Julie can't eat cheese

We arrived at Kaiser at 6:05am for my 6:15 check in. Because it was so quiet, they let Dan come back with me for prep. I had to cotton swab my nose twice in each nostril with a medicine to kill staph, I got meds for nausea, a nausea patch, and an IV put in. Then, I was wheeled down to radiology at 7:15 for 4 injections of tracer dye in the nipple. Then back up to the prep room.

The anesthesiologist came in to talk with me for awhile. My OR nurse came in a few times to check in and then the surgeon came in to review the surgery. I was then wheeled back to the OR.

I got on the operating table and they put warm blankets all over me. I had compression devices put on my legs. They strapped me down to the table. I was reminded of when I had tubes put in my ears as a kid – I can remember my last surgery when I was about 3 or 4 and looking up to see all the OR lights, them putting me to sleep and then waking up to them giving me an orange popsicle. I shared this story while they were getting things ready and the anesthesiologist said maybe if I asked nicely after, I could get a popsicle! I told him I just might!

They put a mask of pure oxygen over my face and started meds in my IV. The first one was lidocaine and he said it may make my ears ring – it did. Then the anesthesiologist said it was time for me to nap and I was out.

I woke up around 12:30pm in recovery. Even with all the nausea medication, I was still horribly nauseous. My recovery nurse gave me more nausea meds via IV. He made me a cranberry juice and ginger ale cocktail. We waited a little while but I was still nauseous, so I got one more IV dose. I finally started to feel like I could open my eyes and sit up. And I saw a drain in my lap. I think I screeched – I HAD TO GET A DRAIN?? Unfortunately yes. I will have to have a drain for about 2 weeks.

The nurse said I needed to get dressed on my own. He was moving the bed so I could get down but it was too close to a shelf behind the bed and it broke the shelf off the wall! The other nurses were making fun of him and he said “Julie did it!” I told him I would take the fall, just don’t bill me! I got myself dressed and was moved to another area for discharge planning. And snacks – woot woot! I was starving and actually the most pain I was having was from a massive caffeine headache. MUST GET COFFEE.

Dan was able to come back to hear the instructions on meds, the drain, and general activity. The nurse also said no big decisions, don’t shop on Amazon, lots of water. Dan gave me the updates from my surgeon who had come out to talk to him when the surgery was done. The cancer was bigger then expected and not well defined, so they had to take out more tissue than planned. I will have a depression/dent in that area. They also had to remove 4 lymph nodes, 2 had high signal of the tracing dye. When I had talked to the surgeon the day before, he said he planned to take out 1 node, as he liked to be more conservative on removing them but also acknowledged limitations of imaging. He told Dan it’s possible I may need another surgery and it would be early January if so (my original surgeon had also said this was a possibility if the margins aren’t clear). Another surgery would be either to take out more lymph nodes, more tissue, or a mastectomy. We’ll know more after the pathology reports are back. The surgeon who performed my surgery is starting his vacation and will be gone through Christmas. My other surgeon also had planned time off and is also sick – so I am not sure if I’ll hear anything before my 12/27 post op appointment.

Everyone at Kaiser has been beyond amazing and I am so grateful for the care I have received! I don’t know if it’s because I have cancer that they have been extremely kind, empathetic, funny, and transparent, but it has been top notch care and I have never felt rushed or been made to feel like anything less than human. My nurses in pre and post op were hilarious – it made the day feel a lot less stressful. [the OR nurses may also have been hilarious, but I was not awake to witness.]

We made it home and I was able to get some coffee and eat everything in sight! They advised me to stay ahead of the pain, so I am alternating with ibuprofen/tylenol and Oxycodone. I told Dan I felt like a tiny dictator – I plopped on the couch and kept asking people to bring me things.

Trigger warning – gross drain picture below. I have to record the drain output daily and can get it out after a week, if it is below 25ccs of liquid for 2 days. Several people recommended getting a drain lanyard and I ordered one (thank you recommenders!).

Sleeping was a little tough last night – I had to be on my back because of the drain. I am normally a stomach sleeper, so I think I woke up about 100 times. I see a lot of naps in my future. Overall, I am feeling ok – very sore, still a little nauseous/light headed but just so relieved to be moving forward in treatment. And speaking of moving, I need to get a 15 minute walk in. Onward!