This Part's Over With -Sunday, October 2, 2022

 Good morning anyone who is reading this. On Friday, I had my surgery. Husband and I were on the road driving to "the city" by 5:00 a.m. I had to be admitted at 7:30 and my sentinel node biopsy injections were scheduled for 8:30. If you recall, I was beyond scared of this procedure as it was described in bold print on the handout as "a painful procedure" for which they do not provide freezing. 

I purchased and used the numbing gel, and my sweet surgeon actually called me and spoke to me on the phone and prescribed a very mild Ativan to take before the procedure. Long story short, the Ativan barely did anything but the procedure itself was so quick and so simple and due to the numbing gel, would for me have rated about a 2 1/2 out of 10 in terms of pain, so my euphoria at having it done and over with was overwhelming. 

I then had to wait about six hours until my surgery, hanging out on a hospital bed in a ward with other people waiting for their surgeries with a little gap in the curtain where I could see people wheeled out and back in. I played word games and "Hay Day" on my phone, tried to read a bit of a book, tried unsuccessfully to nap, and finally got prepped for surgery (lumpectomy and lymph node biopsy) and off I went. It's a bit of a party inside a sugery room, as I was wheeled in and people were introducing me to various individuals who would be there for my surgery. Who knew there were so many people involved? I actually don't even remember seeing my surgeon, but let's assume she showed up at some point.

Waking up was interesting. I think I was having a hard time coming out of it, as I was told a few times to remember to breath deeply. They assessed my pain and I was given some more pain relief. And then the nausea hit. I had NO IDEA this would be an issue. Oh dear lord people. Take your worst late teens, early twenties hangover and multiply it times 100 and that's how I felt. I couldn't even move. So unfortunately I took a few hours longer to leave the hospital and I was so worried by the time I was able to formulate the thoughts that someone needs to call my husband and tell him what's happening so he isn't worried. 

In the end, a sweet, incredibly patient nurse finally managed to get me into my clothes and put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me down so I could get loaded up in my vehicle and husband drove carefully to my sister's place in the same city and I spent the night there. There was NO WAY I could have been in a moving vehicle for 2 1/2 hours to get home. I managed to sleep there and in the morning, I felt like a human again. A sore human, but not a nauseous human. I ate some crackers and some toast and then we went home. 

So this part of my breast cancer journey is now over. I shall heal over the next few weeks and do my range of motion exercises and enjoy the beautiful colours of autumn and then the next portion of my treatment will begin. But in the meantime, I am grateful for good care and lovely friends and family, as well as my cat, Scooter, who brought me a bird this morning as a get well present.