node removal is healing very nicely. You can see a little black thread there, and of course holding the drain as well. Otherwise - ugh! Looks terrible. |
As of today my mindset is good. My hair is growing pretty well. I will definitely be debuting a little pixie cut of some sort as soon as I don't look like a boy. My eyebrows are so funny looking....starting to grow ALL over (remember I explained my terrible unibrow situation in some previous post)? So now I have some eyebrows wanting to grow almost down on my eye lid, but they are not really long enough to pluck - AND I'M SO HAPPY THEY ARE THERE AT ALL!! - yet no one wants hair in all the wrong places. Ahhhh.....at least these are so much better "problems" to be dealing with. To pluck or not to pluck.....or really WHEN to pluck, I guess. And I have teeny, tiny lower lashes that have grown in. I am so happy about that because when there were no lower lashes at all it just looked so sickly. I always used that very light brown pencil to create the illusion of a lower lash line, but nothing beats the real deal. And my top lashes look funny. There is a row of short little lashes, but on each eye there are about 5-8 lashes that just held in there through it all and never fell out. So proud of those guys! Way to hang super tough. So if you look closely I have these itty bitty lashes with a few "scraggly looking" ones (the tough ones) but I assume the new ones will catch up with the old before too long.
I am trying to get more active while staying within the doctors parameters. Tomorrow will be a bit of a test. I am so proud that Jonathan was selected as one of four 3rd graders to represent his school at a Spelling Bee down in Locust Grove, GA, about 50 miles from home. None of the grandparents are really keen on highway driving, plus the in-laws could really use the break, so I am planning to catch a ride with a new friend down to the bee. But this will be a much more active day with less down time than I am used to, so I am interested to see how it goes. I am definitely planning on brining extra painkillers for just in case, and I still haven't worked out an outfit where I can disguise my lovely drain. Plus....I need to get myself in gear for Space Camp anyway. Did I write about that on here? I cannot remember anything from one day to the next!! I can't stand having scrambled brains!! But anyway....I was selected to chaperone the 5th grade trip to Space Camp in AL - two overnights!! - and I need to get myself in the best place that I can physically for that since I know it will be exhausting. But I am so excited about it!!
Sooooo - I see Dr. Woods again on Tuesday and I really, really want this last drain to be removed. The output this weekend has been less than last week, so I am feeling cautiously optimistic. He said we can change the appt to Thursday if I am putting out more than 25 mL a day. I go back to rehab on Wednesday, so we will see what she says about my arm and my motion. I have no reason to think it will be anything but positive. I received my bloodwork back from my Herceptin appt from the Thursday before last and that was interesting. My red blood count is still below normal. And my lymphocytes (part of white blood count) are way down. I am still taking the mega doses (Rx only) of Vitamin D to get myself into a normal range for that due to the link with low D levels and breast cancer recurrence. But overall.....things are finally feeling better. Mentally, I have reached a better place over the last few days I think. It has been nice to have family here to talk to and play games with, etc. Plus, the sunshine has been a bonus. I have been out of bed and that makes a huge difference. I will end with a photo you might have seen on Instagram. But I can't resist. Here is my sweet Coco. She is my constant companion and just a snuggly, sweet old girl. We have spent so much time together and I talk to her and she is such a good listener. :)
I am trying to get more active while staying within the doctors parameters. Tomorrow will be a bit of a test. I am so proud that Jonathan was selected as one of four 3rd graders to represent his school at a Spelling Bee down in Locust Grove, GA, about 50 miles from home. None of the grandparents are really keen on highway driving, plus the in-laws could really use the break, so I am planning to catch a ride with a new friend down to the bee. But this will be a much more active day with less down time than I am used to, so I am interested to see how it goes. I am definitely planning on brining extra painkillers for just in case, and I still haven't worked out an outfit where I can disguise my lovely drain. Plus....I need to get myself in gear for Space Camp anyway. Did I write about that on here? I cannot remember anything from one day to the next!! I can't stand having scrambled brains!! But anyway....I was selected to chaperone the 5th grade trip to Space Camp in AL - two overnights!! - and I need to get myself in the best place that I can physically for that since I know it will be exhausting. But I am so excited about it!!
Sooooo - I see Dr. Woods again on Tuesday and I really, really want this last drain to be removed. The output this weekend has been less than last week, so I am feeling cautiously optimistic. He said we can change the appt to Thursday if I am putting out more than 25 mL a day. I go back to rehab on Wednesday, so we will see what she says about my arm and my motion. I have no reason to think it will be anything but positive. I received my bloodwork back from my Herceptin appt from the Thursday before last and that was interesting. My red blood count is still below normal. And my lymphocytes (part of white blood count) are way down. I am still taking the mega doses (Rx only) of Vitamin D to get myself into a normal range for that due to the link with low D levels and breast cancer recurrence. But overall.....things are finally feeling better. Mentally, I have reached a better place over the last few days I think. It has been nice to have family here to talk to and play games with, etc. Plus, the sunshine has been a bonus. I have been out of bed and that makes a huge difference. I will end with a photo you might have seen on Instagram. But I can't resist. Here is my sweet Coco. She is my constant companion and just a snuggly, sweet old girl. We have spent so much time together and I talk to her and she is such a good listener. :)
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| Fur baby Coco....always taking care of Mommy. |
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