You know, it’s not all bad news. You have to be able to laugh or you’ll just cry all the time!
Archive for October, 2005
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Once they told me Laurie was out of recovery, things went very fast, and this is my first chance to post the news.
Laurie came out of recovery about 3:00, and we left the hospital about 20 minutes later. I had to run out to get her pain pill prescription filled, and now we’re both home. She’s fine, and isn’t feeling much post-op pain yet. We’re seeing the doctor later this week to discuss results of the tests and next steps.
In the OR
Laurie asked me to post updates on her surgery today. She’s been in the OR for about half an hour. They expect her to be there two hours, then in recovery one hour, so I’ll be seeing her around 2:30.
Everything seems to be going well right now, but it’s a good thing that the hospitals double check everything with the patient. They went over today’s procedures, and ended up with “and a lumpectomy or mastectomy”! No, no, no, and no. Sure, eventually probably, but not today. They called the surgeon in, and he told us that he thought today was just biopsies and a port catheter, and we said that we thought so, too. The paperwork was wrong, and got corrected and signed again. The biopsies and catheter are plenty to deal with for now.
The Medical Story as it Stands Now
We don’t know everything, but we do finally have a little idea of what we know.
Stupid, stupid, stupid
Why haven’t I had a mammogram in 4 years?
Why didn’t I find this lump when it was 3 cm or 2 cm?
Why was I so stupid about this?
These are the kind of things that wake you up at 4:30 AM.
Surgical plans, part 1
Well,
We spent the afternoon wandering from office to office around the Medical Center. It’s amazing how quickly things have come together.
Short report: I’m scheduled to have surgery to implant a catheter (so chemo can be inserted directly), take a bigger biopsy, and check for lymph node involvement at 6:30 AM Monday.
Long report? Later.
Next
The next step…a meeting with Dr. Burns, the medical oncologist (as opposed to the surgical oncologist), at 11:45, Friday, October 21.
Isn’t that an unfortunate name for someone giving chemo? Eh, at least he’s not the radiologist.
The stupid problems
The stupid problems with cancer:
Everything’s pink for breast cancer and I really am not a pink person.
When I cough, I no longer think bronchitis–it must be metastasized cancer that’s gotten into my lungs. Likewise when my knee hurts (bone) or I’m so tired (brain).
The packet has all sorts of stuff about prothesises (prothesi?), but I don’t have a bra that fits…
And how the hell do you tell people?
Just the facts
Okay, this is one of those stories I don’t love to tell, so let me get it down once and for all.
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