10 inches later:
RJ and I finally came up with a plan of attack for my cancer. I would have a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Because I was diagnosed near the holidays, it was very difficult to coordinate a day with my beloved surgeon and my plastic surgeon. We finally decided on January 1, 2006. Okay, it is not the most ideal way to start off the new year. It did, however, buy me time. It gave me time to be with my family in Albuquerque during the holidays, get my long hair cut short to donate to Locks of Love, and allowed me time to prep for my substitute teacher. I was fortunate that Marisela Delgado was able to sub for me. Marisela is a former parent, friend and a well respected substitute. I did two weeks of lesson plans since we were uncertain of my recovery time.
We also decided to buy a house. We looked before but never found the right one or always wanted to save up more money. The diagnoses made us realize that there is no better time than the present.
January 1, 2006 is still a blur to me. I just remember walking around in the hideous puke green slipper socks and XXXL hospital gown that morning while I waited for my procedure. I remember the anesthesiologist making me sign my life away. Should I have a will in place?
Women that has had a sentinal node biopsy while awake will not soon forget it. No one warned me ahead of time that it was going to be so painful. They inject this blue dye into several points in your breast. The dye will go into the large sentinal node and hopefully show if the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes. This is very important because it helps identify the staging of the cancer and your prognosis. The injection felt like someone was grabbing my breast and twisting it several times.
I don't remember much after that. I just remember waking up like a truck ran over my chest. I could hear RJ and Craig chatting in the other room. Both sides of my breast ached. I finally remembered that I had a port put in me for my infusions. I found out later that my surgeon had to sew it onto my pectoral muscles to make it stay....no wonder it was painful on that side!
The anesthesia made me nausea and dizzy. It was hard to move my upper body and it ached all over. Morphine and I became best friends for the next two days.
RJ was my rock. He coordinated phone calls and e-mails with both our family and friends. He demanded nothing but the best and the utmost attentive care while I was there. I had a handful of friends that visited me that day and I was real touched by their compassion.
I stayed there a second night because I was experiencing so much pain and RJ was afraid that he wouldn't be able to take care of me by himself. For two nights he slept on the uncomfortable sofa next to me.
My room was filled with flowers, balloons and endless stream of visitors by the time I left. Shelley came by with solid food for me! I was on a liquid diet and that was my first solid food.
My beloved surgeon came by on my check out day and told me that my lymph nodes looked clean. Her first biopsy took care of most of my tumor. I was stage one! There's four stages and stage zero and one has the best prognosis. Stage four means it has metastasized or spread to other parts of your body. What a relief!
My surgeon and I did my unveiling of my new breast and I was amazed and how well it looked. I had a four inch scar across my chest but it still looked like a "breast" was there.
I left the hospital with RJ and we headed to the bank and loan office. We needed to seal the deal on the new house. I had drains attached to my zipped up workout suit and I was still highly medicated. Either way, I signed about thirty sheets of paper. All this and we were only three days into 2006.
We also decided to buy a house. We looked before but never found the right one or always wanted to save up more money. The diagnoses made us realize that there is no better time than the present.
January 1, 2006 is still a blur to me. I just remember walking around in the hideous puke green slipper socks and XXXL hospital gown that morning while I waited for my procedure. I remember the anesthesiologist making me sign my life away. Should I have a will in place?
Women that has had a sentinal node biopsy while awake will not soon forget it. No one warned me ahead of time that it was going to be so painful. They inject this blue dye into several points in your breast. The dye will go into the large sentinal node and hopefully show if the cancer has spread into the lymph nodes. This is very important because it helps identify the staging of the cancer and your prognosis. The injection felt like someone was grabbing my breast and twisting it several times.
I don't remember much after that. I just remember waking up like a truck ran over my chest. I could hear RJ and Craig chatting in the other room. Both sides of my breast ached. I finally remembered that I had a port put in me for my infusions. I found out later that my surgeon had to sew it onto my pectoral muscles to make it stay....no wonder it was painful on that side!
The anesthesia made me nausea and dizzy. It was hard to move my upper body and it ached all over. Morphine and I became best friends for the next two days.
RJ was my rock. He coordinated phone calls and e-mails with both our family and friends. He demanded nothing but the best and the utmost attentive care while I was there. I had a handful of friends that visited me that day and I was real touched by their compassion.
I stayed there a second night because I was experiencing so much pain and RJ was afraid that he wouldn't be able to take care of me by himself. For two nights he slept on the uncomfortable sofa next to me.
My room was filled with flowers, balloons and endless stream of visitors by the time I left. Shelley came by with solid food for me! I was on a liquid diet and that was my first solid food.
My beloved surgeon came by on my check out day and told me that my lymph nodes looked clean. Her first biopsy took care of most of my tumor. I was stage one! There's four stages and stage zero and one has the best prognosis. Stage four means it has metastasized or spread to other parts of your body. What a relief!
My surgeon and I did my unveiling of my new breast and I was amazed and how well it looked. I had a four inch scar across my chest but it still looked like a "breast" was there.
I left the hospital with RJ and we headed to the bank and loan office. We needed to seal the deal on the new house. I had drains attached to my zipped up workout suit and I was still highly medicated. Either way, I signed about thirty sheets of paper. All this and we were only three days into 2006.
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