Sitting upright and willing to use an actual computer

Hi, sorry for the delay in posting though I am hoping I have spoken or been in touch with most of you via phone or e-mail. E-mailing from my i-phone seemed much more doable than actually using a computer. Thanks to Melissa for giving updates, and the folks who have come by and visited and managed to take care of my laundry and luggage and transportation needs. (Melissa, Tracy, Rosanne, Sue and Cori and Eric.) I am still amazed with how good I feel. There is some discomfort but it seems totally manageable with the assorted narcotics at my disposal.

The surgery went well and I was very pleased with how the breast looked when I woke up.

The various doctors and folks who visited said the vein and artery looked good and matched up well with the connecting vein and artery in my breast. It all looks rather lovely and well shaped. In some ways the hardest part was the inability for me to eat or drink from Wednesday night through Friday morning. The reports about my inability to talk had more to do with my mouth being incredibly dry and my lips sticking to my teeth and throat being scratchy from being intubated during surgery and wasn't related to pain. I did have incredibly low blood pressure reading Friday morning but that all resolved once food and more importantly coffee was allowed to pass through my lips.

I spent Thursday night in ICU with my own nurse for most of the evening - she came in and checked the pulse in my breast every 15 minutes, then every half hour and finally every hour. In ICU I was attached to at least 6 different sets of monitoring devices including my lovely morphine pump. Pressing a button every 8 minutes is kind of fun. I didn't get much sleep Thursday night but watched a lot of the food network in case anyone has questions.

Friday they had me attached to less things and some physical therapists came by and we walked around the hall. I also lapped the floor with Cori. Getting up seemed to be okay and I was mostly just grateful that the pain seemed totally manageable. My doctors all seemed pretty pleased with how I was doing. I ended up having a free-tram flap rather than a diep flap. This means they transplanted part of my muscle. In the DIEP Flap, they excavate the vein and artery out of th muscle and follow it to the larger connecting veins and arteries. Given my tempermental veins and arteries Dr. N decided keeping the vein and artery in the muscle and taking the small portion where they sat was the more prudent move. It meant a more stable donor site I think and let him take a larger amount of fat tissue. He said the amount of muscle taken was minimal and should not affect my ability to do crunches or pilates going forward.

In any case, the strength of the connection and pulse after surgery was great and it meant the reconnection went really well despite my getting radiation. (Something that can complicate the surgery.)

Saturday midday I was moved to a regular floor, 7Bles, which was where I recuperated after surgery number 1 (lumpectomy). I recognized a number of the nurses and they were also super helpful and nice. I had a single room and made the monumental decision to start watching the travel channel instead of the food network. I was apparently the only patient not watching the football game (Dallas, Denver maybe) which I believe made me a nurse favorite. Things were actually so slow on the floor they ended up sending my nurse home for the night. The next day I was cleared to leave by 8, took my antibiotic and had Melissa and Cori pick me up. I was home with all my meds by noon. They got me situated, stayed while I showered (yeah - being clean has some advantages) and then I just hung out at home for the afternoon/ evening.

Ellen arrived at 1 and we talked until about 2. It will be good to visit with her this week and I'm guessing I will need less tending than originally feared.


I am doing much better than I ever would have expected, in pretty good spirits, happy to have the surgery overwith and willing to officially let 2010 start. I even feel fairly lucid but you might be better judges of that.

I will try and update sporadically but will be trying to not be on the computer too much this week. (I think sitting and typing isn't totally great for me.)

I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning and I hope I will get the drains out and will re-join the class of pants wearing people. I feel pretty good, can stand up relatively straight and not in too much pain.

Feel free to call or write.

Kim