The Surgery

It's been a week today so I decided it's time to write about surgery day.

It was a damp, grey day in Ogden, Utah on March 2, 2011.  I awoke knowing I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything....not easy for me since I'm one who goes directly to the tea kettle first thing after getting out of bed.  Oh well, it would be worth the sacrifice to be able to go back home that night if I wasn't sick from the anethesia.

Did a pretty strenuous yoga routine, walked all the doggies, then packed a backpack of things I might need in the hospital.  Finally 9:30 am arrived and Steve & I hopped into the Odyssey for the trip to Ogden Regional.

We were immediately informed that Radiography was expecting us to be there 10:00.  Whoops, hospital mess-up!  Not a good sign.

I was told to hurry and get all my clothes off and then put on this wierd two-layer gown with ports in it.  The ports were for hooking in an air hose to warm or cool me off.  It was stiff and uncomfortable - but I was allowed to tie it in the back instead of the front.  I declined the hose.  Oh, and I had to wear those hospital socks with no slip treads on the bottom.  They were about as uncomfortable as the gown.

A nursing student appeared to connect the IV.  She sucked.  She twisted my skin in the rubber tie, then proceeded to force the catheter into the smallest vein she could possibly find in my right hand.  I had plenty of nice, juicy veins she could have used instead.  It hurt.  The head nurse helped her secure it with wrap instead of tape due to my allergies to adhesives - so she wrapped my hand so tightly it barely had circulation.  I began to get pissed.

I was whisked away to the other side of the hospital to Radiography.......in the bed.  Now why I had to be in the bed, who knows!?  Steve followed, then kept me company with jokes while I waited outside the lab.  I guess the set-up for what had to be done was complicated so I waited around for about 30 minutes.  Bonnie, the woman who coordinated my doctor team came by and said hi.  Finally Andrea, the  tech, pulled my bed into the lab.   First let me say, Andrea was cool.  She was about my age but was pierced everywhere and had this sort of 60's boufant do with long red nails.  Working with her made me slightly happier but not much - I was SO dehydrated!

Well, the bed wouldn't fit under the mammogram machine (duh).  I was informed I'd have to straddle the machine, which was turned upside down, and sit on a stool instead.  Uh, only one problem with that - they took my panties!  Luckily the stool was too low.  We tried a chair next.  Still not right.  Guess I would just have to stand.  Whew, that meant I'd at least be able to have the lower half of my body covered.  Andrea maneuvered me into the squishing plates, which Dr. Tomayo had ordered be oriented upside down to better identify the target area on the bottom of my breast.

Finally the charming Dr. Tomayo arrived, reviewed Andrea's photos and called her a genius.  See, I knew I liked her!  Then the fun began.  He injected me with lydacain and of course it stung like a bitch.  But I toughed up and didn't complain.  Then he kneeled underneath the machine on the blanket from my bed and inserted a soft wire at the beginning of the cancer, then another one at the end as a marker for "Eddie" (as Dr. Tomayo called him), my surgeon.  Dr. T said he & Eddie had already met that morning about me and were excited to fix me up.  After that Dr. T injected a reddish dye.  More pictures, again Andrea carrying out her genius work.  The wires poked out like acupuncture needles and were about 4" long.   They were tied in loose knots and taped to the bottom of my breast, then I was good to go.  Apparently lots of people faint during this type of procedure but I got congratulated for staying on my feet.  Dr. Tomayo said he was looking forward to our future relationship since I'll be seeing him every 6 months for awhile.  Back on the bed (with new blankets), and back to the waiting room with Steve.  It was a bit before noon.

Radioactive dye that made me & my pee turn this color blue!

The head nurse came in and wanted to know if I'd seen Eddie yet.  Nope.  She found him and he instructed her to get me to the Nuclear Medicine Lab.  Hmmm, now I work in the Nuclear Power industry so began to wonder what similarities there might be.  I knew a radiologic dye was going to be inserted to help locate the most likely lymph nodes where cancer would have gone if it was going to spread.  Would it be U235?  I decided I didn't care.  I was too damned thirsty!!!!

More waiting outside the Nuc Lab, then finally Eddie appeared in blue scrubs.  He instantly made me feel better placing his hand on my non-IV'd one.  This was actually the only time I consciously saw Dr. Jordan all day.  We chatted about what time I'd gotten there, how it sucked to be so dehydrated, and about how my morning walk with the doggies went.  As we chatted, he'd hurriedly throw in some "I'm so sorry, this is gonna burn" comments as he injected the isotope in about 5 places.  Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as getting the IV or the boob numbing agent earlier.  Then we chatted for a few minutes more while Dr. Jordan massaged the isotope toward my arm.  I reminded him about a little mole I wanted removed off my face and he said to have the nurse just draw a circle around it to remind him.

Back to the patient waiting room again with Steve.  I was told the isotope had to work for 1-1.5 hours before the surgery could be done.  Dr. Jordan decided to do another surgery while I was waiting, so that meant he would be finished around 2:00 pm.  Great.  It was gonna be tough to ignore my thirst for that long.  I tried my best to read, chat with Steve, stand up and walk around a little and the time went really, really slowly.  I was hot, my back hurt from lying on the hard bed and I was SO thirsty!  Steve reminded me I could rinse out my mouth but now swallow.  That helped.  I went through chapstick like it was candy.  Nick appeared during that time and I felt bad he had to sit around for so long with me in such an ornery mood.  But it was good he kept his dad company for awhile.  I kept trying to send them to eat lunch but they wouldn't go.  They were sure nice guys that day.

Finally at 2:00 on the button, a surgical nurse in scrubs came in with a huge syringe full of something white.  Sodium penethol?  Who knows.  She had me pull all my hair under a surgical cap, inserted the white stuff into the IV and apologized for the sting.  Before I felt a sting or Steve could kiss me goodbye I was out cold, in anethesia land, not a bad place to be after the earlier part of the day!

Next thing I knew I could see the clock in the operating room and it was a few minutes before 5:00 pm.  Why can you always see a clock when you wake up from surgery?  I always have.  But I zonked back out and a few minutes later sort of awoke back in the room where I had waiting earlier in the day.  I think Steve came over and said something but can't remember what.  People were trying to get me to talk too which was kind of irritating because I just wanted to continue enjoying my peaceful slumber.  Finally I was told to get dressed and go home.  I barely remember that part either.

My memory becomes more clear sitting in the wheelchair just inside the main hospital door and seeing Steve pull up in the Odyssey.  It was dark outside, and raining.  I sort of remembered getting a pain pill before leaving the room.  When I got in the van Steve said we needed to go fill my prescription for more.  I think he asked me if I wanted to eat, but no, I didn't.  Then I realized I had a half-gone bottle of Dasani sitting next to me.  THAT'S WHAT I WANT, GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!!!!  That was the best damned water I think I've ever had.

Don't remember waiting for the prescription or even where we were.  Oh wait, I think Steve went in the Roy Walgreen's while I waited in the van with the CD player on playing the Corrs.  When we arrived at home about 7:00 pm, Stephie greeted me inside the garage.  I think she may have wanted a hug but all I could say was I was schwacked and it wasn't bad at all.  Her boyfriend, Will, had made me a darling boquet of yellow and white balloon flowers with orange centers in a bright red vase that looked a lot like daffodils.  I think the doggies tried to say hi but maybe they were held back because I don't really remember.  I usually pick up Win when I get home to get him up out of the raucous greeting but don't remember doing that.  I ushered Steph into the bathroom to show her my bandages.

And that's when I realized that Eddie had masterfully pulled off the surgery in such a way that you could hardly tell anything had been removed.  I had an inverted T-shaped incision on the bottom of my breast from the areola back, that was only about 1.5" long and wide.  No one will ever be able to tell a thing was done when I'm clothed after it heals.  The biggest incisions were under my left arm where the lymph nodes were removed.  It looked like maybe three were taken and there would be about a 6" long scar there.  Now that part was surprising.  I only expected a tiny incision there.

So that was it.  Not a day I care to repeat, nor should you want to ever try it.....so I repeat again, stay current on your mammos people!  Now I await the pathology report, radiation, etc.  I go back to see Dr. Eddie Jordan this Friday.  I sure hope he got everything, but I tell ya if he didn't, it seems like there's plenty of tissue left to go in and try again :-).