On the road to recovery - in hospital.

When I finally managed to shake off the fog of the anaesthetic I found myself in my own little room with a view of the sun setting behind the Brindabella Ranges and my husband by my side. I was hooked up to an IV & oxygen, a tube protruded from under my right rib and ran down to a bag on the side of the bed to drain the blood and fluid away from the wound and two large cuffs wrapped around my calves, massaging them at intervals to prevent clots from forming. I must have been quite a sight, even more so still covered from neck to belly button with flamingo pink betadine. Mmmmmm...pretty! Hubby stayed for a little while then headed home as I drifted in and out of sleep.

In the morning I woke feeling quite good. Sore and a little unsteady but well enough to get out of bed and tentatively take a shower unassisted. Despite best efforts I couldn't get rid of the flamingo pink. My right breast was incredibly bruised and a little puckered around the edge of the implant but my surgeon had managed to preserve the skin and the nipple so essentially it didn't look all that different. I was really pleased with how it was and could picture how good it was going to look after several weeks had given the swelling time to dissipate and the implant to settle in.

My surgeon called in to see me just after breakfast and went through the details of the surgery. The pathology on the sentinel nodes had shown that the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes so he had removed just over a dozen of them to give a good clearance. The rest of the surgery had gone well so now it was a matter of waiting to see what the pathology would come back with in approximately 10 days time.

Hubby came to visit at lunch time and rest of the afternoon was a stream of nurses, physiotherapists and visitors. I was so glad to see my Mum and my boys. Harry, my four year old, was incredibly intrigued by the drainage tube that came out of my side and the cannula in my hand. Jack, my 18 mth old was just happy to have a Mummy cuddle and some grapes to snack on. Two of my girlfriends came by at the same time so the room was full of happy, noisy kids and adult chatter.

In the early evening I was whisked away from my private little room and plonked into a double room next to a very old lady. I'm ok with this I naively thought...but it quickly dawned on me that she was an incredibly noisy old biddy and any notion of rest and recovery were soon banished. I couldn't blame her, she was in obvious pain and discomfort from a knee reconstruction and she was as deaf as a lamp post. Unfortunately I had to listen to every moan, groan, burp, retch and fart that emanated from her ancient and failing body and to add to the cacophony, she snored like a freight train the entire night. I gave up trying to sleep after several hours staring at the ceiling and sat up chatting to friends in Western Australia and overseas on Facebook instead. By the time the sun came up I was exhausted, in real pain and completely over it. I started to laugh maniacally when the nurses asked her how she had slept and she chirped cheerfully, "Oh just wonderful Luv, best sleep I've had in aaaaaages".

Eeeegads! Thankfully my darling friend of ten years came to my rescue with proper coffee, a hot breakfast and her beautiful baby boy. We had a really good laugh and she lifted my spirits immensely.

Added to that the surgeon came by and gave me the all clear to go home.

I was incredibly grateful that I could leave the noise and fuss of the hospital and go back to my own space, be in my own bed, surrounded by my own family.

 

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