Yesterday (as I remember it :)) - we left the house at 4:30 a.m. and made good time getting to the hospital. We checked in at registration a couple of minutes before 6:00 a.m. We were only there for about 5 minutes and then they walked us over to radiology to check in for my first procedure. They said my procedure wasn't scheduled until 6:30 a.m., so we would be waiting awhile. They didn't call us back until 6:50 a.m. (The cool thing is that Chris was able to stay with me through all the pre-op procedures) This was the dye procedure to "light up" my sentinel lymph nodes for the surgeon. After she inserted the dye, she said she would have to take some pictures. I would need to lay still for 5 minutes for each picture. I had an anxious moment thinking back to the MRI. I asked how the pictures would work. It was only a square that came down around my chest and it was open so it was no problem at all for me. They the walked us over for the wire localization. The radiology doctor that performed this was a Purdue grad - so it was fun to chat with her. She explained that she would be inserting two wires. She said that Dr. Kennedy also wanted to remove another spot about 2 cm from the tumor site. They said it looks like a calcification but they want to remove it all to be sure. That was the first we had heard of that. This doctor said that they would have me sitting for this procedure because it common for patients to faint. She said to be sure to tell them if I started to feel funny at any time. Thankfully, I never felt funny at all. Then we waited while they got me a wheelchair to take me over to surgery.
We arrived there at 9:00 a.m. The nurse checked my temperature and my blood pressure and my blood pressure was a little elevated... imagine that! :) The hooked up my IV and started me on some fluids. She said things would move quickly because they wanted to have me to the operating room by 9:30 a.m. Then she left and a Chaplin stopped by and asked if we wanted to pray and he prayed with us. Then we kept waiting and waiting. This wait was the hardest wait of the day. Finally the anesthesiologist came in at 10:05 a.m. He said they were running behind. He went over everything and said he didn't anticipate any complications. He said he would be with me the entire time watching over me and making sure things were alright. That helped ease a little of my anxiety. He said they should be coming soon to get me. They finally came at 10:20 to take me into surgery. All of the waiting and saying goodbye to Chris got me tearing up. This nurse was also a Purdue grad. She wheeled my bed to the door of the operating room and then asked if I could walk in. I thought that was kind of funny. So I walked in and sat down on the table. There were two small tables sticking out of the operating table for me to put my arms out on. Then I could feel the tears keep coming. I told them I was sorry and I wasn't sure why I couldn't stop the tears. Then the anesthesiologist came in and said hello and said he was there to stay with me. He said he just put something in my IV to help me relax. Then I remember them putting an oxygen mask on and telling me to relax and take a deep breath ...and that's all I remember. I didn't even get to see my surgeon.
Then I remember hearing something and it was a nurse talking to me telling me I was in recovery. I couldn't believe I was in recovery. Then she started asking me about my pain level and where it was on a scale from 1 to 10. I think I said it was about a 7 and I told her my throat was hurting pretty bad from the breathing tube during surgery. She got me some ice chips and asked if I had anyone waiting for me that I would like to come back. So she went and got Chris and I was glad to see him. Then I started to feel really hot and felt extremely nauseous. They put a cold wash rag on my head and put a tiny moist cloth on my nose to breathe for aromatherapy. It helped, I was so glad I didn't get sick. But I felt so tired. I couldn't keep my eyes open. What felt like 5 minutes to me - Chris said was over an hour that I slept. She asked if I wanted any crackers or teddy grahams. Once I ate a little it and had some apple juice I was feeling much better. Then once I was able to get up on my own and go the restroom, they said I could get dressed and go. We walked in the door last night a little after 5:00 p.m.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers. I am feeling a little more tired and sore than I thought today. I didn't elevate myself enough last night and woke up with some pretty intense swelling and pain. As I was trying to refill my ice pack, I felt like I was going to pass out and then I felt nauseous again. But it went away and I slept in the recliner the rest of the morning. My mom hung out with me all day and we even took an afternoon nap.
Adam has a baseball game starting right now - 5:30 - wish I could be there to cheer him on!!
We will post more once we hear the pathology results.
I need to go get some more rest. Thank again so much for your love, support and prayers.
Love,
Tammy
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