Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Five (found on a cached file by leftbrain.it)
On the 5th September 2012 I woke up in
my new house, packed the girls off for a day at the Olympic park with
my Mother-in-law. Checked my hospital bag and went into Guys with my
husband.
I had to start my in-hospital-journey in the Nuclear Medicine Department. In order for the surgeons to locate my sentinel nodes I needed to be injected with radioactive dye. The dye is injected under the nipple and followed to see which lymph nodes it goes to first. Those nodes are then removed at the same time as the mastectomy. Sometimes they are removed through the same wound and sometimes another incision is needed. These sentinel nodes are the first ones the Cancer would spread to. When they are removed they are checked thoroughly for any cancerous cells. It is called a sentinel node biopsy. If there are no cancerous or pre-cancerous cells in any of the sentinel nodes it can be safely assumed that no cancer has spread to the rest of the body from the Primary Breast Cancer. If there are any dodgy cells in those nodes then more will have to be removed and I will need a CT scan to further search the rest of my body. There is a second injection too which is blue die, this enables the surgeons to actually see which nodes are more closely linked to the cancer. I also opted to have a third injection which is in research at the moment, if it becomes widely used it will mean that people will only have to have one in the future.
I met my surgeon Ash again and he showed Husband and i the images from my MRI scan. The tumour measured 4.21mm and took up so much of my breast, I can't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner. The procedure was explained to me by various nurses and doctors and I was changed out of my clothes and into my gown. I took my jewellery off and put my hair up into a bun. I donned my attractive white surgery stockings and got drawn all over by the surgeon. Husband was showing signs of cracking but I think i reassured him by being extra brave.
Finally we kissed goodbye and I walked, chatting and joking with the surgical team, into the anaesthetic suite. A young female doctor struggled with the rubbish veins in my right hand and finally managed to insert a cannula (like a tap). Anaesthetists in my experience are always extremely good looking, posh, strapping men who make me feel very safe and well looked after - this chap was no exception. I had told him of my dislike of needles so he gave me something to take me away with the fairies before sticking a long needle between my shoulder and spine to kill the feeling across the front and back of my chest. Once that was in place I was counted under.
I was sure I was having a lovely warm and comfortable sleep when the recovery nurses gently woke me up. Rose got me a cup of tea and assured me everything had gone according to plan. I cried as I told her about our ruined plans and she cried with me. I cheered up when she got the biscuits out and told her that my dietitians would have a field day as I was drinking tea and eating digestives. I'm not sure how long I was in there for but I'm guessing an hour or so. Husband was brought to my bed and he looked very relived to see me awake.
A young Spanish girl pushed me through the hospital in my bed to the Breast suite in the Orthopaedic ward. I sat up and chatted with Husband and ate a little food. Finally he left at about 9pm and I settled down for a good night sleep.
At about 1am I needed a wee, I was gently walked to the loo but became very dizzy and vomited quite violently. I was pushed back to my bed on a wheel chair and given some anti-nausea drugs which worked well. The anaesthetic was wearing off and the reality of the operation was starting to dawn on me. By 3am I was in a huge amount of pain, my blood pressure was dropping and I was starting to get very scared. I couldn't sleep and slipped in and out of unhappy consciousness.
By breakfast time my blood pressure was still dropping. The morning nurses upped my pain killers and attached me to a plasma drip. I ate some toast and drank litres of water. After the second bag of plasma the doctor came to see me. She told me I might have to have a blood transfusion. My operation had gone well but my blood pressure was still very low. I asked if I could have the oxygen tube removed from my nose and felt immediately better.
While all this was going on in my little bubble, my two beautiful (slightly tricky) daughters were starting their first day at a new school. In the early evening Mother-in-law brought them up on the train to see me. They LOVED the school and had had a wonderful day. Daughter 2 wanted to cuddle up close and found it hard to be careful with me. She is 5 years old and has always been a cuddly one. Daughter 1 was less interested. At 8 going on 18 she was worried I might meet her new friends looking awful and carrying my blood drain. She didn't want to kiss me goodbye and called me Granny. It broke my heart but I know she cannot be pushed and perhaps this was her way of dealing with everything.
After they left my stream of beautiful and impossibly glamorous lady visitors started. They brought thoughtful gifts, food bars and snacks from my lovely dietitian, chocolates, magazines, a cup (with my favourite design) and a bag and two pairs of shoes from my closest school friend who is now a fashion design director. My blood pressure started to rise.
We settled down to examine my new boob and chat about the lovely drugs I was being given when in breezed my slim, gorgeous, flighty friend. Her long blond hair ruffled and wearing a pair of stupidly short denim cut offs. She launched into a gripping tale of her most recent failed romance and had us all glued. Finally when she came to the conclusion she handed over a huge beautifully wrapped box of cup-cakes from the Hummingbird bakery. My three other friends and husband all craned to see the lovely cakes - a gift quite out of character from gorgeous, flighty friend. When I opened the box, the six stunning cakes were piled in a car crash of multi-coloured icing, sprinkles and sparkles into the corner of the box! Flighty friend was devastated - the rest of us were hysterical. Laughter proved to be the best medicine as my blood pressure rose further.
I had to start my in-hospital-journey in the Nuclear Medicine Department. In order for the surgeons to locate my sentinel nodes I needed to be injected with radioactive dye. The dye is injected under the nipple and followed to see which lymph nodes it goes to first. Those nodes are then removed at the same time as the mastectomy. Sometimes they are removed through the same wound and sometimes another incision is needed. These sentinel nodes are the first ones the Cancer would spread to. When they are removed they are checked thoroughly for any cancerous cells. It is called a sentinel node biopsy. If there are no cancerous or pre-cancerous cells in any of the sentinel nodes it can be safely assumed that no cancer has spread to the rest of the body from the Primary Breast Cancer. If there are any dodgy cells in those nodes then more will have to be removed and I will need a CT scan to further search the rest of my body. There is a second injection too which is blue die, this enables the surgeons to actually see which nodes are more closely linked to the cancer. I also opted to have a third injection which is in research at the moment, if it becomes widely used it will mean that people will only have to have one in the future.
I met my surgeon Ash again and he showed Husband and i the images from my MRI scan. The tumour measured 4.21mm and took up so much of my breast, I can't believe I hadn't noticed it sooner. The procedure was explained to me by various nurses and doctors and I was changed out of my clothes and into my gown. I took my jewellery off and put my hair up into a bun. I donned my attractive white surgery stockings and got drawn all over by the surgeon. Husband was showing signs of cracking but I think i reassured him by being extra brave.
Finally we kissed goodbye and I walked, chatting and joking with the surgical team, into the anaesthetic suite. A young female doctor struggled with the rubbish veins in my right hand and finally managed to insert a cannula (like a tap). Anaesthetists in my experience are always extremely good looking, posh, strapping men who make me feel very safe and well looked after - this chap was no exception. I had told him of my dislike of needles so he gave me something to take me away with the fairies before sticking a long needle between my shoulder and spine to kill the feeling across the front and back of my chest. Once that was in place I was counted under.
I was sure I was having a lovely warm and comfortable sleep when the recovery nurses gently woke me up. Rose got me a cup of tea and assured me everything had gone according to plan. I cried as I told her about our ruined plans and she cried with me. I cheered up when she got the biscuits out and told her that my dietitians would have a field day as I was drinking tea and eating digestives. I'm not sure how long I was in there for but I'm guessing an hour or so. Husband was brought to my bed and he looked very relived to see me awake.
A young Spanish girl pushed me through the hospital in my bed to the Breast suite in the Orthopaedic ward. I sat up and chatted with Husband and ate a little food. Finally he left at about 9pm and I settled down for a good night sleep.
At about 1am I needed a wee, I was gently walked to the loo but became very dizzy and vomited quite violently. I was pushed back to my bed on a wheel chair and given some anti-nausea drugs which worked well. The anaesthetic was wearing off and the reality of the operation was starting to dawn on me. By 3am I was in a huge amount of pain, my blood pressure was dropping and I was starting to get very scared. I couldn't sleep and slipped in and out of unhappy consciousness.
By breakfast time my blood pressure was still dropping. The morning nurses upped my pain killers and attached me to a plasma drip. I ate some toast and drank litres of water. After the second bag of plasma the doctor came to see me. She told me I might have to have a blood transfusion. My operation had gone well but my blood pressure was still very low. I asked if I could have the oxygen tube removed from my nose and felt immediately better.
While all this was going on in my little bubble, my two beautiful (slightly tricky) daughters were starting their first day at a new school. In the early evening Mother-in-law brought them up on the train to see me. They LOVED the school and had had a wonderful day. Daughter 2 wanted to cuddle up close and found it hard to be careful with me. She is 5 years old and has always been a cuddly one. Daughter 1 was less interested. At 8 going on 18 she was worried I might meet her new friends looking awful and carrying my blood drain. She didn't want to kiss me goodbye and called me Granny. It broke my heart but I know she cannot be pushed and perhaps this was her way of dealing with everything.
After they left my stream of beautiful and impossibly glamorous lady visitors started. They brought thoughtful gifts, food bars and snacks from my lovely dietitian, chocolates, magazines, a cup (with my favourite design) and a bag and two pairs of shoes from my closest school friend who is now a fashion design director. My blood pressure started to rise.
We settled down to examine my new boob and chat about the lovely drugs I was being given when in breezed my slim, gorgeous, flighty friend. Her long blond hair ruffled and wearing a pair of stupidly short denim cut offs. She launched into a gripping tale of her most recent failed romance and had us all glued. Finally when she came to the conclusion she handed over a huge beautifully wrapped box of cup-cakes from the Hummingbird bakery. My three other friends and husband all craned to see the lovely cakes - a gift quite out of character from gorgeous, flighty friend. When I opened the box, the six stunning cakes were piled in a car crash of multi-coloured icing, sprinkles and sparkles into the corner of the box! Flighty friend was devastated - the rest of us were hysterical. Laughter proved to be the best medicine as my blood pressure rose further.
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