The waiting is over and the recovery has begun. Mom's double mastectomy is complete.
I’ve been timid to write this blog post because I know that
anything I’m able to write with my current brain can’t give justice to the
incredible grace, beauty, compassion and true golden spirit that is mom. But I do know that it’s unfair to
keep you waiting over 24 hours post-procedure for good news so here we go:
Some Facts:
-We decided to do a double mastectomy instead of a
single. Thanks to everyone, especially
Marcie, for advice on this. Mom
felt that it was the best decision and we all support this.
-Dr. Henderson said the breast came off the chest wall very
easily and the tissue was smooth, not sticky. This is very good news because it means that there is less
likelihood that the cancer has spread anywhere else.
-The nuke shot stained two lymph nodes. Dr. H removed both of those as well as
a third that was joined with them.
It will take 4-5 days to get the pathology results back from these.
-To begin the reconstruction process, expanders were put
under the chest muscle that will gradually stretch the muscle in order to
create space for an eventual silicone implant.
- It was outpatient surgery due to the high risk of
infection involved. I was really
surprised about this, but also happy that she gets to be home - the La Quinta
Hotel, home, sweet home for a while.
The less time spent in a hospital, the better.
-She has four drains, two on each side. These will be in for 1-2 weeks.
-We have a follow up appointment with Dr. Movassaghi (Plastic Surgeon) at noon
on Friday. This will be the first
time we’ll get to see what’s under her dressings.
-The expansion will start about two weeks after surgery. They expand once per week until it’s as
large as mom wants. …Pamela or
Twiggy? What’s it gonna be Mama?
- If she doesn’t have to get radiation, then the follow up surgery
will be in January. If mom does
have to get radiation, then everything will change. We’ll find out more next week.
Some Feelings:
This is hard.
The surgery was much bigger, in every sense, than I had mentally
prepared for. Part of this was
probably a way to protect myself from over-thinking the specific details of
recovery, until the time came that I would actually need to know them. Post surgery was a bit overwhelming but
things are calm now and I am confident.
She is a joy to care for – I don’t think there could be an easier
patient.
One important step checked off the list for this cancer
warrior. Mom is a survivor. Thanks
so much to our amazing friends and family who have surrounded us with love and
support. We are so grateful.
Love to each of you,
M
