my faith, family, and friends are what got me through chemotherapy. i will admit that one other thing that really helped me get through the hard times was the promise of a beach trip. we did not get to go on vacation this year, during the summer, as we usually do. my husband promised me that just as soon as i finished chemo, and was feeling better, we would take a trip to the beach.
we usually go to the outer banks, but due to distance and weather concerns, we picked a place closer- on the north carolina coast. i was going to be happy anywhere that had an ocean and fresh seafood! it took us about 6 hours to get here. that is about 3 hours shorter than if we had gone to the outer banks, which as it turned out, was a good thing.
on the saturday night, before we left for our trip on sunday, the place on my chest which was not healing decided to break open again. this time, it was a rather large hole. my surgeon said that he would do the surgery on that place at the same time as he would do the surgery for my permanent implants. with that in mind, i just re-dressed it as i have been doing for about 5 months now , and finished getting ready. long story short, i knew that something was "different" this time, so i called the surgeon on monday morning. he asked me to text him a picture of the area, which i did. within just a few minutes, his nurse called me back and said for me to come to the office immediately! when i explained that i was at the beach on vacation, she said " sorry, but the doctor wants you here ASAP". we had just unpacked the car less than 24 hours ago, but early tuesday morning, we found ourselves packed up and headed to the surgeon's office.
i was hoping that he would just look at it and give me some antibiotics. i was afraid that he might put me in the hospital. what he did was something in between. when i got to the office, his nurse took me way down the hall to the "sterile room". she said, " you have never been to this room before, have you?". that was my first sign, you might say. so, after a quick exam, the surgeon told me that first, he was going to remove quite a bit of the saline from the implant on that side. it was disheartening to see my chest go down on one side. i just joked and told him " you sank the Titanic!". he laughed and said that it was " deflate gate" all over again. he must be a football fan.
then he got out the topical anesthetic and told me that he was going to numb me up for some surgery. i am so glad that i had not thought of him doing this ahead of time. my husband thought there might be a chance the surgeon would do this, but he wisely kept that thought to himself. at least i did not have too much time to worry about what was going to happen.. so he did the " re-cut and re-stitch" part of my surgery yesterday. he told me to look the other way and i usually look, but this time i took his advice. good idea.the surgery actually took quite a while, but my husband was waiting for me in the waiting room and helped me out to the car. i did get a prescription for antibiotics, and i have to check my temperature and watch for signs of infection. my surgeon told me that i could return to the beach, but that i have to be back at his office on monday.
thankfully, there are several good things to report. i am sore, but i seem to be doing o.k. i am taking my antibiotics and there are no signs of infection. i am dreading the, at least two, sessions where the surgeon will have to add the saline back into my temporary implant. this has to be completed and there be no infection before he can do my final surgery. AND I AM AT THE BEACH!! nothing quite like a little "vitamin sea" and flounder to make a person feel better. hopefully this has not delayed the final surgery, which has already been scheduled for december 4th. so, a pirates life for me- at least for a few more days. thanks again for everyone's prayers and good wishes!
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