Post-Surgery: Let the Healing Begin!

A guest post by an anonymous writer, which will be an ongoing series.
Please join us on her journey!

Let's get real here for a moment. Having a mastectomy with reconstruction is nothing like getting cosmetic breast augmentation! I promise you no one would go through this voluntarily except maybe for preventive care because they have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. It is a long and difficult process. This first surgery has done a number on me! 

Yesterday was a pretty horrible day! It was very difficult physically and emotionally. I went through so many emotions - anxiety, fear, anger, calm, peace, joy, fatigue, etc. What an experience! After the surgery I was mumbling, incoherent, and my throat hurt very bad from the endotracheal tube that was in during the surgery. I had such extreme fatigue that I was falling asleep while playing tic-tac-toe with my kids!

Today I feel even worse! I feel dizzy, itchy and am seeing double on and off. My whole trunk feels like it's on fire. I have pain all the way from armpit to armpit and down each of my sides armpit to waist, even though I am on pain meds. My throat still hurts from the endotracheal tube. Additionally, I am also coughing up phlegm from it. If I hear one more person say "it's normal" I don't know what I will do! Additionally, the drains are so gross!

Surgery day:

5:30 Made tea, folded laundry. I felt sick, anxious and sad

6:00 Woke up kids, nursed my son, made breakfast, packed lunches

6:45 Left for the hospital (kids came). It took us an hour to get a there and my daughter was almost late for school 

7:45 Talked to my sister on the phone, cried in the bathroom then checked in

8:15 Went to the surgery waiting area, labs, nurses 

9:00 Sentinal Node injection 

10:00 Back to the room, finished getting ready for surgery, met the nurse, saw doctors

11:00 surgery 

3:00 Woke up in recovery. 

The waiting was the hardest part. Too much time to think! At around 10, my doctors came in to talk to me. My plastic surgeon was way too happy! And he was wearing what looked like a 70's style tracksuit! He told me "you are going to look awesome". Then I got undressed, had an IV started and did some more waiting. The first anesthesia was turned on and I remember being wheeled down the halls and into the OR.  I do not remember them having me count backward and the next thing I knew I was in recovery.  

Although much of my hospital stay was terrible, it was also filled with many blessings! 

• Many people called or texted before the surgery to see how I was.  Many people were praying.
• The anesthesia worked so well that I did not have enough time to worry and my time under felt like two minutes. I thought I was still waiting for surgery when I woke up.
• No cancer cells were found in lymph nodes or on back of nipple.
• I have had no complications thus far.
• My kids visited me in the evening and were so sweet and gentle.  We played hangman and tic tac toe and ate chocolate. My 8-year-old girl was so sad to leave and sobbed on my lap.  
• My boy did not ask to nurse. In fact, my 5 year old asked him and he said "No. No milk, there's only medicine in there".
• I was not nauseous after the surgery.
• I was protected and watched over all the while.

The healing has begun!  God is the ultimate Healer!

Read other posts in this series:

Maxed Out Minivan
To start at part one go here:
Part 1: Stage Zero What?