I had a small step backwards this week. I saw the plastic surgeon on Wednesday for my weekly followup. He didn't like the looks of the skin on the left breast (that's the "good" side). It was very red and warm to the touch indicating it was possibly infection. He also looked at the drainage hole and saw the tissue that now looked like a deflated blister. He very proudly says "we can take care of that". He then gets out a container of what looks like match sticks. They were actually silver nitrate. He rubbed a few of those around that area and it literally burned off the tissue - gross! That small area burned like fire for the next 5-6 hours until it turned black and fell off - double gross!
The doctor wanted to see what was going on in the reddish area so he stuck a very small needle (it really didn't stick when he said I would feel a stick) into the red area and drew out some clear fluid. He thought it was only fluid and decided to wait a couple more days to see if it cleared up.
When I went back on Friday that small area where he put in the needle was now a white, puffy area that looked like a large pimple. I went back to the doctor where he stuck in another needle only this time the fluid was white and cloudy indicating it was infection. Back to the hospital I went.
Friday night at 8:30 p.m. I went back into the same operating room with one of the nurses who was there last time and remembered me. That's really sad when the pre- and post-op nurses remember you. The plastic surgeon went in and removed the tissue expander altogether and decided to leave it out until I'm done with chemo and radiation.
My good friends Sarah AND Jessie went with me to the doctor. Jessie then took me to the hospital, waited until the surgery was over then came back home with me and spent the night. Sarah came over this morning to take over the second shift and keep me company. I really do have the best friends in the world!
Today I feel very well. I think my pain level is lower than when I went in for surgery. I'm back on antibiotics and will see the plastic surgeon again next week.
All things considered, it probably was best to put off any more of the reconstruction process until I'm finished with treatment. I need to get started on chemo since it's been more than a month since the first surgery. Next week I have "chemo class" on Wednesday. This is a training session the oncologist's office does for all new chemo patients. It's a chance for them to ask questions and see what happens during the chemo process. It will be good. As much as I'm not looking forward to the possible side effects, I am anxious to get started and get this behind me.
Next weekend I'm going shopping for a wig! I'm really dreading the possibility of losing my hair but yet when I talk about it, it seems really petty that I would be stressing over something like hair. If chemo will prevent future cancers then I'm ready to do this!
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