ALWAYS SEE THEM, FOR THEY'RE ALWAYS THERE.
Norman Vincent Peale
Tuesday, February 25th, is the day for surgery. Whoo Hoo! The prep work has all been done, so it's time to get cracking and get on to the next chapter. The crappy part is, I have to be at the surgical center at 6 AM! That means I'll have to get up at 4 o'clock to get ready. EWWW! Whatever. No point in getting snippy about something like that (but I'm not much of an EARLY-EARLY morning person).
So, I arrive at 6 o'clock, then at 7 o'clock go to the Nuclear Medicine department and get my breast injected with dye to see if and where it travels into the lymph nodes. Then they observe (or track) it for 2 1/2 hours. Then at 9:30, I go to surgery. I forgot to ask the nurse how long that will take, but I assume quite a while. That's no big deal to me, because I will be knocked out and won't know how long it's taking anyway. I'll have to spend the night at the hospital and then go home on Wednesday. Tah Dah! Easey peasy.
I think some drains have to be in for a week or two, which sounds like the biggest bother (from what I've read on-line), but after they come out, it is soooo much better. Sure . . . I know you guys are all probably thinking that I have already admitted to being a real whiner, and one of my favorite words to say is "OUCH!, so there will be a bit of griping and moaning going on. Probably. So what? It will be what it will be. The one thing in my favor is that I have a high pain threshold and I can stand quite a bit of misery, without really falling apart. But if you hear a high pitched wailing coming from my neck of the woods, you'll know that I've hit the wall and am making sure everyone in the county knows it. :)
I got a letter from Mona from South Dakota the other day. She enclosed a beautiful chocolate rose, to be used when I get my taste buds back and may want a bit of good chocolate to savor. Another very thoughtful thing that happened to me was Little Ma sent me a certificate from the Susan G. Komen Foundation, stating that a contribution gift had been made by her in honor of me! That really blew my mind. And a week ago, she also gave me a gorgeous silver breast cancer ribbon charm with pink stones in it, for my charm bracelet. So, you can see that I am totally spoiled rotten.
Nina came by yesterday and hauled my butt around shopping. I found a pair of stretchy black yoga pants that just pull up. I think that they will be perfect for getting dressed to come home from the hospital. I have a couple of zip-up-the-front sweaters and sweatshirts to choose from for the top. I can't take anything that is pullover, cause that may get a little uncomfortable getting into when I won't be able to use my arms for a while. I am going to try to get as much shopping, grocery buying and laundry done before I have to rest and stay put in the recliner. I think we will do just fine.
AND, believe it or not, I need to get together with niece Holly and have her trim my hair! I never thought I would be saying anything like that right before surgery. My hair is the longest in the back that it has been in years, and would look better if I get the ends trimmed up nicely. Last night, I was looking at all the scarves and hats and wig stuff that Jenna and I had ordered a few months ago. I am so happy that I haven't had to use any of them (yet).
So, kids, that's the latest update. I'll keep you in the loop as everything happens. After surgery, I may get to the point where I am tapping out very short messages for this blog, but I'll do the best I can with the range of motion I'll have. :) Remember . . . I am a possibilitarian.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL