3 days post-op...

Howdy!

I'm home!  I was discharged from the hospital at 9:15 on Thursday morning -- I was in there less than 24 hours.  The mastectomy, the lymphadenectomy, the removal of the porta-cath and the insertion of the tissue expander went well.  No complications during surgery or after thus far.

Jim, Mom and Linda were with me at the hospital.  A long day of waiting for them.  The surgery lasted about 4 1/2 - 5 hours.  It felt like I fell asleep and woke up a minute later.  Dr. Hunt (surgeon) was not able to come out and talk to them after her part of the surgery, she had another one to attend to.  So Jim, Mom and Linda waited patiently.  Finally Dr. Skoracki (plastic surgeon) came out and told them all went well.

Jim, Mom and Linda all came to see me separately while I was in recovery.  Apparently I was pretty "drugged" up.  My conversations went in and out a little as I took little naps in between.  Once I was fully awake it was time to move me to an observation room.

Jim and Mom made sure I got settled into the room which was about 8 o'clock, stayed a while and then went home.  Linda stayed with me overnight to make sure everything ran smoothly and to make sure I was being well taken care of.  Which of course I was.

Dad stayed home with Jakob, Kelli and Joey -- they were all relieved when they heard that I was doing well after surgery.

Jim had to be back up at the hospital the next morning by 7 so they could get ready to discharge me.  Not a very good night's sleep for him.  It wasn't for Linda and I either, the nurse came in every 4 hours to empty my drains and check my incisions.  We watched a video on how to empty the drains and care for the wounds and then it was time to go.

I have to tell you I have the 2 best home health nurses around.  Jim and Mom.  They are so gentle.  I've always known how much they love me but even more so now.  They empty out my 2 drains 2 times a day and change the dressings on my incisions 2 times a day also.  I have 4 incisions, 3 of which need to be cleaned twice a day.  I have the mastectomy incision, the lymphadenectomy incision and the drain incisions.  They clean me with a water/hydrogen peroxide mixture and then put an iodine ointment on the wound and bandage me back up again.  My two drains also need to be emptied and measured.  Jakob has been in charge of taking my temperature.

It's not a very glamorous process -- the first time Jim and Mom cleaned me up I was very humbled by the care and love they were giving me.

Jim and Mom have been really good about making sure that I take my pain meds on schedule.  We don't want the pain to get ahead of us.

I got to have a sponge shower this morning - that was a nice fresh feeling.

I'm doing really well considering I had some major surgery just 3 days ago.  I go back to see Dr. Skoracki on the 22nd.  He may possibly be able to remove one or both of my drains that day.

In about a week I will be receiving a final pathology report with what they found in the breast tissue and the lymph nodes.  Please pray that all comes back clear.

Thank you all for your kind messages.  But thank you most of all for your support, thoughts and prayers.  I really wouldn't have been able to make it this far without those.

I pray that this message finds you all well.  Please continue to pray for a healthy recovery for me.

Also please pray for safe travels back home to Kansas for Mom and Dad on Monday.  They will also be taking Kelli and my nephew Michael back with them.  Joey will be going to spend some time in Austin with his best buddy - please pray for safety for him too.

May God Bless you all!!!

Love and Blessings from the top of my heart,

Moni

www.caringbridge.org/visit/monimonk
www.monkmoni.blogspot.com