I apologize for the delay in getting a post on here to let everyone know what the pathology report said. Most of you heard it on Facebook but the surgeon called and said that they got all of the melanoma in my arm and the two lymph nodes were clear. Wahoo ! Tears of joy flowed from Linda and I as Dr. Nicole gave us the news. We were just pulling into our campsite from visiting mom so I was really nervous and wanted to get the car parked, not knowing what emotions I might have when I heard which side of the coin the news came down on. It was all glorious and all our prayers paid off.
I asked the doctor about the numbness I have in my armpit. It’s such a weird sensation (or lack thereof) to rub on deodorant and not feel what you’re doing. She said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that you might have some areas of permanent numbness”. Wow, that’s a big side effect to disclose. She said that most of the feeling should come back but when nerves get cut, it’s hard to tell what areas will stay numb. The numbness I can tolerate…I mean, cause well I don’t feel anything there. The part that really bugs me is the nerve pain that starts about 2” from my elbow and goes almost the whole way to my armpit. It’s been really hard to explain to Linda what it feels like so she can maybe offer up suggestions for what might make it feel better. Then one night, I thought of the perfect analogy.
When I was around 12 or 13, like most pubescent girls, I was starting to get that downy hair on my legs. While it didn’t bother me, I knew that most of the other girls in my class were shaving their legs so I thought that was something I should do. I asked my mother one day if I could start shaving my legs and she said “no”. Well, it must have been at that early age that I adopted the philosophy of “Don’t ask permission, just beg for forgiveness later” (which I’ve used extensively ever since). My mom had one of those clunky, steel razors that when you twist the handle, the razor compartment doors lifted up to reveal the blade inside. I remember being mesmerized by the action of opening and closing that thing. To a wide-eyed young girl like me, it was like gull wing doors opening on a Delorean sports car and it seemed so cool. Knowing that this was back in the early 70’s, it was not a head pivoting, contour following, aloe gel covered, triple action blade razor like we now have. One blade in a fixed, non-forgiving stainless steel instrument. Those weren’t gull wing doors on a Delorean sports car. They were more like Bilco doors on a damn root cellar. So I found myself in the bathtub and this was the day that I would take that rite of passage of clean shaven legs. With that razor in my hand, I started at my ankle and drew it, in one fell swoop, up to my knee. I wouldn’t have to worry about fuzzy legs for quite some time, because that maiming device in my hand had removed every hair follicle from my ankle to my knee. You know that pain you feel when an area of your skin has been ripped raw and is exposed to the air ? That’s what the nerve pain on the underside of my arm feels like. Linda gets it now and I think, like the numbness in my armpit, it will just take a while for it all to settle down and heal. I don’t remember my mothers reaction at learning I had disobeyed her in regards to my attempt to shave my legs. Without telling her, it was pretty evident by my raw shin. I hope that she gave me some lessons on the fine art of doing it but that was many moons ago and I really don’t recall. But I do remember what the pain felt like and now I have a modern day connection to my past. How special is that ? LOL
In other news, we are spending a lot of time at mom’s house. I took her to the doctor earlier this week, because she still has a lot of pain in her hip to knee area. They x-rayed her and nothing is chipped, broken or cracked. They gave her the usual shot she gets in her hip and she’s feeling better most days. We have to remind her to do things in small batches. If you clean the whole house in one day, chances are you’re going to feel it the next day. She is really frustrated that her body is not keeping up with what her mind wants to do. I know how she feels.
Last night Linda and I went to dinner with a group of friends that I haven’t seen in maybe 15 years. It was so great to see familiar faces (I had trouble remembering names) and catch up on what folks have been doing. They are going to try and start getting together each month so we’re hoping that we can be part of that.
We are training a new AGS team this week, here at Bucktail. Anxious to work with Tim and Cindy and get them off to a great start. Hope everyone has a great week. I know we will….every day is such a blessing when you don’t have a serious health concern hanging over your head. I feel very blessed !
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label surgery. Show all posts
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Surgery
After 2 hours in the operating room and 3 hours in recovery, the surgery is all done and we’re on the road. My day started out with a small dose of radioactive juice injected near where I had the melanoma spot. The tech rubbed the area to get the
juice moving. Then they slid me inside of this machine and they took a 2 minute long picture which shows the juice moving to the closest lymph node area. It could have gone to either my neck or my armpit. The radioactive juice goes to a sentinel node, which is the node responsible for draining. The two ladies who were working on me were super nice and there wasn’t any pain whatsoever in what they were doing.
They put a little screen to the side of me so I could see what they were seeing. Linda was in the room with me the whole time. She was the official photographer of the events of the day. They took a total of 3 pictures and on the last one, one of the ladies reached in and marked with a marker where they thought the sentinel node was.
Here’s my scarlet letter.
We finished up with this stage and then we had to wait till 11:30 for the surgery so we had several hours to kill. A couple friends of ours (Thank you Bobbie and Nancy) had suggested that we ask the parking crew and see if they had any RV hook-ups so we could bring the rig and stay there, if need be. They have 2 hook-ups but the guy said it might be a little tight because they are in a regular parking area. He
suggested that we park in Lot 6 because the one side was blocked off to have the striping done. So Friday morning, we drove the rig to Lot 6 and parked in the empty lot. Once the radioactive test was done, we went back to the rig to hang out.
At 11:15 we went back across the street to the hospital and my surgery prep started at 11:30.
Debra (as seen in this picture) was my nurse and she is also the charge nurse, responsible for all of the nurses in the day surgery area. Super nice lady ! And she gets an A++ for her putting in the IV line in the back of my hand. That is one of the things I hate the most about surgery cause it hurts when they put it in. Not when Debra does it. So slick…Debra was explaining to us that Univ. of Colorado hospital is a “magnet” hospital, which means the nurses have a big say in what goes on in the hospital. They are not slaves to the doctors, like in most hospitals. The nurses have meetings with the doctors about the care of patients and there are pretty stringent guidelines that have to be met in order to have this distinction and UOC has gotten it for the last 4 years. We’ve been really impressed with the hospital staff and their style of healthcare.
Here is their mission statement….
My surgery was scheduled for 1:30 but another surgery got put in the schedule so I didn’t go until about 2:45. As Dr. Nicole explained to us, once in the ER she would use a small Geiger counter to locate the radioactive juice. She then inserted a blue dye that would get absorbed by the sentinel node and let her know which one to take out. She actually took 2 nodes out of my armpit and then proceeded to remove any cancer cells that were around the surgical site on my shoulder. Here’s what
I wound up with. The cut on my arm is 4.5” long and the one under my arm is about 3” long. All through the process, Linda could track my progress with a color coded system that showed her what stage I was in. 
My patient number was 142787 so she could watch the monitor in the waiting room to see what was going on.
Here’s the status board patient’s families can track their progress throughout surgery. It’s a really cool system.
My body does not do well with anesthesia. They gave me a anti-nausea patch behind my ear before the surgery and four different meds in my IV with anti-nausea medicine in it but none of them did the trick.
They gave me a couple of these dandy barf bags, which I thought made for great hand puppets (they were empty at this point). Finally I was discharged around 8 p.m. and one of the nurses put me in a wheelchair and took me all the way to the rig. What awesome customer service ! We had hoped to get on the road right after surgery but I was in too much pain to tolerate any bumpy roads. we decided to spend the night in the parking lot and we got on the road at 7:30 on Saturday morning. The worst pain is under my arm, since it’s in such a tender spot. I’m surprised how low the incision is….really close to the top of my left breast.
Linda is doing all the driving because just the act of holding the wheel would be very painful to me. I’m in charge of taking naps and doing a whole lot of nothing. Since our bedroom is in the loft, we’ve been pulling out the sleeper sofa so I can get in and out of a regular bed. Much easier than trying to crawl on my hands and knees to get into the loft. Linda drove 500 miles yesterday and we stayed at a truck stop last night. We have 1200 more miles to cover to get back home, in PA. We are in a waiting game again for the pathology report on the lymph nodes they took out. Could be up to 2 weeks before we hear if they got it all or if I will need more treatments. I suspect that if the cancer is found in the lymph nodes, then I will probably have a scan to see if the cancer has gone to any other part of my body. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that they got it all.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes that I’ve seen on Facebook and on our blog…it means a lot. I’ll keep you posted as we hear more. Enjoy the rest of your weekend ! I think I hear the couch calling my name so TTYL.
juice moving. Then they slid me inside of this machine and they took a 2 minute long picture which shows the juice moving to the closest lymph node area. It could have gone to either my neck or my armpit. The radioactive juice goes to a sentinel node, which is the node responsible for draining. The two ladies who were working on me were super nice and there wasn’t any pain whatsoever in what they were doing.
They put a little screen to the side of me so I could see what they were seeing. Linda was in the room with me the whole time. She was the official photographer of the events of the day. They took a total of 3 pictures and on the last one, one of the ladies reached in and marked with a marker where they thought the sentinel node was.
Here’s my scarlet letter.
We finished up with this stage and then we had to wait till 11:30 for the surgery so we had several hours to kill. A couple friends of ours (Thank you Bobbie and Nancy) had suggested that we ask the parking crew and see if they had any RV hook-ups so we could bring the rig and stay there, if need be. They have 2 hook-ups but the guy said it might be a little tight because they are in a regular parking area. He
suggested that we park in Lot 6 because the one side was blocked off to have the striping done. So Friday morning, we drove the rig to Lot 6 and parked in the empty lot. Once the radioactive test was done, we went back to the rig to hang out.At 11:15 we went back across the street to the hospital and my surgery prep started at 11:30.
Debra (as seen in this picture) was my nurse and she is also the charge nurse, responsible for all of the nurses in the day surgery area. Super nice lady ! And she gets an A++ for her putting in the IV line in the back of my hand. That is one of the things I hate the most about surgery cause it hurts when they put it in. Not when Debra does it. So slick…Debra was explaining to us that Univ. of Colorado hospital is a “magnet” hospital, which means the nurses have a big say in what goes on in the hospital. They are not slaves to the doctors, like in most hospitals. The nurses have meetings with the doctors about the care of patients and there are pretty stringent guidelines that have to be met in order to have this distinction and UOC has gotten it for the last 4 years. We’ve been really impressed with the hospital staff and their style of healthcare.
Here is their mission statement….
My surgery was scheduled for 1:30 but another surgery got put in the schedule so I didn’t go until about 2:45. As Dr. Nicole explained to us, once in the ER she would use a small Geiger counter to locate the radioactive juice. She then inserted a blue dye that would get absorbed by the sentinel node and let her know which one to take out. She actually took 2 nodes out of my armpit and then proceeded to remove any cancer cells that were around the surgical site on my shoulder. Here’s what
I wound up with. The cut on my arm is 4.5” long and the one under my arm is about 3” long. All through the process, Linda could track my progress with a color coded system that showed her what stage I was in. 
My patient number was 142787 so she could watch the monitor in the waiting room to see what was going on.
Here’s the status board patient’s families can track their progress throughout surgery. It’s a really cool system.
My body does not do well with anesthesia. They gave me a anti-nausea patch behind my ear before the surgery and four different meds in my IV with anti-nausea medicine in it but none of them did the trick.
They gave me a couple of these dandy barf bags, which I thought made for great hand puppets (they were empty at this point). Finally I was discharged around 8 p.m. and one of the nurses put me in a wheelchair and took me all the way to the rig. What awesome customer service ! We had hoped to get on the road right after surgery but I was in too much pain to tolerate any bumpy roads. we decided to spend the night in the parking lot and we got on the road at 7:30 on Saturday morning. The worst pain is under my arm, since it’s in such a tender spot. I’m surprised how low the incision is….really close to the top of my left breast. Linda is doing all the driving because just the act of holding the wheel would be very painful to me. I’m in charge of taking naps and doing a whole lot of nothing. Since our bedroom is in the loft, we’ve been pulling out the sleeper sofa so I can get in and out of a regular bed. Much easier than trying to crawl on my hands and knees to get into the loft. Linda drove 500 miles yesterday and we stayed at a truck stop last night. We have 1200 more miles to cover to get back home, in PA. We are in a waiting game again for the pathology report on the lymph nodes they took out. Could be up to 2 weeks before we hear if they got it all or if I will need more treatments. I suspect that if the cancer is found in the lymph nodes, then I will probably have a scan to see if the cancer has gone to any other part of my body. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that they got it all.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes that I’ve seen on Facebook and on our blog…it means a lot. I’ll keep you posted as we hear more. Enjoy the rest of your weekend ! I think I hear the couch calling my name so TTYL.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tuesday
Linda got off today at 3:30 so we've been hanging out. I taught her how to play the new computer game I downloaded...Zuma's Revenge. When my kids were little they had tried to show me how to play video games but I couldn't ever figure out how to make Mario "swing" or "jump", etc. I was a video game idiot, to say the least. This game is just about shooting colored balls till you get a combination of 3 and then they smash and disappear. As you advance up through the levels, the playing field changes, faster speed, more rows of balls coming at you, etc. Fun but it's weird how playing these kinds of games makes you tense up really bad. Linda stopped playing after a little while and said "Whew"...and said it was very stressful. It is in a way....that must be the rush that kids feel or have felt for years playing these games. I can understand how addictive it could be though. You want to keep advancing to the next level to see what new challenge lies ahead. For me, recuperating from surgery...I can feel that tenseness in my stomach as I play the game so probably a good thing that I not do it for hours on end.
Today it was a crazy day for Linda here. Fire marshal was here to do inspection and our city health inspector was here (we got a 99). In this part of North Carolina, food operations have to post their inspection scores which I think is a great idea and should be the norm all over the country. All tests complete and good rating all the way around.
We took Boomer to the dog park....a place we haven't been to in a long while. He had a blast, romping with the other dogs there. He's sacked out on the floor in front of me....visions of that female german shepherd dancin' in his head...
Body is gaining a little bit every day. You really realize how much different "life" activities and movements affect your body when it's been cut and repaired and feels all the bumps and turns. It doesn't hurt to roll over in bed anymore. I can almost walk a normal stride without it pulling on my abdomen. It's the little things in life that make up a pain-free day. That and a bottle of Ibuprofen !!
Today it was a crazy day for Linda here. Fire marshal was here to do inspection and our city health inspector was here (we got a 99). In this part of North Carolina, food operations have to post their inspection scores which I think is a great idea and should be the norm all over the country. All tests complete and good rating all the way around.
We took Boomer to the dog park....a place we haven't been to in a long while. He had a blast, romping with the other dogs there. He's sacked out on the floor in front of me....visions of that female german shepherd dancin' in his head...
Body is gaining a little bit every day. You really realize how much different "life" activities and movements affect your body when it's been cut and repaired and feels all the bumps and turns. It doesn't hurt to roll over in bed anymore. I can almost walk a normal stride without it pulling on my abdomen. It's the little things in life that make up a pain-free day. That and a bottle of Ibuprofen !!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Lazy Sunday...
My days are pretty uneventful, as I guess they should be. Walking, lounging, napping, eating, internet browsing, and then off to bed for a new day of the same events. Can't sit for too long or I get very stiff and sore so I take a little stroll around the walking path or through the interior hallways here. I took an hour long nap just now and awoke to the shrill e-call siren going off in our apartment. That made the ole tummy muscles contract a wee bit. Luckily it must have been a false alarm as it stopped after just one loud, annoying blare. It is a beautiful day here..in the high 60's with a light breeze blowing.
The hard thing for me is my "Do Not Do" list is way longer than my "Can Do" list. I feel really bad for Boomer that he's cooped up with me too and I can't take him out for walks. I've figured out a way to at least let him go outside. If I hook the retractable leash over the door handle, it will retract far enough that he can go out in the back yard to pee. A "No Hands Approach" to walking the dog....
That way it won't jar me if he sees a squirrel and takes off on a dead run (that would really hurt). Think I will reheat our leftover shrimp fajitas and eat it out on the back patio while Boomer lounges in the grass enjoying the last rays of sunlight. More later....
Friday, October 15, 2010
Recovering
My surgery went well Wednesday morning. Linda was getting a little nervous cause it took longer than they had told her for me to come out of recovery. My body doesn't care for anesthesia and the nurses couldn't get me to wake up. They finally did and then took me to my room where I spent most of Wednesday dozing. The anesthesia reared its' ugly head again as it tried to get out of my system. Guess they didn't give me near enough of the anti-nausea medicine. Anyway, I was discharged from the hospital around 6 p.m.on Thursday and after stopping by the apartment to pack up some items, we headed to the campground. It's been so great having Becky here to help Linda with things. My pain and discomfort isn't too bad...Get tired out easily and need to lay down and rest a little before I get up and go again.
I'm taking it easy. Tomorrow Becky flies back to Boston. On Thursday, while I was napping, she got the call we've been waiting for. She got the job at Berklee's School of Music that she interviewed for. She's going to be a Program Assistant in the Student Activities dept. What a great opportunity ! We're so happy for her. She starts on November 1st.
Guess that's all for now. My thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes and prayers for my surgery. I appreciate it so much and can't wait to get to the point where I'm fully recovered and don't have any restrictions. Driving me crazy not being able to do stuff and having to sit on the sidelines while Linda or Becky do it. This too shall pass....
I'm taking it easy. Tomorrow Becky flies back to Boston. On Thursday, while I was napping, she got the call we've been waiting for. She got the job at Berklee's School of Music that she interviewed for. She's going to be a Program Assistant in the Student Activities dept. What a great opportunity ! We're so happy for her. She starts on November 1st.
Guess that's all for now. My thanks to everyone who sent their good wishes and prayers for my surgery. I appreciate it so much and can't wait to get to the point where I'm fully recovered and don't have any restrictions. Driving me crazy not being able to do stuff and having to sit on the sidelines while Linda or Becky do it. This too shall pass....
Monday, October 11, 2010
Day of Pre-Op...
I spent a good majority of today between the doctor's office and the anesthesiologists office, getting my pre-op stuff done for my surgery on Wednesday. They are not sure whether they will knock me out or give me a spinal for the surgery. Is up to my doctor and depends on length of surgery. Becky, my daughter, went with me to the doctor's office so she heard the detail of what he expects to do. Was probably more info than she cared to hear but now she knows...Surgery will probably take around two hours, depending how much he has to repair once he get in there. The hysterectomy is pretty cut and dry but the mesh sling to neck of my bladder and other stuff he might need to do could make the surgery go longer than an spinal would keep me under for. In a way, I'd prefer a spinal, although I've never had one because it wouldn't make me nauseous like general anesthesia does. We'll see what the doc says....
Anxious to get it over and done with...then Linda won't be a nervous wreck anymore. It has been a rough week here at work. Last night during supper one of our residents suffered a stroke. I found him when another resident told me they thought he had dozed off. When I got to him I could see that wasn't the case and from the paralysis on his one side, it seemed pretty evident he had or was having a stroke. We got the EMT's here pronto but it's not looking very good that he'll recover. Last Friday our oldest resident passed away. She was a great lady...you would never guess she was 96 years old. It was really quick too for her...one night I chatted with her and her daughter while they were working on a puzzle and the next day her daughter said she was sick and that we should call an ambulance. It will be a great memory for her daughter of having spent that night playing with her mom in our community while working on that puzzle together. A lesson for all of us....never take for granted the time you spend with your loved ones. We never know when it could be the last time. Working here has made Linda and I realize that and makes us want to get back out on the road to continue with our adventures. We're working hard to get to that goal !
Anxious to get it over and done with...then Linda won't be a nervous wreck anymore. It has been a rough week here at work. Last night during supper one of our residents suffered a stroke. I found him when another resident told me they thought he had dozed off. When I got to him I could see that wasn't the case and from the paralysis on his one side, it seemed pretty evident he had or was having a stroke. We got the EMT's here pronto but it's not looking very good that he'll recover. Last Friday our oldest resident passed away. She was a great lady...you would never guess she was 96 years old. It was really quick too for her...one night I chatted with her and her daughter while they were working on a puzzle and the next day her daughter said she was sick and that we should call an ambulance. It will be a great memory for her daughter of having spent that night playing with her mom in our community while working on that puzzle together. A lesson for all of us....never take for granted the time you spend with your loved ones. We never know when it could be the last time. Working here has made Linda and I realize that and makes us want to get back out on the road to continue with our adventures. We're working hard to get to that goal !
Friday, October 1, 2010
Relaxing....
It's really busy around the campground this weekend. Our rig has been moved to the end of the park, away from our normal spot. There is a Heartland RV gathering here so lots of that particular brand in the park. Next weekend is the Autumn Leaves festival and we've heard that 250,000 people will be in the area next weekend for that. Amazing ! I can't imagine where that many people will stay in the area or what the attraction will be to draw them here. Holy Cow...Mt Airy doesn't seem big enough to draw those kinds of crowds. We probably won't be out and about much next weekend. Last weekend it was Mayberry Days in town and there were lots of people around for that. This year's the 50th anniversary of the Andy Griffith show so that drew a lot of people to town. After next weekend things should quiet down and we'll go back to our regular camping spot.
Weather has taken a drastic turn since the official start of fall. Almost overnight we went from daily highs in the 90's to being in the 70's. We've also gotten a good amount of rain recently...which has been sorely needed. Overnight temps get pretty cool which has made for great sleeping weather. We're loving the cooler, fall-like weather !
Linda and I have been getting our check-ups and such, since it's been a few years since we've done so. I've also decided to go ahead with surgery to the downhill slide my body has decided to take as I've gotten older. Will get it done on October 13th and will be laid up for a while. Will be in the hospital overnight and then should be released to go home and begin the healing process. I'm not a very good patient so will need to find something to keep me busy without it involving lifting or overdoing. (Sounds like reading a book will be in order.)I'm anxious to get the problem fixed....not looking forward to being out of commission for a while. That puts alot on Linda the days that she and I work alone. We're trying to figure out how to get some overlap with some other employees schedules to help her out with pouring coffee at suppertime, etc. Once I get my strength back, I can help her with answering the phone and making my marketing calls. I really like my doctor....he's very thorough and I feel confident that he'll do a great job with the surgery.
Our weekend got off to a wonderful start, on Thursday night, when we got to have supper with our friends Wendy and Cindy...here in the park. They had been camping here this week and luckily we got to hang out with them Thursday night and Wendy fixed pizza for supper. This morning we took them to Sue's Restaurant in nearby Dobson for breakfast. Great food...with great friends ! This was the first time that we've had a chance to see their rig. They have a Newmar Dutch Star and it's gorgeous. We got the grand tour, inside and out. Today is the 1 year anniversary for them owning their rig ! So glad we got to see them while they are in the area. They are leaving soon, for a three week trip to China, but we're going to get together again with them in November when they get back. Looking forward to that !
Well, guess that catches you up on what's been happening with us. Hope you all are having fun with what you're doing !
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